Ready to sing ‘Hallelujah’? Be part of the chorus for Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Go to any other classical music concert, and you’d get a mighty shush if you tried to sing along with the performers.

But at a first-time event for Wichita State University on Nov. 29, audience members are not only encouraged to sing along with Handel’s “Messiah,” they’re downright expected to do so.

“If audience members want to come in and listen, they’re welcome,” said Mark Laycock, director of orchestras at Wichita State. “The spirit of this is that a lot of people have ‘Messiah’ scores at home, and we have scores that they can borrow.”

When audience members enter Wiedemann Hall, they’ll be pointed to seats in the four different vocal ranges. While 10 soloists from Wichita State’s opera and music program will take care of the solos, audience members will be invited to sing along on five or six choruses that Laycock will direct.

“I’ll be conducting the audience as much as I’ll be conducting the orchestra,” said Laycock, who saw success with a similar event while a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

While there are several performances of “Messiah” in a year in Wichita, Laycock believes this is the first time a sing-along version has been attempted here.

“I know what a neat community event it can be and the support it can garner,” said Laycock, who is in his 11th year at Wichita State.

The audience and orchestra will be performing what’s considered to be the “Christmas half” of Handel’s 1741 masterpiece, best known for its “Hallelujah” chorus.

“A lot of people might be from communities where they have had this in the past, so we’re trying to draw on those who have that tradition but also bring in people who are interested and will say, ‘What the heck, we’ll give it a try,’ ” Laycock said.

Those who have sung “Messiah” through the years, Laycock said, agree it’s difficult to learn but impossible to shake.

“It’s not easy, but it’s that ‘riding a bike’ kind of thing,” he said. “Once you’ve sung it and you know that part, it’s not too difficult (to return). It’s fun to dust off the vocal cords and jump back in.”

Laycock said he’s tempted to make the “Messiah” sing-along a regular event but doesn’t want it to overstay its welcome.

“I’ve seen communities where it gets done, but the support kind of dwindles through the years. I want to keep it fresh,” he said.

“It’s a great way to get the orchestra in front of a new audience and get some folks on campus,” Laycock added. “We’ll make an impact, I think.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Ready to sing ‘Hallelujah’? Be part of the chorus for Handel’s ‘Messiah’."