December 6, 2009 — The University of Virginia's McIntire Department of Music will hold its 42nd Annual Messiah Sing-in tonight at 7 in Old Cabell Hall. The Sing-In is conducted by Donald Loach and benefits the University's choral ensembles.

Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults and are available at the U.Va. Arts Box Office.

Loach started the Messiah Sing-In tradition in 1968 as one of the first in the nation. Since then, community members, students and faculty joined the core group of singers, which consisted of the University Singers and the Virginia Glee Club – and today also includes the U.Va. Chamber Singers and Virginia Women's Chorus, plus accompanying musicians.

Loach has sought to retain the joy and simplicity of the occasion without professional pretense, orchestral rehearsals or professional soloists. The U.Va. Messiah Sing-In remains a simple and joyous event, relying on the University and Charlottesville community to come together to sing and perform one of the greatest oratorios ever written.

Participants sit in sections arranged according to vocal part (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), and the orchestra sits on stage. Non-singers are encouraged to listen from the loge and balcony. Copies of the vocal score will be available for those who do not have their own, and orchestral parts will be available for instrumentalists.