This extraordinary musical event for local people will unfold over the course of one weekend, from Friday evening through to the performance on Sunday night. The Black Isle Messiah will bring together singers and instrumentalists from all over the Black Isle and beyond to work towards a performance of Handel's Messiah at the Black Isle Leisure Centre, Fortrose. 
The weekend will follow in the footsteps of many successful "Scratch" performances where a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra is rehearsed and performed by a group of musicians brought together for the occasion. Guiding the amateur musicians through the weekend will be a professional conductor, solo singers and key instrumentalists, leading the local performers and choristers through a series of rehearsals and into the final public performance.
A much more unusual additional element however will be a series of masterclasses during the weekend. All participants can therefore rehearse and perform alongside professional musicians and international solo singers, but some may also take the opportunity to participate in individual masterclasses for singers and instrumentalists.
The event as a whole will provide a unique occasion for meeting fellow local classical musicians in a friendly and informal social and musical environment. A single participation fee will be charged (with a small supplement for masterclass participation) and will include coffees,teas and lunches between the rehearsals.
This year is the 250th anniversary of Handel's death and it seems fitting to celebrate with this iconic work. Messiah is probably the most performed and best known large scale choral work and contains many familiar pieces of musically; most notably the universally-recognised Hallelujah Chorus. The work will be performed in a "cut" version, taking in well known solo, choral and instrumental movements and allowing the two halves of the performance to be about 50 minutes long each.
The target participant group is local choral and instrumental groups, school groups and individual singers and players from around the Black Isle and the Highland area. We aim to make this a friendly, informal event with a Feis-type atmosphere.
The intended legacy of the Black Isle Messiah will be the establishing of a regular winter classical music 'from scratch' festival based in Fortrose and around Black Isle venues, with a voluntary group created to support it and other Fortrose/Black Isle-based events. Fortrose is growing as a community and the school and the community at large would greatly benefit from a regular classical music event on its doorstep.