Maddie Luebkert, Special to The Denisonian—
Denison University’s Department of Music performed George Handel’s “Messiah” this past Friday in Swasey Chapel. Well before the start of the show, lines of parents, students, and community members began to congregate outside of the doors hoping to get seats for the performance. As the doors opened, audience members poured into the spacious chapel adorned with holiday decorations. As audience members made their way to their seats, performers gathered on stage and began to prepare their music and tune the various violins, cellos, and other instruments.
According to the program, George Frideric Handel composed the oratorio “Messiah” in 1741, and the entire musical work contains over fifty musical numbers. This performance is not the first time that “Messiah” has been performed at Denison, as the program reports that the first performance happened in 1910. Though “Messiah” has been performed numerous times at Denison, this performance was the first time students performed the arias and recitatives instead of guest performers hired to do so.
Harris Ipock and Philip Rudd co-directed this performance. Ipock works as an assistant professor and the director of choral activities. He has appeared in Grammy-winning recordings and has conducted performances in many famous concert halls around the country. Rudd works as the director of orchestral activities. As well as playing the violin and acting as an adjudicator, Rudd was a semi-finalist at the OCCO International Conducting Competition in Portugal.
Maximilian Wisnefski ‘24, a data analytics major and computer science and philosophy double minor, performed multiple tenor solos throughout the performance. Wisnefski says that he highly valued guidance from director Ipock and voice teacher Kevin N. Hines throughout the rehearsal process.
“Performing in Swasey for 700-800 people was a thrilling experience,” said Wisnefski.
Wisnefski revealed that “mastering the melismas” was one of the most difficult challenges, where one has to sing multiple notes in one syllable of text. With the help of Dr. Ipock and Hines, however, Wisnefski was able to overcome this roadblock and successfully perform the melismas in “Messiah.” Wisnefski says that one thing students pursuing music should not be afraid of is making mistakes.
“So often, one’s fear of singing a note wrong or entering at the wrong time leads to timid, inaudible singing,” Wisnefski remarks. He says it is “better to make a loud mistake than to never make a sound.”
Brooke Halaby ‘25 performed a solo and a duet with Francis Goodwin ‘24. Halaby is a soprano and an economics major with a minor in vocal performance. She reflects that though Messiah “took a lot of preparation and focus” from everyone involved, the result was “so incredibly worth it.” She states she loves Handel’s “Messiah” because of its “musical movements and beautiful message.” The advice Halably offers to students pursuing music at Denison is that “music is such a joy” and that even those not already involved in music “should take a music class during their time.”
Denison has a few more concert dates coming up before this semester comes to an end, such as the Denison Gospel Choir Concert that will occur next weekend, Dec. 9, in Swasey Chapel. There will also be a Lessons and Carols Service organized by the Center for Spiritual Life on Dec. 10 in Swasey Chapel.