UMS in the Classroom: Handel’s Messiah

By UMS

Interested in using a UMS performance in your university classroom? For each performance on the season, we provide suggested curricular connections, links to contextual material online, citations for scholarly material, and prompts for classroom discussion. For additional resources and individualized curricular support, please contact Shannon Fitzsimons Moen, UMS Campus Engagement Specialist, at skfitz@umich.edu or (734) 764-3903.

UMS is also committed to making our performances an affordable part of the academic experience. Our Classroom Ticket Program provides $15 tickets to students and faculty for performances that are a course requirement. Please email umsclasstickets@umich.edu to set up a group order.

Connect:

This performance may connect meaningfully with courses in the following schools and disciplines:

• Classical Studies
• Comparative Literature
• History
• Romance Languages and Literatures
• Conducting
• Music Education
• Musicology
• Organ
• Strings
• Voice
• Winds & Percussion

Explore:

• To learn more about the UMS Messiah tradition, watch this video history and look at programs from performances since 1879 on UMS Rewind, our online archive.
• Explore Messiah in greater depth in Ben Finane’s book Handel’s Messiah and his English Oratorios: A Closer Look (Continuum, 2009).

Reflect:

• How does Handel dramatize the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ in Messiah? How does it conform to or modify other versions of the story?
• Describe Scott Hanoian’s conducting style. How does he interact with the orchestra, the chorus and the soloists? Do his strategies differ for each of the groups?