To Fred Wassell, Christmas would not be the same without being a part of Handel’s “Messiah.”

“It’s almost tradition; it’s been performed every year since it was composed,” he said. “It’s a beautiful piece that brings in the Christmas season.”

For Wassell, the tradition is over 60 years old because he has been performing the classic masterpiece every year since he was a student at Illinois State University. He was able to carry on the tradition, established in 1741, Friday night as a tenor in the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

A mixed group of musicians and singers ranging in ages from 12 to 83 gave the encaging performance.

Conductor Richard Rossi directed the Eastern Concert Choir and the Eastern Symphony Chamber Orchestra in the McAfee South Auditorium. He had also invited older members of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Chorus and younger ones from Eastern Symphony Orchestra’s Symphonic Honors Initiative Program. Rossi directs the Springfield group, and 24 volunteers came to enhance the performance.

Especially young and talented middle school and high school musicians from Coles County and the surrounding areas were able to take be a part of the performance through the SHIP program.

For others like Riley Parish, a high school sophomore who plays the cello in the SHIP program, it was her first time playing more than just the “Hallelujah” chorus from the “Messiah.” She felt privileged to be playing with her elders.

“It’s a great experience and I don’t know how else I would be able to have an experience like this,” she said.

Wassell, a retired music teacher of 47 years, is one of the charter members for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Chorus, which he helped found 21 years ago. Wassell said it was a marvelous experience to sing with young people because they have a different sound.

Rossi decided to keep the 50-person choir smaller compared to other performances that sometimes have 100 to 200 singers in order to keep the intimacy of the piece. When first played, Handel only used 40 to 50 singers in his chamber orchestra. Rossi thought the smaller group also created a more unique sound.

“When you put those two together, the adult voices with the youth voices – the coloring is so beautiful.”

The concert included only selections of Part 1 of the “Messiah,” to keep the normally three-hour long ensemble short.

A favorite song among the singers was “For Unto Us a Child is Born.”

For Jean LaPaze, an alto from Normal with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Chorus, it was her favorite too.

She found the most difficult song, “His Yoke is Easy, and His Burthen is Light,” to be a paradox though.

“It is very fast and part interweave quite a bit to create a fugal,” LaPaze said. “A fugal is where (singers) enter in at different times, kind of like a medieval round.”

The concert ended abruptly with the song “His Yoke is Easy, and His Burthen is Light,” but an anchor of the famous “Hallelujah” chorus brought everyone to a standing ovation.

Some of those in attendance were music majors like Harrison Cole, who came to show his support for the music program and the conductor.

“It was a fantastic performance of the “Messiah,”” Cole said. “Mr. Rossi did an amazing job of bringing out the most important parts of the work. The climaxes and the potent harmonies made the performance an arousing success.”

Mr. Rossi plans to keep performing it at Eastern every other year to keep the tradition alive.

LaPaze agrees that it is a tradition and believes that is here to stay because of the quality. She took comfort in knowing that the younger people are singing it and others recognize the famous songs from the ensemble like “For unto us a Child is born” and the “Hallelujah” chorus.

“Listen to the different parts and see how it compares to music today,” she said. “They each are different and have its own place, and so there is always going to be a place for this type of music.”