Community invited to sing along during Hilo’s annual ‘Messiah’ event

Big Island residents and anyone who wants to celebrate the season are once again welcome to lift their voices — or just listen — during an annual community sing-along the 15th annual Tom McAlexander Community SingAlong Messiah in Hilo this Saturday.

The free event begins at 4 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Cross, located at 440 W. Lanikaula St., in Hilo.

“Messiah” is an English oratorio, a large musical composition for orchestra, choir and soloists, composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel.

Handel’s “Messiah” is usually sung as a performance or sing-along in churches during Christmastime. During a sing-along, the chorus sits in the audience and serves as section leaders, while soloists are chosen for each performance.

The Hilo SingAlong Messiah was founded by Tom McAlexander, a lifelong singer, conductor and chorus leader, who spent 13 seasons as the event organizer and conductor until COVID-19 forced a pause.

The holiday event was renamed in McAlexander’s honor when Hilo Community Chorus, Big Island Singers and Church of the Holy Cross co-sponsored its return last year, which was the last time he attended and sang along.

McAlexander died in June.

This year’s sing-along — the first without McAlexander — will begin with a short celebration of his life and 25-year devotion to the Hilo choral community.

The choruses will sing the Christmas portions of “Messiah” (Part I), including its world-famous “Hallelujah Chorus” as the grand finale.

Music scores will be available to borrow so the audience can sing along.

Churches hosting “Messiah” events often hire 4 professional soloists — a soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass — to sing all the solo arias and recitatives.

In the spirit of community engagement, the Hilo SingAlong Messiah program is broken into 11 different volunteer solo opportunities.

Community members Christy Lassiter, Len Miyazono, Phil Russell, Dick Hershberger, James Hoover, Laural Bragg, Ken Hirano, Tom Mirenda, Natalia Deligne, Gina Sidlow and Alicia Merlady Bonnet are this year’s soloists.

They either volunteered to participate or were nominated by a friend or family member.

Doug Albertson will conduct the sing-along, with Walter Greenwood accompanying on organ and Rick Mazurowski on piano.

More information about the Tom McAlexander Community SingAlong Messiah and this year’s soloists can be found on the sing-along’s website.