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Southern Delaware Chorale presents "Light of the World" this week

Members of the Southern Delaware Chorale performing
Members of the Southern Delaware Chorale performing

Southern Delaware Chorale presents its holiday program this Saturday.

“Light of the World” includes the traditional holiday favorites and a few singalongs. The concert also features selections from Handel’s Messiah, the piece that prompted the chorale’s formation in the mid-80s. Denise Adkins is the chorale’s president, as well as one of its singers.

“It all started when this woman from Washington, DC moved into the area and she was questioning as to where she could find a performance of the Messiah or a sing along," Adkins said. "She formed the organization back in 1985, so people kind of joined. They performed the Messiah and then after that, they didn't want to disband.”

The chorale also dives into music by American composer Elaine Hagenberg. Her piece, Illuminare, draws on lesser-known sacred texts to frame a five-movement choral work.

“There's just a lot of musicality in it, a lot of expression that we have to kind of nail in order to make it effective," she said. "It’s beautiful. I mean it is just gorgeous. I think people are going to be sitting out there crying.”

The Southern Delaware Chorale performs on Saturday, December 7 at 4:00 pm at Epworth Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach.

Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Martin Matheny comes to Delaware Public Media from WUGA in Athens, GA. Over his 12 years there, he served as a classical music host, program director, and the lead reporter on state and local government. In 2022, he took over as WUGA's local host of Morning Edition, where he discovered the joy of waking up very early in the morning.