Utah Symphony & Chorus: Messiah Sing-In

Singing a solo can be pretty nerve-racking. A duo makes things better, but you’re still pretty exposed. Getting a few people together and adding an accompanying instrument or two ought to make you feel even better. As the number of voices and instruments goes up, the self-consciousness goes down. Get to the point where you’re part of a 3,000-person chorus backed by a professional symphony, and you have absolutely no reason to not be belting out the tunes. The 35th-annual Messiah Sing-in offers shy crooners the chance to sing along with some of Handel’s most beautiful choruses, including the “Hallelujah Chorus,” with thousands of other attendees, all while being accompanied by the Utah Symphony and the Utah Symphony Chorus (pictured). If nothing else, it’s your chance to hear how your voice carries in the acoustics of Abravanel Hall. Scores of the music are available for sale at the concert. In between choruses, there are four professional soloists on hand—including local husband-and-wife singers Amy and Shea Owens—to handle all of the really heavy lifting while you rest your voice. The sing-ins run on the Saturday and Sunday evenings of Thanksgiving weekend, and are a great way to kick off the Christmas season, since much of the oratorio is about the coming birth of Jesus Christ. Of course, celebrating Christmas isn’t a requirement for enjoying this evening of music. Whatever your faith, you just need to be somebody who likes to sing in large numbers. (Geoff Griffin)