Let’s pick up where we left off last week.

School-music programs feed talent into community organizations’ choral and instrumental programs.

Just as school-music programs are worth attending, so are community-music programs.

As with school-music programs, that includes when family members or friends are taking part.

It includes other occasions as well.

You didn’t have to read today’s column to know why: In this community–as in many communities–is amazing musical talent.

To enjoy it, you need only attend events, not just in your own locality but in others as well.

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And as with school-music programs: Such events–not only at Christmastime, yet particularly at Christmastime–are way too numerous to include every single one of them in today’s column.

So here’s one: The community singing of Haendel’s Messiah on the Friday evening after Christmas in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown.

St. Luke’s has a beautiful sanctuary in a beautiful church that, like similar venues in this community, can–with good leaders–continue to exist for many centuries to come.

The choir’s voices fill the sanctuary with parts of Haendel’s Messiah.

The membership of the choir extends well beyond the membership rolls of St. Luke’s. Regardless of religious affiliation, community members are welcome to be in the choir for this event.

It’s no surprise that this event attracts many of the more talented musicians in the community.

The program–which takes place annually–is both inspiring and stunning.

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St. Luke’s reports that “the Messiah has become a favorite and familiar Christmas tradition for many. First performed in 1742, the work recounts the story of the life of Jesus as told in the Bible. Often called ‘timeless and inspirational,’ the piece has become one of the world’s most treasured selections.

“The program will include all of Part 1, often called the ‘Christmas portion’ of the piece, as well as the Hallelujah Chorus and the concluding Amen.”

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If you’ve never been to this event, you need to commit to attending once. Just once. Just ask anyone who has ever been.

Once you’ve attended, don’t be surprised if you want to attend again another year.

A production of the entire Haendel’s Messiah is also worth experiencing sometime, even though it’s long and can seem longer if you’re sitting in a straight-back pew.

The St. Luke’s production is not–repeat, not–the entire Haendel’s Messiah. It’s a nice length, you’ll enjoy it, and you won’t be there all that long.

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St. Luke’s is right to return this program to its traditional Friday evening.

A few years ago, the church tried switching to a late-Sunday-afternoon time slot.

Now, if late Sunday afternoon is an organization’s long-standing, successful time slot, and if, for example, a team that plays home games in Orchard Park inadvertently steps into such a slot, that alone is no reason to give up the slot.

If, however, the organization already has another successful time slot, then the organization would do well not to switch the time to one conflicting with a Buffalo Bills’ game.

To put it another way, don’t violate a special commandment – it must be in Exodus somewhere – for Western New York: Thou shalt not buck the Buffalo Bills.

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One Bride and Groom, having scheduled their wedding for the Saturday after Christmas, were eager to bring their guests, especially their many out-of-town guests, to St. Luke’s on Friday evening after the wedding rehearsal.

That, however, was a year when the event was changed to Sunday afternoon, by which time most out-of-town guests had departed.

They’re invited to return another time.

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Never mind misspellings and mispronunciations by some English speakers. The composer’s name is Georg Friedrich Haendel.

If your software and hardware permit substituting–for the a-e in Haendel–the letter a with an Umlaut (two dots over the a), then so much the better.

The last name is pronounced HEN-dle, not HAN-dle. So it’s “Hendle’s” Messiah, not “Handle’s” Messiah.

Hilary and Randy Elf were the Bride and the Groom.

COPYRIGHT 2023 BY RANDY ELF