Fourth annual Elgin Sing-Along Messiah to benefit Well Child Center

The Elgin Sing-Along Messiah returns for a fourth year with a new date and location. This year’s sing-along of selections of Handel’s “Messiah” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at Second Baptist Church, 1280 Summit St. in Elgin. Tickets are now available at elginsing-alongmessiah.org.

Started by a group of Elgin-area volunteers in 2022 as a way for the community to celebrate the start of the holiday season and to raise awareness and funding for local charities, the Elgin Sing-Along Messiah highlights a different local nonprofit each year to put a spotlight on the needs of the community and give residents a way to help.

Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Well Child Center. For more than 50 years, Well Child Center has been committed to improving the lives of vulnerable women, children and families through education, counseling, and services in the areas of nutrition and oral health.

The nonprofit organization will use the donations to stock its Food for Families emergency pantry with nutritious food and essential items for expectant moms and families with children that are difficult to get through donations or the food bank network, such as baby and toddler food, infant formula, diapers, wipes, and hygiene items.

“The entire spirit of the Elgin Sing-Along Messiah is to raise the profile of a local charity doing good for our community,” said Mally Miceli, committee member and originator of the Elgin Sing-Along Messiah concept. “We are honored this year to support Well Child Center, a nonprofit that has been serving women and children in our community for more than half a century.”

“The holiday season reminds us of the power of compassion, and we are deeply moved by the Elgin Sing-Along Messiah committee’s generosity in selecting our organization,” said Chelsea Fosse, president of Well Child Center’s board of directors. “We have long admired this event for its ability to bring people together through song, and we are honored that the spirit of giving it embodies will now also directly benefit families most in need in our community.”

The festive Elgin Sing-Along Messiah makes the audience a participant as they sing the chorus in selections from Handel’s famed “Messiah” while accompanied by the extraordinary talent of Elgin area musicians and vocalists, including the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, members of the Elgin Master Chorale, and student musicians from Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras.

Soloists include regionally recognized vocalists including soprano Maria Kanyova, mezzo-soprano Marina Brûlé, tenor Eric Wassenaar, and baritone Jonathan Wilson.

No experience is necessary; chorus scores will be available at the door for those who would like to sing along or can be downloaded at elginsing-alongmessiah.org.

Tickets are just $5, plus a $2 handling fee. Children, age 12 or younger, are free. All tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be available at the door. Seating is general admission; vocal range sections, where members of the Elgin Master Chorale will assist in leading the sections in the choruses, will be available.

The Elgin Sing-Along Messiah is sponsored by an anonymous donor and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Since 2022, the Elgin Sing-Along Messiah has raised $17,000 for Elgin charities including Food for Greater Elgin, Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley, and PADS of Elgin.

Follow facebook.com/greaterelginsingalongmessiah/ and instagram.com/elginsingalongmessiah/.