Menu
COVID-19 UPDATE
Before purchasing, all patrons are required to read through the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra Health and Safety and Assumption of Risk Directives.
Health & Safety
COVID-19: The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is committed to creating a safe and comfortable environment for its musicians, patrons, staff, and volunteers. To ensure your experience with The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is as safe as possible, we continue to consult with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and local public health authorities for health and safety guidelines.
Any guests who are feeling ill or experiencing symptoms related to a cold or infectious disease are asked to stay home.
Masking is required for GLCO musicians, chorus, and staff. Masks are strongly recommended for audience members. A sell-out crowd is expected at the Messiah concerts.
Assumption of Risk
You acknowledge the contagious nature of COVID-19 and on behalf of yourself and any accompanying minor, voluntarily assume all risks and danger incidental to attending an event offered by GLCO, whether occurring before, during, or after the event, and you waive any claims for personal injury, death, illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense of any kind against the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and its agents, sponsors, officers, directors, shareholders, owners, and employees.
CONCERT DETAILS
German composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) wrote “Messiah”, an English language oratorio, in 1741.
In addition to the familiar “Messiah” music, there will also be some selections from Johann Sebastian Bach.
Bach wrote the score of his Christmas Oratorio in the year 1734. Unlike other Baroque era oratorios, Bach’s is divided into six parts for the Festival of Christmas. The Festival is celebrated successive days, starting on Christmas Day and the two following days, then on New Years’ Day and the Sunday after that, with the 6th section on the Festival of the Epiphany.
The overture consists of the introduction to the opening chorus and will be followed by the alto aria several movements later, an appropriate setting for Handel’s “Messiah”.
To inspire, entertain and educate through live, professional, community-connected orchestral programming.
Copyright © 2023 Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra
Website Design By: Mitchell Graphics
All rights reserved.
Violinist, violist, conductor and professor Dr. Eric Lawson has had a varied career in performance and education. Past performances as a conductor, soloist and lecturer have taken him to Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, Romania and Scandinavia. Before returning to his home state of Michigan, he was based in North Dakota where, in addition to serving as a violin instructor at Bismarck State College, Jamestown College, and the University of Mary, he was also concertmaster of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and established the Bismarck-Mandan Youth Symphony. Other former academic appointments have included Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Central College in Pella, Iowa and the University of North Dakota where he founded the string program and the UND Chamber Orchestra.
Here in Michigan, Dr. Lawson as been very active with the Alpena Symphony Orchestra as its concertmaster, conductor and president of the board. He also performs with many other orchestras in Northern Michigan and participates in the Traverse Symphony as a first violinist, in the Gaylord Symphony as concertmaster and as assistant concertmaster in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra.
And finally, in what has been one of the most important experiences of his life outside of music, he also served almost four years as an Alpena County Commissioner, representing Ossineke and Sanborn Townships. In addition to serving as chair of the Salary and Personnel Committee, he also served on the Airport, Ambulance, District Court, Circuit Court Management and Jail Committees. He also represented Alpena County in Gaylord with the Northern Michigan Regional Entity Substance Use Disorder Board and continues to serve on the Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health Board. Dr. Lawson resides in Ossineke with his wife and two children.
