Brian Gibson’s first encounter with G. F. Handel’s oratorio, “The Messiah,” was in 1963, when he sang in the chorus as a boy soprano in a local performance. Since then, he has participated in countless “Messiahs,” as a bass-baritone soloist and as a conductor.
On Sunday, he will conduct the work for the last time in the 43rd annual “Sing Messiah” at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Park Community United Methodist Church in Spring Township, having done this each year since 2007.
“Sing Messiah” is a community event founded by retired Reading School District music teacher Donald Reber, held at three churches in rotation (the others are Grace Lutheran in Shillington and West Lawn United Methodist), with four guest soloists and an orchestra. The chorus is made up of local singers who show up with their scores and perform the work sitting in the front pews. Many of them have been showing up for decades.
Sunday’s soloists will be soprano Katherine Crusi, alto Marygrace Pue, tenor John Coakley and bass Milo Morris. The 19-piece Berks Chamber Orchestra will also perform. The public is invited to attend, and a free-will offering will be taken.
Gibson, whose operatic career took him all over the world until his retirement several years ago, has been the director of music at Epler’s United Church of Christ in Bern Township since 2011. Prior to that, he has served many congregations as a music director, soloist and organist, over a 50-year span.
In a recent interview, Gibson said he began co-conducting “Sing Messiah” with Reber in 2004 and took over as conductor when Reber retired three years later.
“I attempted to retire in 2012, but they dragged me back,” he said, laughing. “There are lots of people who come back year after year, some for 25 years. They know the score. This work is not for the uninitiated.
“There are so many people who love to sing, and love to sing this piece, but they don’t want to join a group and have months of practice. It’s really fun to be part of something like this, where the pressure is off you. … I tell them, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy every second of this wonderful music’-and they do.”
In the past, “Sing Messiah” has been held the Sunday following Thanksgiving, but this year, since the Reading Choral Society scheduled its “Messiah” on that date, Gibson agreed to move his event to today instead.
The performance will be a special one, not only because it’s Gibson’s finale. Audience members may notice some movie camera work going on: parts of the performance will be included in a documentary film, “Messiah by Handel Through Brian Gibson’s Eyes,” which will be released by Lions Dream Productions in 2020.
Lions Dream is an IMDb-listed company founded by Strausstown native Paige Suzanne and her husband, Christopher Bela, who reside in Sinking Spring. The company does commercial video and photography work, primarily for major fashion designers, but it also produces independent films by Suzanne and Bela.
The first of these, “From the End Into the Beginning,” premiered at the Miller Center for the Arts in 2016 and has been shown at Cannes and other film festivals.
Lions Dream has a subsidiary company, IDCI (Imagine, Dream, Create, Inspire), in Beverly Hills, Calif., and more recently, another, L’aperture, in Paris.
The idea for the Gibson documentary came about through the couple’s long friendship with Gibson and his partner, George Arnold. When they found out about Gibson’s intimate knowledge and experience of “The Messiah,” Suzanne said, “It hit our hearts.
“His story is just so amazing,” she said. “He has had pretty much every challenge you can throw at a person, and he just pushed forward and succeeded (at becoming a professional opera singer and musician). ‘Messiah’ is so dear to his heart and it’s so dear to my heart.
“Classical music is losing its edge; people aren’t tuning into it as much. This story needs to be told, to open people’s eyes up and enlighten them, that this is something great that shouldn’t be lost.”
Suzanne and Bela started shooting the film about two years ago, following Gibson around and interviewing him as he shared insights into “The Messiah” and his own journey into the music world. They interviewed Arnold and others who know Gibson and filmed other performances of “Sing Messiah” at the other two churches.
“The reason Brian stands out is the fact that you’re speaking to a person who not only has done the bass solo, but he has done the chorus and also conducts the orchestra and the chorus,” Suzanne said. “He also knows it to play on the piano. So he has a viewpoint on every single part (as a performer); he sees it from every aspect.”
She said Lions Dream has already been approached by distributors and production companies interested in this film once it is released, including a distributor in China.
“This film needs to be put out there,” she said. “The way the world is right now, we could use some hope. We need something that’s inspirational and that will let people know you can rise above any challenge you may have.
“It’s not only about a man who has pursued and gotten through so much, but also the piece and how important it is.”
Contact Susan L. Pena: life@readingeagle.com.
If you go
Event: The 43rd annual “Sing Messiah.”
When: Sunday at 3 p.m.
Where: Lincoln Park Community United Methodist Church, 1 Carlisle Ave., Spring Township.
Tickets: Free-will offering.
Web: www.lpcumc.org
