My Messiah marathon: Ten performances, five cities, two countries, one beloved masterpiece

From the week before Thanksgiving until a few days before Christmas, I spent an exciting time in the US and Canada conducting nothing but Handel's Messiah. I loved every minute of it.

One of the great joys of this whole jaunt was getting to work with a wonderful group of soloists. Of the five sets of performances, Tyler Duncan sang four, Sherezade Panthaki and Thomas Cooley sang three, and Isaiah Bell two. They are all good friends — as are Sara Couden, who sang majestically in Grand Rapids, and Reggie Mobley, who joined us in Philadelphia. In between, I was delighted to meet some fabulous singers: Claire de Sévigné and Georgia Burashko, who sang soprano and alto in Canada, and Key'mon Murrah, who joined the team in New Jersey.

First stop: Candlelit performances in Grand Rapids

The tour began in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a place that was new to me. After my arrival, I went straight into a chorus rehearsal. So much depends on how well a choir has been prepared, and I was thrilled with all the hard work Pearl Shangkuan had put into getting the choir ready. I knew after just a couple of bars of "And the Glory of the Lord" that I was going to have a wonderful time with them. The following day I got to work with the orchestra for the first time, and they were terrific too. 

I didn’t have much time to go exploring, although I was sorely tempted to visit the city's art museum and its fine sculpture garden. Of course, one of the most important things about going to a new place was finding out where to get the best coffee. Grand Rapids triumphed here! Just up the street from the hotel was Madcap Coffee, which is truly fabulous. The cappuccinos were as good as I have drunk anywhere, and there were wickedly delicious baked goods. As regular as clockwork, I was there every morning. After just one day, the barista knew my name and my order. I felt right at home!

I have conducted Messiah about 200 times, so you would imagine it's hard for me to be surprised. But the Grand Rapids Symphony came up with something new for me: they lit the concert hall with more than 4,000 LED candles. The effect was magical. But they didn't stop there: The audience was also given miniature ones they could turn on and off. The effect was like being in a huge cathedral at night.

Heading north of the border to Canada

The next stops on my Messiah marathon were both in Canada's Alberta province: Calgary and Edmonton. I was expecting Arctic temperatures and tons of snow, but we experienced neither. Both are cities I have visited before, and I am a fan of both. There were two more terrific chorus masters, Mark Bartel and my good pal Tim Shantz, who had previously been in Calgary but is now at the University of Edmonton. My surprise in Calgary was the stellar performance of "The Trumpet Shall Sound," performed by Adam Zinatelli using a natural trumpet. His tone was so rich and his performance so assured, and I truly hope that he will play the instrument as often as he can. Both orchestras played wonderfully and their managements were so helpful too. 

In Calgary, my morning caffeine ritual began at Deville Coffee only a block away from the hotel. And in Edmonton, I went to Rosewood Foods, which also had terrific things for lunch. Two places for dinner were excellent: Dalla Tavola Zenari and Bistro Praha. The latter I knew from a previous visit and it is a gem — home to the best schnitzels and dessert pancakes. Eating there is like being magically transported to the Czech Republic without the need for a passport. The organist of the Edmonton Symphony, Jeremy Spurgeon, kindly treated several of us to dinner at Dalla Tavola Zenari, which serves terrific Italian dishes, sometimes with a twist.

Between shows in Calgary and Edmonton, the soloists and I had several free days. On Sunday, Marc Stevens, the CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic, and his charming wife Claire kindly drove some of us up to Banff, a place that was new to me. It is glorious: a bit like Aspen, but without diamonds and facelifts. We poached ourselves in the open-air hot springs and in the afternoon took a gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Halfway up, the snow started to fall and by the time we got to the top, we were enveloped in a blanket of swirling flakes. This was the Canadian winter that I had been expecting! Back on terra firma, we went shopping on the main street, which was beautifully decked out for Christmas. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend a free Sunday.

The following day, the symphony's operations manager Jerrold Eilander drove me and the soloists to Edmonton. On the way, we stopped at the Red Deer Donut Mill, which is fabulous and very much one of a kind. I’ve never seen so many different kinds of doughnuts in my life and, judging by the two I wolfed down, I imagine they must ALL be delicious!

A final leg on the East Coast

The last two stops of the Messiah marathon were on the East Coast: firstly, in Newark, New Jersey, and then in Philadelphia. I know both places and their orchestras well. The choir in Newark came from Montclair University and was directed by Heather Buchanan. As one would expect, they are a student group, but they sang SO well and with impeccable diction. I would love to work with them again. 

Our first concert was in Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University. I had only performed there once before and didn't fully remember what a terrific space it is. During the day, I was taken on a campus tour by Alan Fletcher and Ron Schiller, who live in a splendid house not far away. It was terrific to see them, and I had the best time in their delightful company. I also got something unique to this tour: a delicious home-cooked dinner! The second concert was in Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, a huge place built in the High Gothic style. The Cardinal sat in the front row, and the place was packed behind him. I was amazed at the size of the audience given the atrocious weather. It rained cats and dogs for hours.

When visiting Newark, I always try to go to the Ironbound District, only a short walk away from the hall and our hotel. This was a banner week for me because I got to go TWICE. The district is full of Spanish and Portuguese restaurants and shops and is quite unlike any place I know in the New York area. 

My first trip on this visit was with Patrick Chamberlain, whom I have known since he was at the Baltimore Symphony. He is now at the Aspen Festival and we always have a great time planning programmes — not that this was an "all work, no play" dinner. We went to Fornos of Spain, where the food is marvelous and the martinis so big, Esther Williams could dive into one and still come to the surface with no whisp of hair out of place. A few days later, the soloists and I went to the Adega Grill for Portuguese food. Most of us had their heavenly bacalhau, which we paired with a wonderful white wine from the Douro region. Truly we could have been in Porto!

As it happens, I had been in Philadelphia earlier in the fall having a great time working at the Curtis Institute of Music, so I was no stranger to being in the city’s Rittenhouse Square neighbourhood. Again, I worked with a wonderful chorus very well directed by Joe Miller. I can't repeat often enough what an enormous difference it makes to be working with such splendid people — be they students, as in Newark, or professionals, as in Philadelphia. Of course, the Philadelphia Orchestra is amazing to work with, especially in their home venue, the Kimmel Center. I had been with them almost exactly a year earlier for an instrumental programme, and I never tire of their consummate playing.

Only a block from my hotel was La Colombe which is an excellent French café and a great place to kickstart the day. One of my absolute favourite restaurants in town is the Oyster House on Sansom Street. I really could eat there every day, at least during oyster season!

Reflections on a most enjoyable Messiah season

I must compliment all five orchestras with which I worked on how stylishly they played. Some of the string players were even using baroque bows and, as I mentioned earlier, the trumpeters in Calgary used period instruments. I had some very classy continuo players too. To have Avi Stein as the harpsichordist in Philadelphia was such a delight and privilege. All this made me think about how much modern orchestral playing has changed since I first came to the US in the 1980s. Back then, the playing style for baroque works was basically like cheap gloves: one size fits all. Bach and Tchaikovsky were essentially performed in much the same way and with the same creamy sound. How very different it is now!

All good things must come to an end, and a few days before Christmas it was time to say goodbye to Messiah for another year. After the final performance, the team of soloists and I were able to have one last feast before we went our separate ways. (David had joined me the day before too.) We all went to a gastropub called The Dandelion, which is really terrific and also stays open late. It serves British pub grub but in more elevated versions than one usually finds, even in the UK. I had rabbit pie, a dish I've never seen on a menu in the US and delicious it was. We had a final toast to friendship and music-making and then it was time to pack. 

The Messiah marathon was over, but most enjoyable it had been. The concerts were memorable, new friends had been made, and old friendships deepened. I had travelled to new places and happily revisited familiar ones. Musically, I continued to discover more about Handel's masterpiece, without which this trip would never have happened.

Team for Canadian concerts.