Handel — Messiah

August 24 — December 12, 2026

Whether you’re discovering Messiah for the first time or returning to a familiar masterpiece, this workshop will change how you hear it forever.

This is not a note-learning workshop. This advanced Ottawa Choral Workshops project is designed for singers who read music confidently and are able to prepare music independently between rehearsals. That allows our rehearsal time to focus on interpretation, style, musical understanding, and expressive performance rather than simply learning notes.

Explore Handel’s Messiah through an educational rehearsal process that culminates in public performances with professional orchestra and soloists while gaining a deeper understanding of how great music works.

The Experience

Ottawa Choral Workshops’ Fall 2026 project explores Handel’s Messiah not simply as a seasonal tradition, but as one of the great masterpieces of the choral repertoire. Long admired for its emotional power, dramatic breadth, and musical invention, Messiah traces a journey from expectation and light through struggle and reflection to renewal and triumph.

Rather than simply, preparing a performance, participants explore the musical language that gives the work its expressive power—discovering how harmony, rhythm, texture, structure, and style shape meaning and interpretation. As the workshop progresses, singers develop greater musical independence, learning to understand the principles behind interpretive decisions rather than simply remembering them.

Who This Workshop Is For

This advanced workshop is designed for singers who:

have prior choral experience and read music confidently;
prepare music independently between rehearsals;
are comfortable learning challenging repertoire and keeping pace with a fast-moving rehearsal process;
enjoy exploring musical interpretation as much as learning notes;
value artistic excellence and continued musical growth;
wish to deepen their understanding of Handel’s Messiah;
enjoy collaborating with professional instrumentalists and soloists; and
plan to participate in NICW 2027, where selections from Messiah will be performed in Nicaragua.

What Makes This Workshop Different

Ottawa Choral Workshops exists to help singers become more independent, thoughtful, and expressive musicians through educational choral experiences.

In this advanced workshop, rehearsals are laboratories for musical understanding rather than simply opportunities to learn notes. Participants are expected to prepare independently so that rehearsal time can focus on interpretation, ensemble, musical structure, style, and expressive performance.

Musical style and historical context are explored where they illuminate the score and deepen understanding, helping singers make more informed and expressive musical decisions.

Rather than memorizing countless individual instructions, participants learn to recognize recurring musical patterns and principles that make interpretive decisions logical and intuitive. The skills developed throughout the workshop strengthen not only participants’ understanding of Messiah, but also their contribution to every choir in which they sing.

Workshop Format

Weekly rehearsals and supplementary sectionals lead toward two thoughtfully prepared public performances of selected choruses from Messiah with professional orchestra and soloists.

Workshop Details

Rehearsals
Mondays, 7:00—9:00 PM
August 24 — December 7
(No rehearsals: September 7, October 12)

Midweek Supplementary Rehearsals / Sectionals
Wednesdays, 1:30—3:00 PM
September 16 — December 2

Dress Rehearsal
Wednesday, December 9
7:00—10:00 PM

Educational Concert (Highlights)
Thursday, December 10
10:00 AM

Performances
Friday, December 11 — 7:30PM
Saturday, December 12 — 7:30 PM

Location
Southminster United Church
15 Aylmer Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 3X1

Choral Movements
Choruses from Handel’s Messiah*

And the glory of the Lord
And He shall purify
O thou that tellest good tidings
Glory to God
His yoke is easy
Behold the Lamb of God
Surely He hath borne our griefs
And with His stripes
All we like sheep
He trusted in God
Let us break their bonds asunder
Hallelujah
Since by man came death
Worthy is the Lamb
Amen

* Final list of choruses programmed is subject to revision.

Choral Movements

And the glory of the Lord
And He shall purify
O thou that tellest good tidings
Glory to God
His yoke is easy
Behold the Lamb of God
Surely He hath borne our griefs
And with His stripes
All we like sheep
He trusted in God
Let us break their bonds asunder
Hallelujah
Since by man came death
Worthy is the Lamb
Amen

Final list of choruses programmed is subject to revision.

Fees

Early Bird Tuition (through September 1)
$425 + HST

Standard Tuition
$525 + HST

Student Tuition
A limited number of reduced-fee places are available for full-time students who meet the musical expectations of the workshop.

Accessible Tuition
Ottawa Choral Workshops is committed to ensuring that financial circumstances do not prevent qualified participants from participating. A limited number of accessible tuition places are available for singers who meet the workshop’s musical expectations but would otherwise be unable to participate.

Expectations

This workshop is designed for singers who are able to prepare music independently and keep pace with an advanced rehearsal process. Participants are expected to arrive prepared, maintain their own progress between rehearsals, and remain current with all musical and interpretive work covered throughout the project.

Regular attendance is expected. Participants who miss a rehearsal are responsible for catching up independently, as rehearsal time is devoted to musical development rather than reviewing previously covered material.

PREPARATION & support

A detailed weekly practice schedule, learning tracks, rehearsal notes, recommended recordings, and other resources will support independent preparation throughout the workshop.

Independent preparation is fundamental to the OCW educational model. By learning notes outside rehearsal, participants free rehearsal time to explore the musical ideas that transform a performance—interpretation, style, ensemble, and expressive communication.

The result is more than a performance of Messiah; it is musicianship that participants carry into every future rehearsal, performance, and ensemble.

Join the Workshop

Singers interested in participating are encouraged to inquire or join our mailing list to receive registration updates.