Sydney Sings Messiah, Sunday 21 November 2010

Please bring this sheet with you.

The big day is now fast approaching, so I am writing to give you some more detail about the day itself. As you will know, from the Information for Singers http://www.sydneysingsmessiah.com/faq/ on the website, you will need to arrive at the Town Hall by no later than 9.00am. I have to let you know that there will be trackwork on the railway lines (including the Inner West and City Circle lines) on that day, so please check that you will be able to get to the Town Hall on time.

You should enter through the Druitt Street door on the ground level from 8.15am. Druitt St is on the right hand side of the Town Hall as you face the front steps, and the entrance door is not far along. If you are held up and arrive after 9.00am, you may have to buzz the intercom to be let in by security staff.

Once inside, please go to the foyer on your right where a person will tick off your name (lists of names will be arranged alphabetically by family name) and issue you with a purple wristband. These are a one-use adjustable stick-together wristband which shows that you are part of the event (for security). Once registered, please go upstairs: the stairs and lift are beyond the area where you will have registered. If you have had to bring a bulky item, you will be able to stow it in a small backstage area (but not in the Green Room - which is for the orchestra only) before 9.00am. Please do not go into the cramped backstage area unless you really need to, and do not leave any valuables there.

Singers should sit in the main body of the hall until called onto the stage or into the upper galleries in voice part groups (eg, guest altos, Grads basses etc). Groups will be being called from 9.00am. We are trying to minimise the number who will be placed behind the Music Director, but, as indicated in the Information for Singers, some singers will be in this position. Please be patient and keep noise to a minimum while the choir of 600 is organised. The choir configuration will be completed in time for the first rehearsal to commence at 9.30am.

We need to keep noise to a minimum throughout the morning. When the orchestra and soloists are rehearsing without the choir, please either go out onto the garden area off the hall or stay quietly within the Hall or corridors. Please be careful to leave any area you use free of rubbish.

The toilets are located off the corridors on either side of the main hall.

Souvenir concert programs ($5) will be available for sale during the breaks in the morning.

We would like the performance to be as professional as possible. Your score should have the choruses clearly marked before you arrive on the day. During the performance, and particularly while the soloists are singing or while the orchestra is playing solo, please do not flick through the pages of your score. And I'm sure it goes without saying, no phones, no photos, and no waving to friends in the audience!

If you have a query which is not covered here or in the Information for Singers http://www.sydneysingsmessiah.com/faq/, please email Catherine Crittenden info@sydneysingsmessiah.com.

Thank you very much for spreading the word about the concert at 3pm. Ticket sales are going well and you may have noticed some coverage in the media too. I hope that you too are looking forward to the day and that we will all have an exhilarating experience singing Handel's much loved work!