BMC SENIOR TO MAKE CONDUCTING DEBUT AT BI-CO MESSIAH

The Haverford-Bryn Mawr Chorale's performance of Handel's Messiah this Friday, Dec. 2, will have a unique distinction among the Chorale's annual holiday concerts: it will mark the conducting debut of Devon Montgomery '06, who will lead the 152-voice choir and 26-piece orchestra in the famous section of the oratorio titled "For Unto Us a Child Is Born." The concert, conducted primarily by Director of Choral and Vocal Studies Thomas Lloyd, will feature 19 students and recent alumnae/i of Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. Free and open to the public, it will begin at 8 p.m. in Haverford's Marshall Auditorium, Roberts Hall.

The performance will be unusual, says Lloyd, in that it presents a "complete" version of the popular classic. "There is no 'definitive' version of 'complete,'" 'he explains, "because Handel, being a practical musician, wrote multiple versions of different arias and choruses, depending on the particular artists at his disposal. But in our performance, we will be performing one of Handel's choral or solo settings of every part of the text of the libretto Charles Jennens supplied to Handel. We hope this will give you a fresh perspective on this venerable work."

Montgomery, a Bryn Mawr student who is majoring in music at Haverford, has been performing with the Chorale since her first semester at Bryn Mawr. "It's sort of like an extended family for me," she says. "I love the time I spend singing with all those voices every week."

Montgomery has been pursuing conducting as an independent study under Lloyd's supervision this semester. Observing and assisting Lloyd in his preparations for this Friday's performance has given her valuable insight into what conductors do, she says.

"The Messiah has been a great introduction," she says. "It has lots of different tempos, and both orchestral and choral parts, so I could learn what a conductor does to bring all of that together."

Her study also includes a weekly lesson in conducting, covering various musical forms. "I needed to try out a range of pieces with different time signatures and different moods," she says. "Conducting isn't just keeping time: it's projecting the meaning and attitude of the piece."

Soloists for Friday's performance are Carolyn Dahlgren '06, Meg Folcarelli '07, Cassie Gafford HC '09, Katy Gentry HC '05, Bethany Morrow HC '08, Natalee Smith '08, and Geneva Stein '06, sopranos; Sarah Deibler '08, Hillary Leichter HC '07, Devon Montgomery '06, Jackie O'Mara '06, Sarah Powers '09, Susannah Smith '07, and Cara Sogliuzzo '09, altos; Jonathan Selkowitz HC '05 and Siggy Moore HC '09, tenors; Ben Leftwich HC '06 and Samuel Rabinowitz HC '09 basses; and Jim Thompson HC '04, trumpet.

The chorale's 152 voices include Bryn Mawr and Haverford students, Bi-College alumnae/i, faculty and staff, and community members. The orchestra combines 16 top Bi-College orchestra players with 10 players from the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple.

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