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Messiah Project's 8th Annual Heritage of Hymns

(Poster design courtesy www.messiahproject.org)

Messiah Project will present Scripture elaborated in song at the 8th annual "Heritage of Hymns" concert Saturday Oct. 17 at 7:00pm (with an organ prelude at 6:15) in the Robert H. Spence Chapel Auditorium at Evangel University. The Messiah Project Community Choir directed by Sharon Wilkins will be joined by pianist Dino Kartsonakis and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra led by their Music Director Kyle Wiley Pickett.

Messiah Project President Lindsay Robison says the inspiration for Heritage of Hymns came from Nashville. "They had an annual event where they put together a large community choir and the local Symphony orchestra and some featured artists, and saw great gatherings result as their whole city came together to honor the great music of the church and their heritage. It was quite successful there, and has actually been quite successful here in Springfield with Messiah Project, as we've teamed almost every year with the Springfield Symphony."

The 110-voice Messiah Project Choir contains members of more than 25 area churches, and Lindsay says "it's one of the strongest choirs that we've ever put together. We just opened it up to the community, and if people sing in a choir, they could come."

This is Maestro Pickett's second time conducting Heritage of Hymns. "One of the things, if you look at the history of classical music or 'art music' throughout the centuries, there's been an awful lot of sacred music related to the church." So in addition to classic and contemporary hymns, Maestro Pickett also suggested they do "The Heavens are Telling" from Haydn's Creation. "So there's a great deal of stylistic diversity in the concert."  And he praised the Springfield Symphony's "sheer versatility" in the amount and range of music they are able to perform. "You know, that's what professional musicians do."

Dino Kartsonakis has been a frequent collaborator with Messiah Project--of course, Dino and Messiah Project Choir Director Sharon Wilkins's husband were in the military together in Germany during the Vietnam era, "so there's a lot of history here," says Lindsay Robison.

Admission to "Heritage of Hymns" is free and open to the public, but donations will be appreciated.  In addition, there are special reserved "preferred" ($10) and "premiere" ($25) seats available at www.messiahproject.org. For more information, call 883-5274.

Randy Stewart joined the full-time KSMU staff in June 1978 after working part-time as a student announcer/producer for two years. His job has evolved from Music Director in the early days to encompassing production of a wide range of arts-related programming and features for KSMU, including the online and Friday morning Arts News. Stewart assists volunteer producers John Darkhorse (Route 66 Blues Express), Lee Worman (The Gold Ring), and Emily Higgins (The Mulberry Tree) with the production of their programs. He's also become the de facto "Voice of KSMU" in recent years due to the many hours per day he’s heard doing local station breaks. Stewart’s record of service on behalf of the Springfield arts community earned him the Springfield Regional Arts Council's Ozzie Award in 2006.