The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration Choir is set to depart next week on a European tour that will include multiple venues in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The centerpiece of the trip will be the choir's performance at the International Handel Choral Festival in Halle, Germany.

"We are so excited about the opportunity to sing a work like Handel's Messiah with singers from all over the world," said choir director Stephanie King. "The tour has been planned for over a year, and the choir has been working diligently to learn all of the music. This has been quite the project for a group of our size, but I'm so proud of how they have risen to the challenge."

Much of the choir's time will be spent in the former East Germany, which, just 20 years ago, was behind the Iron Curtain. The first overnight stop will be in Berlin, and the group will then travel to Halle via Leipzig. The Handel Festival will involve more than 400 singers from several countries. The Transfiguration Choir is the only American choir participating in the event.

"When we finally are standing in Handel's birthplace, singing his incredible masterpiece with a full orchestra and 400 singers, I'm sure we will feel like it has been worth all of the work," King said. "It is one of those 'once-in-a-lifetime' experiences."

The two-hour-long Messiah performance will be in the Georg Friederich Handel Concert Hall. The Staatskapelle Halle, a symphony orchestra based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, will accompany the performance. The choir's preparation will also include three Messiah rehearsals in Halle prior to the final performance.

In addition to the Festival, the choir will provide at least four other performances in Halle, Prague, and Salzburg. Performances at these venues will include selections from among 15 contemporary, traditional, and African-American spiritual pieces. The choir will also perform King's original composition, "Rejoice and Sing Alleluia!"

In all, 32 Sisters area residents will be making the trip, 20 of whom are singers with the choir. "In addition to our Handel concert, two other performances that we are particularly excited about are our concerts in the Salzburg Cathedral and the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Prague, where our choir will sing all by ourselves," King said.

"We are amazed and thrilled that after all this rehearsal time and preparation, our European choir tour is almost here," she said. The choir also plans to take part in several tours of historic and scenic interest, including a dinner cruise on the River Vltava in Prague, Czech Republic, and a visit to Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg, Austria.

Other highlights of the trip will include the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Charles Bridge and castle district in Prague, and the "Sound of Music" Tour in the Austrian Lake District. The tour will conclude in Munich, Germany, on March 5.