Every December, a remarkable collaboration unfolds on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, where homeless men and women join forces with professional musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Master Chorale to perform Messiah at the Midnight Mission. Under the direction of concert violinist Vijay Gupta, this unique event bridges centuries and continents, drawing connections between modern Los Angeles and Handel’s 18th-century London. This deeply musical Christmas Sunday Feature captures the spirit of the performance while delving into the rich history and enduring significance of Messiah.

Handel’s Messiah stands apart from his other works, deeply intertwined with philanthropy and community. In Georgian London, the profits from its early performances helped free people from debtor’s prison and supported the Foundling Hospital for children. Beyond its charitable roots, Messiah has a legacy of public participation and communal singing, transcending the boundaries of formal classical performance. It belongs not just to the concert hall but to everyday people—a timeless message of shared humanity and hope.

Through rehearsals and performances at the Midnight Mission, the voices of Skid Row participants bring fresh perspective to Handel’s work. They share what Messiah means to them, illuminating how Handel and his librettist Charles Jennens crafted a piece with profound secular resonance. Beyond its devout text, Messiah becomes a vision of social change, a statement of resilience, and an anthem of hope. For these singers, it is a refusal to accept societal neglect or the permanence of homelessness.

Recorded on the streets of Skid Row, during rehearsals and performances at the Midnight Mission, and in Handel’s London home where Messiah was written, this feature offers a powerful narrative. Vijay Gupta, founder of the Street Symphony project, conducts and reflects on the transformative power of this masterpiece.

Produced by Simon Hollis and Eve Claxton
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 3

The performance will be broadcast at the following link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00262bg