The Handel Choir of Baltimore will carry on the work of its namesake this weekend.
In the 1750s, Handel famously arranged annual benefits to support a London hospital for orphans and other disadvantaged children.
The Handel Choir, led by Melinda O'Neal, will follow that example with a concert to raise funds for the Board of Child Care, a Baltimore County-based, nonprofit child welfare agency and outreach ministry of the United Methodist Church that serves the needy in Maryland, West Virginia and D.C.
Sunday's program will include Beethoven's colorful Choral Fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra -- a precursor, of sorts, to the finale of his Ninth Symphony.
The keyboard soloist will be Michael Sheppard, the dynamic musician whose playing in the excellent, Baltimore-based Monument Piano Trio I've often admired.
The concert also offers an a cappella portion for the choir, with works by the likes of Palestrina and Stanford, along with folk songs and more.
Also on the bill: Ralph M. Johnson's ...
"This House of Peace," for strings, chorus, soprano and oboe soloists. In this 2008 work, commissioned by Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Ore., the composer used texts written by patients and caregivers at the hospital, including a woman who found refuge there after giving birth to her child under a bridge.
The Handel Choir's concert to benefit the Board of Child Care will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday (April 3) at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium. Tickets are $40, available through the Board's Web site or by calling 410-922-2100 ext. 5610.
PHOTO OF MICHAEL SHEPPARD BY CHRISTIAN COLBERG