Calvin Oratorio’s ‘Messiah’ to Air on PBS

One of the country's longest-running performances of Handel's “Messiah” will be seen across the United States for the first time ever this month thanks to an evolving relationship between Calvin College and WGVU Television.

The Calvin Oratorio Society presented “Messiah” at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, under the baton of Calvin College professor of music Joel Navarro and featuring soloists Sang-Yun Kwen, Gwenneth Bean, David Troiano and Jonathan Ten Brink.

WGVU will air a condensed version of the  performance on Dec. 23 at 9 pm, followed by repeat airings on Dec. 24 at 2 am and Dec. 25 at 9 am and 9:30 pm.  WGVU also will make the show available to PBS affiliates and several stations already have signed on, including WTVS in Detroit, WKAR in Lansing, WCMU in Mt. Pleasant and WNMU in Marquette.

Deb Kirk of WGVU was the producer for the upcoming broadcast and said her station was pleased to partner with Calvin on the 88th version of the Oratorio Society's Messiah.

“We've been working with Calvin for years on the Calvin-Hope basketball games on WGVU," she said, "but this is the first year on the ‘Messiah’,” Kirk said.  “We hope that we can continue to broaden the audience for the ‘Messiah’ for years to come.”

Calvin's Vicki Van Wingerden, the administrative director for the Oratorio Society, agreed.

"We have a rich tradition at Calvin with the ‘Messiah’," she said.  "We have people who participate who remember their parents and grandparents taking part.  To now extend the reach of the performance, and to add a new technological twist to an 88-year tradition, is really exciting."

Contact Van Wingerden at 616-526-6360 or [email protected]. See also www.calvin.edu/music/ensemble/oratorio.