Contributed Photo: Eastern Arizona College’s Fine Arts Division will present the 87th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in the EAC Fine Arts Auditorium. This is a free event.
By Callie Walters/EAC
THATCHER – Eastern Arizona College’s Fine Arts Division presents the 87th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in the EAC Fine Arts Auditorium. Community, alumni, and college singers will combine with the EAC Orchestra to continue the longest continual Messiah performance tradition west of the Mississippi River.
The tradition began on December 18, 1936, when EAC’s Choir director, Ben S. Johnson, presented Handel’s Messiah with a choir of 65 college students and 35 community members. Through the years the College has added strings and other instruments.
Messiah, with its majestic biblical text, magnified by Handel’s score, recounts the drama of the birth, life, and mission of a boy born as King of Kings and Prince of Peace. This story lies at the heart of this continuing Gila Valley winter tradition.
Handel’s Messiah will be presented free of charge.
