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North Valley Chamber Chorale will resurrect the traditional holiday classic Handel's "Messiah" in Lax- son Auditorium at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at Califor- nia State University, Chico. Handel's "Messiah" is a 250-year-old holiday mas- terpiece that has not been performed in the Chico area for more than 40 years and is making its return just in time for the Christmas season. This classical perfor- mance features more than 40 singers from the North Valley Chamber Chorale and the community, ages 18 to 75, with 16 musi- cians and four soloists, all of whom come from the North State area. The North Valley Cham- ber Chorale was formed in the fall of 2010 by Dr. Da- vid Scholz, with an initial membership that included 28 singers for its inaugural concert. The chorale has since grown to a member- ship of more than 40 sing- ers, almost all of whom are community members from the greater Chico area. Handel's "Messiah" is a classical oratorio usually sung at Easter or Christ- mas. It was written by Brit- ish composer George Frid- eric Handel in 1742 and was instantly considered a masterpiece by many. The most well-known ex- cerpt of the performance is the Hallelujah Chorus. The piece is instantly iden- tifiable, even by those who do not connect with the Christian faith. Taking center stage throughout the perfor- mance will be four soloists from across the country in- cluding Dara Kirchofner Scholz, Hannah Ludwig, Timothy Westerhaus and Robert Knight. Dara Kirchofner Scholz, the soprano soloist, is a past member of VocalEss- ence Ensemble Singers, and a member of the Ber- wick Festival and Chamber Chorus of the Oregon Bach Festival. She is currently the organist and accom- panist at Bidwell Presby- terian, and an adjunct in- structor for the CSU, Chico Music and Theatre Depart- ment. Mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig has been described as having "the stage pres- ence and technical matu- rity of a major star" by the Huffington Post. She is a winner of the Puerto Rico District for the Metropoli- tan National Council Audi- tions, and a Resident Art- ist with the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Timothy Westerhaus, Tenor, is director of choirs and vocal studies at Gon- zaga University in Spo- kane, Washington, where he conducts over 150 stu- dents in four choral ensem- bles. He is also a member of the Oregon Bach Festi- val Berwick Chorus. Baritone Robert Knight began performing when he was 8 years old and be- came the first member of the Singing "Yers", a boy's chorus founded in Bloom- ington-Normal, Illinois. In 2013, he was named the Dean of the College of Hu- manities and Fine Arts at California State University, Chico. Directing the perfor- mance will be Scholz, who has performed Handel's "Messiah" as a singer nine times, and this perfor- mance will be his sixth time conducting the piece. "The performance of such a monumental piece of music like "Messiah" is an exciting prospect for everyone involved," said Scholz. "We are so pleased to be a part of Chico Per- formances, allowing us to bring this work to life for the Chico community af- ter a hiatus of many, many years." There will be 16 orches- tral musicians accompany- ing the chorale in bringing Handel's work to life. To purchase tickets, which range from $10 for students to $28 for pre- mium, or find out more in- formation, visit www.chi- coperformances.com or call 898-6333. CHICOSTATE MarchFourth Marching Band will perform at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Shasta County Veterans Hall, 1605 Yuba St. in Redding. Aside from their march- ing band themed costumes and multi member drum and brass corps, March- Fourth is far from a march- ing band in any traditional sense, though the group of about 20 has been known to parade down Main Street before taking the stage. The show will take you on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the gypsy camps of east- ern Europe and through the deepest grooves of American funk, rock and jazz then boiling it all to- gether in cinematic fash- ion with high-stepping stilt-acrobatics and daz- zling dancers. The band has headlined too many major festivals to name, multiple times, as well as playing prestigious venues from The Kennedy Center to a cultural ex- change tour of China. For more information, call the venue at 245-6848. CONCERT MarchFourthtoplaySundayinRedding The Tehama Concert Se- ries is proud to present the North State Symphony's annual Holiday Concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 at the State Theatre in Red Bluff. Mezzo-soprano Molly Mahoney joins the baroque ensemble of the North State Symphony, led by new con- ductor Scott Seaton. The program features Mahoney singing selections by Mo- zart and Saint-Saens along with seasonal favorites both classical and modern. Sym- phonic pieces include Corel- li's "Christmas Concerto" and Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Greensleeves." The annual audience and orchestra carol sing will send you home in the Christmas mood. Beginning at 6 p.m. and then again at intermission, Dignity Health will host a pre-concert party for at- tendees. Free cookies, hot chocolate, cider and a cof- fee bar will be in the lobby. A photo booth and profes- sional photographer will be at the entrance of the the- ater for attendees to have their pictures taken. Come early to enjoy the festivities and then take in a fantastic concert of Christmas cheer. This concert is free to subscribers of the Tehama Concert Series who have purchased a season ticket. Non-members may pur- chase tickets at the door. Single-concert ticket prices are $30 per person and $10 for students younger than 25 still living at home. Se- ries memberships, which in- clude admission to this per- formance, will be available for purchase in the theater's lobby. For more information, call 727-8727 or visit www. tehamaconcertseries.org. Find the Concert Series on Facebook at www.face- book.com/TehamaCon- certSeries/. TEHAMA CONCERT SERIES Symphony to perform Holiday Concert Songwriters Jessi Alex- ander, Paul Overstreet and Allen Shamblin will take the stage at 7 p.m. Satur- day, Jan. 9 for an unbeliev- able evening of country mu- sic and stories as a benefit for the historic State The- atre, sponsored by the Mill Creek Ranch. Songwriters for some of country's most prolific art- ists inspire the audience with song, and the stories behind the songs they've written for the likes of Kenny Chesney, Blake Shel- ton, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Ur- ban, Tricia Yearwood, Lit- tle Big Town, Toby Keith and Collin Raye. Their tales range from poignant and emotional to amusing and witty. Tickets are $40 and available at statetheatrered- bluff.com or call the theater at 529-2787. Shamblin has had more than 100 songs recorded by artists in several genres of music. In 1989, it was Randy Travis' No. 1 version of He Walked On Water, which brought Allen to the forefront of the songwriting community seemingly over- night. This began a string of award winning songs throughout the 1990s and on into the new millennium such as Walk On Faith for Mike Reid, In This Life for Collin Raye, Thinkin' Prob- lem for David Ball, Life's A Dance for John Michael Montgomery, We Were In Love for Toby Keith, Don't Laugh At Me for Mark Wills, Live, Laugh, Love for Clay Walker, Where The Blacktop Ends for Keith Ur- ban and Dove Award win- ner It's In Gods Hands Now for Anointed. Alexander is the writer of some of the chart topping hits on country radio. Alex- ander has penned four No. 1 songs including I Drive Your Truck recorded by Lee Brice which won Song of the Year from the 2013 CMA Awards, 2014 ACM Awards and 2013 NSAI Awards. Additional No. 1 songs in- clude Blake Shelton's Mine Would Be You and Drink On It. Alexander's career skyrocketed with her song The Climb. Miley Cyrus re- corded the song and it soon became the anthem for her box office hit The Han- nah Montana Movie and won the 2009 MTV Movie Awards Best Song From A Movie. Alexander's album, Down Home, is available on iTunes. As a songwriter, Over- street has written and co- written 27 top 10 songs, his first being George Jones' Same Ole Me. Nu- merous other artists have recorded his songs includ- ing Randy Travis, singing On the Other Hand, Dig- gin Up Bones and Forever and Ever, Amen. Tanya Tucker topped the charts with One Love at a Time and My Arms Stay Open All Night and then teamed up with Paul Davis and Overstreet with the hit I Won't Take Less Than Your Love. The late Keith Whitley, and after him Alison Kraus, recorded When You Say Nothing at All, The Judds sang Love Can Build A Bridge and Kenny Chesney belted out She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy, and the song that really put Blake Shelton on the map, Some Beach. Other hits have been re- corded by Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Brad Pais- ley, Carrie Underwood, as well as Glen Campbell, Pam Tillis, Mel Tillis, Tra- vis Tritt, The Forester Sis- ters, Marie Osmond, Mi- chael Martin Murphey and countless others. When You Say Nothing at All was re- leased in the major mo- tion picture, Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. FUNDRAISER AllenShamblin,le ,JessiAlexanderandPaulOverstreetwillplayat7p.m.Jan.9attheStateTheatre. Singer, songwriter showcase for the State Theatre Mahoney Seaton PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICO PERFORMANCES North Valley Chamber Chorale is performing Handel's "Messiah" 2p.m. Sunday at Laxson Auditorium. Handel's 'Messiah' to be performed Sunday PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. You're there for Mom. We're here for you. 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