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Show i ' 15 s. f , M-.- f 1 : : SOME 85 members of the Montpelier Oratorio Society have been rehearsing since September for the Christmas seasori presentation of selections from Handel's "Mes siah." The program is a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Peterson who had planned a musical for Monpelier until their deaths. MM 1 CLASSIFIEDS Scene '76 THURSDAY, DEC. -F- EATURES PAUL HARVEY WEEK'S TV GUIDE 9, 1976 MEMORIAL TO A COUPLE I ; Handel's 'Messiah'... O O 1 ! One of the most famous of all oratorios is 'x1 "The Messiah" by George Fredrick J s 1 f id A1 PresemiH 'Messiah' Mrs. Raymond Peterson was a very active member of the Montpelier community and had a love for music. She had talked and planned of presenting a musical in Montpelier, and she and her husband tried to get production rights to "Saturday's Warrior" so that it could be presented as a community project. When that failed, she thought about presenting the "Messiah" by George Handel. Then she died of cancer. 8i I't f ill Following her death, her family, including her "! The family had requested that in lieu of flowers, friends and relatives make contributions in the name of the Petersons so that their plans could be carried out. ? Mi! RUTH KAY ANDERSON, SOLOIST f ' f ! CIA IS V j . I ; ; 5 t 4 1 hus- band, continued planning. Then Mr. Peterson died of a heart attack while attending a city council meeting. i !i three-cornere- SCOTT KUNZ. DIRECTOR J1 SI !' - r1 UNDER THE direction of the Montpelier LDS stake leadership, and community leaders, along with members of the Peterson family, it was decided that selections from Handel's "Messiah" would be presented as a community project in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson. With the community support and the assistance of the church, individuals from all over Bear Lake valley were invited to participate in the production, with costs being defrayed by money that had been donated in the name of the Petersons. The group has formed the Oratorio society with Mrs. Virginia Sneddon as president and Mrs. Ray Jacobsen as secretary-treasureVarious committees have been named to handle the programs, decorations and costuming. The program will be presented in the Montpelier stake Tabernacle on Dec. 10 starting at 7 p.m. It will be followed by the "Know Your r. i;1 Religion" lecture by Max Caldwell of the Logan Institute at 8:20 p.m. Both pro- grams will be open to the public without charge. THE GROUP will also present the musical program in Soda Springs on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Soda Springs High School auditorium. It is being sponsored as a community program by the Soda Springs LDS stake. "Much hard work has gone into this production, with practices having started in September. The enthusiasm shown by each choir member has paved the way for the musical numbers to be presented almost without flaw, according to Oratorio society leaders.Directing the program will be Scott Kunz, local bank official, who grew up in Montpelier, attended Utah State where he majored in music and education. He taught music for a year in the public schools before joining the staff of a Mont - pelier bank. One of the guest soloists will be Ruth Kay Andersen, a native of Montpelier who has had extensive training in vocal work in Montpelier and outside the area. Other soloists include Mike Williamson, Jon Debra Pugmire, Valerie Kunz, Jessie Phelps, Mig-no- n Lin-for- Kunz. Jensen, Handel. The following descriptive information was written about the composer and tfiecbmpositlonr "U thp rjjr' f1";' in London of the 1740s you could see him walking down Brook Street in the vicinity of Grosvenor Square." An elderly gentleman, neatly dressed in d his lace, goat, ruffles and full at would he steam, hat, proceed talking to himself as if the problems of the nation were on his shoulders, and then pause abruptly to contemplate his surroundings. This was none other than George Fredrick Handel, composer and operatic impresario. He was the greatest composer England ever had, though he was an adopted one from Germany. If you had followed this gentleman along Brook Street to his home on Aug. 22, 1741, you might have seen him sit at his desk in the front room and start to put notes on paper with remarkable speed. For the next 23 days he wouldn't leave the house; his manservant would bring his meals to the room. Then on Sept. 14 after a little over three weeks of feverish work on the manuscript, he would shut the completed "Messiah" in his drawer where it would remain practically untouched for the next seven weeks. History indicates that Handel was deeply moved during the 23 days. At one point, after having written down the Hallelujah Chorus, he called to his manservant and with tear filled eyes exclained, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." He later remarked to a friend following a performance of the "Messiah," "I should be sorry if I only entertained them ; I wish to make them better." and Debra ACCOMPANIST will be Mrs. Phil Hulme. In addition to choir members, and soloists, several ensembles will be performing as part of the program. Mr. Peterson was serving as a member of the Montpelier city council at the time of his death and had been very active in the community and the LDS church. Mrs. Peterson, who had served as a ward Relief Society president, was the president.of the Montpelier Stake Relief Society at the time of her death. , ' IPIHRf : UT Da ..... ' " .. , 'I W X i 1 f.wv VIRGINIA SNEDDON PRESIDENT OF THE ORATORIO SOCIETY "THE MESSIAH" will be presented In the Montpelier "take tabernacle. Members of the choir have come from all over the Bear Lake valley. The program will also be presented In Soda Springs this week as a community project of the LDS church. |