One of the Ulster Orchestra’s most popular concerts – Handel’s Messiah – takes place this year in the Belfast Waterfront on the 10 and 11 December, but this year it takes on a different twist, as the Ulster Orchestra searches for a couple whose very first date, over 50 years ago, was Handel’s Messiah.
“With the full orchestra and Belfast Philharmonic Choir, Messiah is always a wonderful part of the Ulster Orchestra’s season and one that has been part of our Christmas repertoire since our foundation,” Lydia Gamble, the Orchestra’s Head of Marketing and Development said. “But this year we are looking for a couple whose first date was to a performance of Handel’s great oratorio over half a century ago.”
She explained that at the Orchestra’s performance of Fauré’s Requiem on 12 November one of the performers was talking to a couple who said that their first date had been a performance of Messiah and they had just celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary.
“If they are coming to the concert next month we would love them to get in touch beforehand,” Lydia Gamble said, “If they aren’t we would still like them to get in touch by emailing info@ulsterorchestra.com or calling 028 9026 0473.”