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A Chorus of Hallelujahs
As the holiday spirit arrived on the Columbia
University Medical Center campus
last December, the student-run Musicians’
Guild of the P&S Club presented its first Messiah
Sing on the evening of Dec. 12, 2011. Throughout
the United States (and, indeed, worldwide), “Messiah
Sing” events are a holiday staple and typically involve
the performance of Part I of George Frideric Handel’s
well-known oratorio, “Messiah” (1741), with its
ever-popular “Hallelujah” chorus sung as the finale.
Unlike standard classical music concerts, Messiah
Sing events encourage audiences to participate and
sing as the chorus, creating an opportunity for individuals
of all musical backgrounds to experience one
of the greatest masterpieces of the classical canon.
The idea to organize a Messiah Sing at CUMC was
first suggested by Jackie Havens’14, who proposed the
ambitious idea in September 2011 to Musicians’ Guild
co-directors Joshua Marr’14 and Andrew Duren’14
and to conductor Hanjay Wang’15. As the team developed
the framework of the 90-minute special event,
14 student musicians (representing Columbia medical,
dental, and graduate schools) assembled into the Messiah
orchestra. Although Handel’s original instrumentation
likely involved only oboes, trumpets, harpsichord,
and a complete contingent of strings, our orchestra had
a string section plus other instruments (flute, clarinet,
48 ColumbiaMedicine Spring 2012
and even soprano saxophone) that added an exotic and
fresh color to the timeless music.
On the night of the performance, Bard Hall’s student
lounge was filled with an atmosphere of festive excitement,
as Broadway vocalists Michael Ayers’14 and Jennifer
Russo’15 adapted beautifully to the ornamented,
Baroque style of Handel’s tenor and alto solos, respectively.
Joshua Marr, an experienced veteran of “The
Messiah,” contributed his gloriously sonorous voice as
the bass soloist, and his wife, Meredith, performed the
notably difficult soprano solos with flawless precision.
The orchestra, too, delivered an evening of elegant
music under the baton of conductor Hanjay Wang.
Perhaps most impressive, however, was the audience
that composed the chorus. In a survey of the attendees,
one would not only find students from each of the
schools on the CUMC campus, but also faculty and
administrators, pre-medical applicants visiting Columbia
for the first time, and other community members
living in the area. When the individuals of this diverse
chorus stood and lifted their voices, the effect in Bard
Hall was truly magnificent, from the first word of “And
the Glory of the Lord” to the final chord of the famous
“Hallelujah.” The evening was filled with a warm and
generous holiday spirit and conveyed the ongoing commitment
to the arts by the students, faculty, alumni,
and many friends in the CUMC family.
By Hanjay Wang’15
Bard Hall’s student
lounge hosted the first
Messiah Sing at P&S
PHotograPHS By DaviD Xu’15