Half a century ago to the day, on December 11, 1963, there was a landmark event in Nashville. The newly formed Nashville Symphony Chorus made themselves heard with a performance of--what else, given the time of year?--Handel's Messiah. Sometimes the obvious thing to do is the right thing to do, so the anniversary has been marked in Nashville with the chorus, now swelled from 90 to 150 members, performing that same work.
Matthew Halls conducts the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and the (presumably) proud chorus director is Kelly Corcoran. It's a big year for Corcoran personally, as she was only recently named music director of the chorus after a distinguished start at the orchestra's associate conductor. Both roles will of course entail working hand-in-glove with the orchestra's music director, Giancarlo Guerrero.
It has been a good few years for classical music in Nashville. Hardly the center of the classical music universe, yet the musical standards there are known to be high, they have been cited in national press for being an orchestra to watch. And they've been something of a Grammy magnet.
A recent performance (their first, apparently) of Mendelssohn's Elijah was well-received. ArtsNash, a local arts blog, enthused that the chorus sang alternately "with full-throttle power" and "a pianissimo sound that was almost vaporous in its transparency."
