The Bermuda Chamber Choir is launching the traditionally busy pre-Christmas concert season with two evening performances of 'Handel's 'Messiah' and Favourite Christmas Carols'.

The performances will take place on Saturday and Sunday. A children's matinee, with its own programme, will also be held on Sunday afternoon.

All three events will take place in the Queen's Exhibit Hall at Dockyard.

The concerts are being presented by the Bermuda School of Music (BSM) under the patronage of Bermuda's Honorary German Consul, Jens Alers, who is also a trustee of the National Museum of Bermuda. BSM faculty member Ryan Ellis is the director of the Bermuda Chamber Choir.

Thanks to a mutually supportive relationship between executive director of the National Museum of Bermuda Ed Harris, the Bermuda School of Music, and Mr. Alers, this will be the second concert staged in the former powder magazine.

The first half of the evening programme will be devoted to excerpts from Handel's 'Messiah', including the Advent and Christmas portions, the Hallelujah Chorus, and 'Worthy is the Lamb', while popular Christmas carols, some with audience participation, will fill the second half.

"We wanted to give everybody a chance to sing, and to hear themselves, loud and soft, in a hall which is really a treat," Mr. Ellis said.

The 46-voice choir will be accompanied by the 15-piece Bermuda Chamber Orchestra. Featured soloists are Mary-Claire Havas (soprano), Peter Nash (bass) visiting tenor Patrick Waters, and special guest Lauré Morabito (harpsichordist).

Mr. Waters last performed with the choir and the Bermuda Chamber Orchestra during their June concert, 'Thomas Tallis to the Beatles', at the same venue.

Ms Morabito received her comprehensive music education at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris, which included harpsichord, basso continuo, chamber music, composition and analysis. She specialises in baroque and ancient music, as well as the classical and pre-romantic periods on piano. She performs both as a soloist and member of chamber music groups, and is also the soloist on many musical recordings.

Ms Morabito is the founder/director of the Department of Ancient and Baroque Music at the Regional Conservatory in Boulogne Billancourt, where she teaches harpsichord and chamber music. She is currently vice-president of the French Harpsichord Association.

"I am convinced that the evening concerts will be elegant events to put everyone in the mood for the season," Mr. Ellis said.

The special, hour-long matinee for children and their families will take place on Sunday at 3pm. It will feature the Bermuda School of Music's Treble Choir and Suzuki String Orchestra a total of 39 young students.

During this performance, the Bermuda Chamber Choir and Bermuda Chamber Orchestra will perform a shortened excerpt from 'The Messiah', which Mr. Ellis sees as "a great way to introduce that music to youngsters".

"The children will get to see the youngsters perform in the same way that the adults perform. It's a neat educational model. Hopefully, the adult musicians will inspire the students to get up and perform with the same spirit," he said.

A special, free ferry is being laid on for attending Saturday's performance. It will depart from the Hamilton terminal at 5.30pm, and return from Dockyard at 9pm. The concert's duration has been tailored to dovetail with those times.

The Queen's Exhibition Hall, now becoming known as Bermuda's own 'Albert Hall' (see separate story), is situated in the Keepyard at Dockyard. There will be a cash bar for the evening performances, and soft drinks for the matinee.

Patrons arriving by car will find plenty of parking in the regular areas of Dockyard. There will be no parking in either the Keepyard or behind the National Museum.

Tickets (evenings: adults $40, students $20; matinee: adults $30, students $10) are available from C-Travel on Queen Street (tel. 292-3033) and the Bermuda School of Music (tel. 296-5100).