Brevard Community Chorus Celebrates 50 Years with ‘Messiah’ Concert on Dec. 14

Fast forward to 2019 and the chorus will celebrate 50 years with a reprise of its first public concer

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – 969 witnessed a lunar landing and rocketed a sleepy Florida county to the forefront of space history. Families settling into Brevard County, Florida sought an enhanced quality of life that included the arts, so then Brevard Junior College Humanities teacher, Eldon Moen, stepped forward to create the Brevard Community Chorus.

Fast forward to 2019 and the chorus will celebrate 50 years with a reprise of its first public concert, Handel’s Messiah– with Moen participating as one of the 100+ singers.

Brevardians can hear the masterpiece by Georg Frideric Handel on Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. under the able baton of Dr. Robert E. Lamb, Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and member of the Department of Performing and Visual Arts for Eastern Florida State College.

Lamb will conduct the Brevard Community Chorus, four professional soloists and select players from the Brevard Symphony Orchestra on the main stage of the King Center for the Performing Arts at 3865 N. Wickham Road in Melbourne, 32935. Soloists for the 90-minute concert include Amy Cofield, soprano; Eliza Dopira, mezzo-soprano; Matthew Coules, tenor; and Robert Harrelson, bass.

Composed in just 24 days during the summer of 1741, Messiah is Handel’s most enduring work and a perennial Christmas favorite.

General admission tickets for the Messiah including all applicable fees are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and active military and $8 for children or college students with valid student identification. Visit the King Center box office or call (321) 242-2219.

Dr. Robert E. Lamb is excited to be reprising Messiah for Brevard and recognizing the staying power of the chorus. The work was performed publicly for the first time by the Brevard Community Chorus in 1969 and is widely regarded as a treasure of western choral music.

“We are celebrating 50 years of music-making here in Brevard and honoring the man who started it all,” said Professor Lamb. “Over the years, the chorus has performed more than 100 concerts for the community. And we are just getting started.”

The Brevard Community Chorus performs onstage at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida. They accept new members twice yearly.

For audition information or a schedule of their season, CLICK HERE.

Similar Stories