2:30PM, Saturday, December 16, 2023
Knox United Church
838 Spadina Crescent E
Saskatoon, SK S7K 3H4

Cosette Justo Valdés, conductor
Casey Peden, soprano
Oli Guselle, alto
Spencer McKnight, tenor
Brenden Friesen, bass
SSO Chorus with Duff Warkentin

Come and sing along to all your favourite Messiah choruses!

A more laid-back affair, this performance features the same great soloists as the night before, and a mass choir featuring you! It’s sure to shake the rafters.

Not wanting to sing? That’s okay too! Come watch the fun and enjoy an afternoon of Handel’s Messiah. There are always fun surprises at Sing-Along Messiah!

Want to practice ahead of time, but don’t have a score?  You can download a digital copy for your tablet here.

Looking for the Friday evening performance of Handel’s Messiah? Click Here


Find out what’s happening with your Orchestra! 

This performance is not available on ConcertStream.tv, but the full performance of Handel’s Messiah is starting December 17, 2023.


A digital ticket gives you 24-hour access to the stream for $21

Supporter tickets can be purchased for $39

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The Program

Sing-Along Messiah

Cosette Justo Valdés, conductor
Casey Peden, soprano
Oli Guselle, alto
Spencer McKnight, tenor
Brenden Friesen, bass
SSO Chorus, Duff Warkentin, choral conductor
Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra

Messiah

1. Sinfonia – Overture
2. Tenor Recitative: Comfort ye my people
3. Tenor Air: Ev’ry valley shall be exalted
4. Chorus: And the glory of the Lord
8. Alto Recitative: Behold, a virgin shall conceive
9. Alto Air and Chorus: O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion
10. Bass Recitative: For behold, darkness shall cover the earth
11. Bass Air: The people that walked in darkness
12. Chorus: For unto us a child is born
13. Pifa – Pastoral Symphony
14a. Soprano Recitative: There were shepherds abiding in the field
14b. Soprano Recitative: And lo, the angel of the Lord
15. Soprano Recitative: And the angel said unto them
16. Soprano Recitative: And suddenly there was with the angel
17. Chorus: Glory to God
18. Soprano Air: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
19. Alto Recitative: Then shall the eyes of the blind
20. Alto and Soprano Duet: He shall feed his flock
21. Chorus: His yoke is easy, and his burthen is light

~Intermission~

22. Chorus: Behold the Lamb of God
23. Alto Air: He was despised
24. Chorus: Surely he hath borne our griefs
25. Chorus: And with his stripes we are healed
26. Chorus: All we like sheep have gone astray
27. Tenor Recitative: All they that see him laugh him to scorn
28. Chorus: He trusted in God
40. Bass Air: Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
41. Chorus: Let us break their bonds asunder
42. Tenor Recitative: He that dwelleth in heaven
43. Tenor Air: Thou shalt break them
44. Chorus: Hallelujah
45. Soprano Air: I know that my redeemer liveth
46. Chorus: Since by man came death
47. Bass Recitative: Behold, I tell you a mystery
48. Bass Air: The trumpet shall sound
53. Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain & Amen

George Frideric Handel
Charles Jennens, librettist

The Artists

Cosette Justo Valdés, conductor

With her gorgeous, passionate style and firecracking energy, Cuban-born and raised conductor Cosette Justo Valdés has garnered acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and is a rising star on…

Casey Peden, soprano

Casey Peden holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Alberta.  Her professional development continued through Tafelmusik’s Baroque…

Oli Guselle, alto

Oli Guselle is a settler born in Saskatoon (Treaty 6) now residing in Toronto (Treaty 13). They just graduated this spring with their Bachelors of Music in vocal performance from…

Spencer McKnight, tenor

Tenor Spencer McKnight has been described as “one of the finest tenor voices” in Canada. McKnight began singing at the age of 17. He was encouraged to pursue music by…

Brenden Friesen, bass

Saskatchewan born bass Brenden Friesen has captured audiences with his powerful resonance, exceptional diction, enormous comedic presence, and incredible interpretation of text (Opera Canada). Brenden is a recent graduate of…

Duff Warkentin, conductor

Duff Warkentin has been a choral conductor and clinician for many years. His formal post-secondary education was at Canadian Mennonite Bible College in Winnipeg, the University of Waterloo, and the…

Click here to read about your Orchestra!

This concert  includes:

 Violin 1
Michael Swan
Lillian Jen-Payzant
Maxim Pletnev
Samara Caldwell

Violin 2
Oxana Ossiptchouk
Kevin MacMillan
Drusilla Waltz
Robert Yang

Viola
Jim Legge
Miles Buchwaldt

Cello
Joel MacDonald
John Payzant

Bass
Troy Morris

Keyboard
Kerry Agnew

 Oboe
Erin Brophey
Kevin Junk

Bassoon
Stephanie Unverricht

Trumpet
Aaron Bueckert
Samuel Boyd

Timpani
Darrell Bueckert

SSO Chorus
Duff Warkentin, conductor

Soprano
Catherine Berntson
Kathleen Brannen
Heidi Dick
Susan Ens-Funk
Lynn Ewing
Megan Grier
Lauren MacDonald
Andrea Johnson
Alto
Jaki Esquirol
Morgan Esquirol
Kathryn Janzen
Lynette Janzen
Catherine Klopoushak
Mary Loewen
Shirl Siebert
Elaine Thaller
Tenor
Tim Bangsund
Alfonso Bolarin Guillan
Peter Cowan
Michael Friesen
Peter Hooge
Derrick Lee
Ty McKenzie
David Woloschuk
Bass
Brady Anderson
Patrick Brannen
James Hawn
Jonathan Moore-Wright
Michael Siebert
Phil Siebert
Jeremy Wiebe

Special Thanks

Thanks to Nutana Park Mennonite Church for hosting our chorus rehearsals.

Program Notes

Sing-Along Messiah FAQ

Messiah time is almost here! We love putting together and performing Handel’s Messiah each year. If it were possible we would fit everyone from Saskatoon’s large choral community on stage…

Charles Jennens, librettist

Charles Jennens was an English landowner and arts supporter. A friend of George Frideric Handel’s, he helped author the libretti of several Handel oratorios, including the much-loved Messiah. A libretto…

George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner

George Frideric Handel, composer

George Frideric  Handel, baptised Georg Friedrich Händel; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759, was not just a one-hit-wonder. While this  German-British Baroque composer is most well known for the…

Handel’s Messiah Premiere

The music for Messiah was completed in 24 days of swift composition. Having received Jennens’s text some time after 10 July 1741, Handel began work on it on 22 August….

Interesting Facts about Handel’s Messiah

We’re thrilled to be performing Handel’s hit this year! It’s a 110-year-old tradition in Saskatoon – and we’re so excited to have our Chorus colleagues back on stage with us!…

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