“Messiah” by George Frideric Handel — one of the most loved works of all time, and now you can sing along! Tryon Fine Arts Center presents the DIY (Do It Yourself) Messiah on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

The DIY Messiah is for singers, would-be singers, choir groupies, Baroque karaoke enthusiasts, and even people who can’t carry a tune in a bucket (we have buckets).

The conductor, soloists, and instrumentalists will do the hard part, especially the conductor — all that arm waving will wear a person out. The audience is invited, nay called upon, to join in and sing the choruses.

Fact: Many people know these choruses, having them, strangely enough, lodged in that part of their brain that remembers things left over from high school glee club, church choir, and that time you couldn’t get a date to the Christmas Dance. If you absolutely don’t want to sing, come anyway and enjoy the music! You can pretend to be texting your friends. No one will judge you.

We’ll wind our way through the Christmas portion of the work, skipping the hard stuff, and singing the fun pieces: And the Glory of the Lord, O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion, For Unto Us, Glory to God, and the Halleluia Chorus.

Messiah is the only musical work to be in continuous performance (every year) since it was written in a 24-day composing flurry in 1741. Handel gave all his proceeds to an orphanage, so there is no charge for this of course. If you’d like to donate to an orphanage, we’re sure Mr. Handel would smile down upon you.

Bring your own score or use one of ours (we have extras!) and join conductor Mark Schweizer, pianist Beth Child, our string quartet, and soloists Caroline Rollins, Tina Broussard, and Boyd Galloway, for a great kickoff to your holiday season. The DIY Messiah!

This free event is made possible with funding from the Polk County Community Foundation Community Matters Grant.  Call 828-859-8322 or visit tryonarts.org for more information.

–Submitted by Mark Schweizer