A Cure for the Christmas Frenzy

The Advent Season is here. The sights and sounds of Christmas are all around us.  This wonderful video from the United States Air Force Band came to my attention this morning and I thought I would share it. It is wonderful.  Uplifting.  Happy.



Like the folks bustling around the Air and Space Museum, the days of Christmas are filled with frenetic,yet joyous activity. There's shopping to do, travel plans to make, parties to attend, and obligations and expectations to fulfill.  It can be so overwhelming. What on earth can restore the right spirit of Christmas?

It is doubtful that listening to "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" has ever brought anyone closer to Christ, but God does work in mysterious ways.

First, take a deep breath. Relax, release and listen to classical music!  If you are looking for Christmas spirit, may I first suggest adding "Handel's Messiah" to your media playlist or CD rotation.  When Christmas starts driving you crazy, listen to it. You will be enveloped in God's wonderful gift of music. He gave it Handel, and Handel has given it to the world.  When the traffic is crazy, grab that CD of classical music or tune into your classical radio station.

The mission of the Classical Musical Music Series is to share God's wondrous gift of music with our friends in the Madison, Alabama area.

Merry Christmas!

Arsenal Brass Quintet Performs at Inaugural Music at Messiah Concert

The very first Music at Messiah Classical Concert Series performance took place on November 10th, 2013, and featured the Arsenal Brass Quintet of the US Army Materiel Command Band.   The concert was underway at 4 pm with approximately 125 persons attending the approximately one hour long performance.

The program for the performance can be viewed here.

The Quintet jumped right into playing Rossini's William Tell's Overture from 1829 which put the late afternoon audience on notice that classical music compositions over time can take on modern identities as today most recognize the overture as the theme song to the TV show, the Lone Ranger.  The Quintet played several familiar titles including the frenetic Leroy Anderson's "Bugler's Holiday", a few jazz themed compositions and Sousa's less familiar, yet lyrical, "Fairest of the Fair."  In the final song of the performance,  "Yesterday" by Paul McCartney,  the Quintet reminded the audience that modern music can also take on classical music identities under the artistry of arrangers and musicians alike.   In honor of our Veterans in attendance, the Quintet concluded by playing Service Songs and treated the audience to an encore of Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

After the performance many enjoyed light refreshments that were provided by members of Messiah Lutheran Church's group, the "OWLS" and served on a patriotic, Veteran's Day themed table scape which featuring soldier memorabilia, flowers and service flags.

Our next Music at Messiah concert will be Sunday, February 16th at 4 P.M.  The concert will feature "The Oboe Music of Michael Head" performed by Gary Parks, oboe and Ingrid von Spakovsky, piano.

Here are some additional photos of the inaugural concert.  We on the committee would like to thank our musicians and all who came out to attend this wonderful afternoon of music and fellowship.

Arsenal Brass Quintet Concert Today

The concert is today at 4:00 PM.    We look forward to seeing you at Messiah Lutheran Church.  Messiah is conveniently located at 7740 Hwy 72 West (north side of Highway).  There is ample handicapped parking in our parking lot, and additional parking available in the Redstone Federal Credit Union lot next door.

Enjoy the concert!

*** Correction to the Program ***

On Page 12, The Madison Youth Orchestra will not be performing at Messiah Lutheran Church on December 3rd as listed in the program.

November 10th Concert Publicized Locally

Publicity in Full Swing for Arsenal Brass Concert

The Music at Messiah Classical Concert Series was featured in the following online editions.  It's great to have the positive publicity in advance of our first concert.

The Madison Record 

and the Huntsville Times / AL.Com

Keep spreading the word and share our site via social media. 

The concert is this Sunday, November 10th at 4:00 p.m. for the Arsenal Brass Quintet of the US Army Materiel Command Band

Just Ten Days To Our First Concert!

The inaugural performance of the Music at Messiah Classical Concert Series is just a scant ten days away.

Act now. Just a few days remain to become one of our inaugural sponsors! 

Sunday, November 3rd will be the final day to submit the Sponsorship Donation Form. Our Patron level begins at just $25 and includes an optional one line memorial.  What a wonderful way to support live music and honor your loved ones at the same time.

If you have difficulties with our online form, please email us at musicatmessiah@mlutheran.org  Printed forms can be also found at the Welcome Center located in the narthex of Messiah Lutheran Church. Please place your form in the offering plate or seek assistance from of one of the ushers. 

We are excited to have our first Music at Messiah advertiser, James A Fossum of Thrivent Financial, on board. We know that more businesses will follow once they see the quality of the program we are producing. There is still time if you have an artwork ready ad and can email it to us by Sunday evening to be included in the program. 

Please invite your friends and neighbors to attend the Arsenal Brass Quintet concert on Nov 10th at 4 pm.  

Finally, we are pleased to welcome Kert Reedstrom to the Music at Messiah board.  His enthusiasm, business sense and love of classical music is a great addition to the team!   

Concert Time Moved Up to 4 PM on SUNDAY, Nov 10th

Breaking News! We have bumped up the start time of our November 10th performance to 4 PM.

This earlier start time should ensure the performance and the reception following the concert is concluded well in time for the dinner hour.

The posters will be going up around Madison next week.

We have set our advertising rates for the season.  Get in early and save!  Advertisers who book an ad for all four concerts will receive a 25% discount! We'll continue the discounts for advertisers who book our remaining issues also.  I've posted a final draft of our ad rates here. 

We have also set our sponsorship levels for those wishing to support the Music at Messiah Classical Concert Series.  

If you would like to advertise or participate in our sponsorship program, please fill out and mail the Advertising and Sponsorship Form here.

Looking for a few GREAT sponsors

Dear Friends,

We've fixed our first concert date and time.    The Arsenal Brass will begin their concert at 5 PM on Sunday, November 10th.   Here's what looks to be the final poster.  You should start seeing them around Madison, Alabama starting the middle of October.

Music at Messiah is actively seeking businesses, individuals and groups who would like to help us bring more classical music performances to our community.

In support of this we are  working up sponsorship rates for our Program and  looking to find a sponsor (or two) to pay for the cost of printing up posters.  That's that open red space on the poster!

If interested, please let us know ASAP so we can provide you with some options!

Welcome to the Music at Messiah Blog Site!

The Music at Messiah Blog site is officially launched.

If you are familiar with Messiah Lutheran Church, you likely already know that music is a cherished aspect of our worship service.  Music at Messiah's goal is to host four to six classically themed concerts throughout the year in our recently expanded and acoustically rich sanctuary.

Most, but not necessarily all, of the concert series will feature “classical music” performed by  professional or semi-professional musicians, including collegiate performers.  We expect to have a mix of organ, choral, vocal soloists, instrumental soloists and  ensembles perform.

Our very first musical performance will honor the service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans and service members. We are thrilled to present "Arsenal Brass,"  a five piece brass quintet from the U.S. Army Materiel Command Band headquartered at Redstone Arsenal. The performance will take place at Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison, Alabama on November 10th.  

We are still deciding on the start time, but expect it to be in the late afternoon, beginning at 4 or 5.

We are actively seeking corporate sponsorship for the "Music at Messiah" Posters and Programs.   Here's a sneak peek at the artwork & poster design for our November 10th Concert. 
Thank you for stopping by.  There's much more information to follow.

~ Meredith Kilby for  'Music at Messiah'