ROME — The annual Messiah Sing will return after a three-year absence at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 at Zion Episcopal Church, 140 W. Liberty St. G. Roberts Kolb of Hamilton College will conduct.

Organizers of this year’s event said it is a stress-free opportunity for the public to perform the Christmas portion of Handel’s iconic Messiah.

There are no rehearsals and the music is available at the church the day of the performance with no charge.

Participants are encouraged to raise their voices in holiday joy with three talented soloists from the SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music, soprano/contralto Rebecca Matte of Rome; tenor David Salce of Rome and baritone Ethan Wagner of Waterloo.

Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus will conclude the afternoon performance. Sar Shalom-Strong of Hamilton College will be the accompanist.

The Messiah Sing is an outgrowth of an annual holiday performance by a community chorus that was held at the Griffiss Air Force Base Chapel in the 1970s and 1980s.

When that program ceased, Zion Episcopal Church Organist Carol Stack organized the Messiah Sing in the late 1980s. To anchor the event, Stack, an accomplished soprano herself, enlisted her longtime acquaintance and noted musician G. Roberts Kolb as conductor.

It was open to the community from the start, and within a few years participants crowded the church every year, coming from throughout Oneida County and beyond.

Kolb not only conducts, but he occasionally critiques and encourages the amateur choristers with unscheduled breaks in the performance.

Stack said she wanted the Messiah Sing to give amateurs an opportunity to sing along with soloists drawn from the ranks of area professionals and the top vocalists from area colleges.

This year’s soloist selections are graduates or under-graduates from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, including two Rome Free Academy alumni, Rebecca Matte and David Salce.

Parish leaders of Zion continued the Messiah Sing after Stack’s passing in 2016, but the pandemic brought it to a halt until this year, which will mark the 34th performance.

In keeping with tradition, the singing will be followed by a public reception in Clarke Hall next to the church sanctuary. Food and beverages will be served.