The fifth annual "MESSIAH. from scratch" will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday December 15, 2000, at College Heights Baptist Church, 2320 Anderson.

Handel’s best-known oratorio will be conducted by Dr. Reginald Pittman, with William Wingfield (piano), Luke Woelhoff (cello) and trumpet Dr Craig Parker. Community singers familiar with the work are invited to sing; rehearsal starts at 2 p.m., scores will be provided.

Handel wrote his MESSIAH in 1741 in the amazingly short period of just three weeks for a series of concerts to be given in Dublin, some of which would benefit various charities. Through the years, the charitable foundation of the "Messiah" has not been lost; the profits from many of the festivals at which the piece has been performed have been donated to charity. Manhattan’s "Messiah. from scratch" helps keep this tradition alive: singers and audience members are requested to make a donation at the door or to bring cans or dry goods for the Flinthills Breadbasket.

The event is co-sponsored by Side by Side Theatre & Music and the Manhattan Arts Center and has been generously underwritten by Doris and Gene Grosh and Manhattan Ink.