‘Messiah’ concert invites everyone to sing

There isn’t much call for harpsichord music these days.

In fact, Spencer Baker knows of only four of the piano-like, stringed-keyboard instruments in the entire Las Vegas Valley. One of them is at Green Valley Presbyterian Church in Henderson, where for three years he has served as director of music ministries.

As he did last year, Baker will perform on and conduct from the harpsichord during the church’s ninth annual “Do-It-Yourself Messiah” concert, slated for Dec. 3.

It is the only performance of the classic work scheduled in Southern Nevada this holiday season.

Admission to the concert, presented as part of the church’s long-running annual concert series, is free. Donations will be accepted and, along with funds raised through a gift-basket raffle that evening, will benefit the Henderson Presbyterian Church Food Bank.

Last year’s concert raised about $5,000 for the organization, which assists more than 18,000 valley residents and homeless individuals each year.

“Do-It-Yourself Messiah” will feature the 40-plus member Green Valley Presbyterian Church Valley Chorus, which is comprised of singers from local community and church choirs as well as the general public. Earlier this year, Baker selected four professional singers to perform as soloists.

Also taking the stage will be the church’s Valley Chamber Orchestra, the bulk of whose dozen members are regular players with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Green Valley Presbyterian Church’s harpsichord is a godsend, so to speak, since several parts of the centuries-old “Messiah” score were specifically composed by George Frideric Handel to be performed on the instrument.

“Stylistically, it’s really how it should be done,” explained Baker, a longtime professional musician and piano teacher who is also an adjunct professor and doctoral student at UNLV. He has previously served as musical director for several local theater company productions, and has performed with the UNLV Symphony Orchestra and Las Vegas Civic Symphony, as well as internationally.

The concert’s “Do-It-Yourself” title refers to the invitation extended to audience members to sing along with the Valley Chorus.

The oratorio is among the most famous pieces of music in history, and the DIY component is common during “Messiah” performances in cities around the globe. (A limited number of copies of the score will be available for purchase at the Green Valley Presbyterian Church concert, the proceeds from which will also benefit the food bank.)

About 40 audience members participated in last year’s sing-along, Baker said. “We sat everybody who wanted to sing in the front (of the sanctuary) and they came down and they joined in on all the choruses, and they were wonderful.”

In previous years, he said, “Do-It-Yourself Messiah” audiences have included members of other local community choruses whose busy holiday-season performance schedules preclude them from officially rehearsing for and participating in the Green Valley Presbyterian Church concert.

“They came the night of the performance and sat in the seats and sang,” he said.

Last year was the first that Baker featured musicians from the Las Vegas Philharmonic in the concert, which he said “most definitely upped the quality” of the performance and helped broaden its audience beyond church congregation members.

“I think it’s more of a community event than just a church event,” he explained. “I’ve been trying to build community partners and outreach through the concert series. I wanted to expand on that with ‘Messiah’ so people know we’re doing things here, but that it’s not just for our congregation. We’re doing it for the local arts community.”

Baker called on several of his fellow musician contacts from throughout the valley to lend a hand with the holiday concert, including Shakeh Ghoukasian, dean of the Nevada School of the Arts and principal second violinist for the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Among her duties as “Do-It-Yourself Messiah’s” concert mistress is coordinating eight string musicians (including herself) who will perform as part of the church’s Valley Chamber Orchestra.

To do the piece justice, she said, it is key to utilize professional musicians “playing at a level that is respectable and musically engaging … it raises your production value.”

“Messiah” is a piece of the holiday season “repertoire … that’s an important part of the celebration musically, historically,” said Ghoukasian, a co-founder of the Green Valley Chamber Music Festival.

In years past, she has performed “Messiah” with other local orchestras. “Musically it’s satisfying, engaging. It’s just a great piece of work to perform, so I don’t want to miss the opportunity of performing it.”

Neither does Mark A. Thomsen, a professional singer who has performed internationally with several of the world’s most famous opera companies including the New York Metropolitan Opera.

The tenor, who called Henderson home from 1998 through 2013, is a co-founder of the Opera Las Vegas performing arts group. He lent his vocal talents when Green Valley Presbyterian Church first staged “Messiah” nine years ago, and since then has missed participating in only a couple of the concerts.

This year, he will take time out from his work as a vocal professor and artist in residence at Florida Southern College to perform as one of the featured “Do-It-Yourself Messiah” soloists.

“I enjoy working with everybody involved with that ‘Messiah’ ” production, Thomsen explained of his commitment to the production during a recent call from Florida. With the sing-along element, he said, “the whole sanctuary becomes a performance. It’s the stage for everything, and I think that’s exciting and electric.”

Ghoukasain agrees: “When you participate and you feel the power of the lyrics or the power of the music,” the audience becomes “part of the bigger picture. … I think there’s something very special about it.”