September 15, 2022

Dear Chorus Members,

It’s with great anticipation and excitement that I welcome you BACK to “Sing a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Our rehearsals for the 58th season of Messiah are about to begin.

With our triumphant return to the stage last year, I’m excited to invite you sing with us this year. We will be rehearsing and presenting our concerts in our new home, the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center.

To those of you that sang with us in June, THANK YOU for a splendid concert of sacred music. It was a joy to work with you on new music and to see your beautiful faces. If you missed it, just ask someone who was there. They will fill you in on the joy we experienced preparing and performing at St. Mary’s. What a memorable experience.

Our current COVID protocol for the chorus encourages our singers to be fully vaccinated and boosted. Members may choose to wear a mask regardless of their status. This policy will be reviewed and modified as needed.

Board of Directors – Seeking New Members

Your Board of Directors has been meeting monthly via ZOOM and more recently in person to plan our season and provide organizational support for our two concert cycles. This dedicated group is seeking new board members to expand our support and leadership. Krystal Levi is our Interim Board President. We also have a Board secretary position to fill. If you have a passion for our chorus and would like to assist us, either as a board member or on one of our committees, please reach out to Krystal or me. Our five committees are:

• Publicity – Nic Orbovich, chair
• Fundraising – Don Nagdeman, chair
• Membership/Hospitality – Sunny Orbovich, chair
• Production

Our performances will be the first weekend of December.

Chorus rehearsals begin on Thursday, October 20 so please reserve that date and the subsequent Thursdays (except Thanksgiving) for Messiah rehearsals. Rehearsals run from 7:00-9:30pm and are located in the Band Room at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center. This is the same location we used last year. Be sure to let us know if you plan to sing this year so we can reserve a place for you. Send a quick note to mail@MCMessiah.com to RSVP.

Please mark your calendar!  The new performance schedule will be:

Thursday,      December 1,              7:00PM         Orchestra/Chorus Rehearsal
Saturday,       December 3,             10:30AM        Closed Dress Rehearsal (10am Call time)
Saturday,       December 3,               7:00 PM       Concert
Sunday,         December 4,             3:00 PM         Concert

As you begin to think about donations and soliciting ads or sponsorships, please remember that checks should be made out to Michigan City Messiah, Inc. It is our official name and the name to whom you will make your checks out in the future. Donations can easily be made on our website as well, McMessiah.com  Our official mailing address is:

Michigan City Messiah
P.O. Box 9219
Michigan City, IN 46361

I hope you can join us for both concerts and this fantastic opportunity to share our amazing gift to a larger audience. The need and desire of the community to have additional performance opportunities of Messiah is very clear to our board so we are maintaining a two concert schedule. There is a renewed sense of purpose for all of us associated with the Messiah organization as we take on a larger role in the regional musical community and become the recipient of local, state and federal funding.

We are always looking for new singers! Feel free to invite a friend to sing Messiah with us. There is a signup button on the home page of our website for those interested in joining. If you would like to get a head start on the music you can go to our website and listen to the chorus selections from previous performances and refresh your memory.

Please consider joining us again this year as we continue on our journey exploring this great music. We have begun to create our own history and stories for year 57 and beyond. Won’t you be a part of the next generation who claims with unabashed joy and in one harmonious voice, “Glory to God in the Highest”?

Musically yours,

Philip J. Bauman
Music Director
630.235.0323