In 1741, swimming in debt and out of favor as a composer, George Frideric Handel accepted a commission for a benefit concert in Dublin, Ireland. On August 22 the 56-year-old sequestered himself in his London home and began to compose music to biblical texts heralding the life of Jesus Christ. In just 23 days he completed a 260-page oratorio he named Messiah. Without question, this brilliant masterpiece has thrilled and inspired listeners from Handel’s time to our own.

For the Easter concert on Temple Square, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will present Messiah to coincide with Good Friday. This is the first time in ten years that the full Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square have presented the Easter concert and perhaps the first time ever that Choir has publicly performed Messiah in its entirety. The concerts will be held on April 18--19, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. in the Tabernacle with Mack Wilberg, music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, conducting the event.

The concert will feature soprano soloist Melissa Heath, who will make her third appearance on Temple Square, making her one of the few artists to have performed separately with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square and the Temple Square Chorale; alto soloist Tamara Mumford a mezzo-soprano with numerous Metropolitan appearances and several Deutsche Grammophon recordings to her credit including a duet with Bryn Terfel on the Choir’s Homeward Bound album released last year; Brian Stucki, tenor soloist, who has sung with multiple symphonies and opera companies nationally and internationally including the Choir and Utah Symphony at the Deer Valley® Music Festival; Kyle Ketelsen, a bass-baritone with multiple seasons at the Met, Lyric Opera Company of Chicago and Zurich Opera who is making his first appearance with the Choir.

Registration for tickets for the event begins March 11, 2014 at lds.org/events or call 801-570-0080.