David Vaules, who is in charge of organizing the event, said "Messiah" has been performed every other year since the concerts began in 1989. He said it is a popular piece that is traditionally presented during the Christmas and Easter seasons.

During the years "Messiah" is not presented, another Christmas piece is performed, said Vaules. However, he said "Messiah" is the most popular.

Vaules said the concert sold out its 300 tickets during its first year, but it has been harder to get people to fill the seats more recently because there are more and more events to compete with.

Last year, the concert attracted about 220 people, and it was not a Messiah year, said Vaules.

``We would like to have 300 people once again this year, but we can only hope,’’ said Vaules.

Vaules said the Christmas concert is the only event Voices of Cooperstown put on all year, and people should come watch it because it’s a delightful way to start the Christmas season.

The concert will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Augur’s Book Store on Main Street in Cooperstown. Tickets can also be purchased from choir members. The cost is $18 per ticket.

Proceeds will go into a fund to help support next year’s concert, according to Vaules. He also said a donation will be given to the church for providing the chorus with a space to rehearse and hold the concert.

This year’s performance will be conducted by Maestro Dan Foster. According to a press release sent by Voices of Cooperstown, Foster trained at Westminster College as a conductor, singer, pianist and organist. As a tenor, Foster sang for three years in the Spoleto Festival International, and for the past three seasons, had returned to the festival as the organist and pianist with the Antioch Chamber Ensemble. Foster has performed and recorded extensively with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Foster is the founding artistic director of Aoede Consort, the capital region’s premiere early music assemble. Foster currently maintains an active solo career as a conductor, tenor, pianist and harpsichordist.

There will be several soloists performing, and Vaules’ daughter Susan Vaules Lin, is one of them. According to the press release, she is ``pleased to return to Christ Church, the church of her youth and the church where she was married.’’

The Washington-based soprano started her music career in Cooperstown and by taking voice lessons with a voice coach from Hartwick College’s music department, said Vaules. According to the press release, Lin has been a soloist at the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral and numerous other concert stages, with credits that include Handel’s "Messiah," Faure’s "Requiem," Haydn’s "Lord Nelson Mass," and Brahms’ "Ein Deutsches Requiem." Her recent solo performances with the Bach Sinfonia and the vocal group Charity have drawn praise from the Washington Post, said the press release.

Other soloist will include mezzo-soprano Mary Abba-Gleason, who teaches chorus, voice, music theory and select vocal ensembles at Clayton A. Bouton High School in Voorheesville, N.Y.; John E. Schriener, who began his singing career with church choirs as a boy in Kalamazoo, Mich.; and baritone Alexander Jones, who is an accomplished guitarist, composer of several smaller pieces and a suite, and an avid performer of Eastern European folk music.

This season’s rehearsal director, Tracey W. Allen, is an elementary vocal music teacher at Richfield Springs Central School. According to the press release, Allen holds degrees in music education and vocal performance from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, and has been a member of the Glimmerglass Opera Chorus since 1986. She has performed as a soloist with the Sherburne Community Chorus and the Voices of Cooperstown, and is a member of St. John’s Church in Richfield Springs.

Voices of Cooperstown is a community chorus made up of about 50 volunteers from the Cooperstown area who like to sing, Vaules said.

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