CELEBRATING EIGHTY YEARS (1944 – 2024)

The Sarasota Choral Society will present the Christmas portion of George Frederic Händel’s “Messiah” and celebrate its 80th birthday, Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 pm at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota.

Renowned for delighting Manatee and Sarasota audiences since the waning days of World War II, the SCS is Sarasota’s oldest all volunteer community choral group. Its membership consists of more than 130 singers from as far away as Tampa!

This year’s four acclaimed soloists from around the nation will join the chorus, whose performance ends with the always thrilling rendition of The Hallelujah Chorus.

The choral organization has thrived under Artistic Director Rev. Geneviève Beauchamp, Director of Music Ministry at Church of the Palm, who has led the group for the past 15 years.

Beauchamp attributes the group’s longevity and artistic excellence to a perennial ésprit de corps and eagerness to renew its audience’s yearning for a renewal of spirit in periods that are often trying and disheartening.

“This year is one of those times,” Rev. Beauchamp said recently. “The years following the Covid pandemic and now hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton have been hard, even devastating, on far too many members of our community.”

The Québec native has been teaming up with Dr. Jonathan Spivey, organ accompanist, and members of the Sarasota Orchestra for the past 15 years, even performing at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall in 2015.

This year marks the society’s first evening performance. Tickets are available for $25 online at Eventbrite, Sarasotachoralsociety.org or any Choral Society member.