(SHORT HILLS, NJ) -- Christ Church in Short Hills will present a Special Holiday Concert featuring George Frideric Handel's Messiah (Part 1) on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 4:00pm. The performance, conducted by guest conductor and Christ Church parishioner George Mathew, will feature the Christ Church Festival Choir, Orchestra, Organ and vocal soloists.

The Christ Church Festival Choir, under the direction of Christ Church Organist and Choirmaster, Dr. Andrew Moore, will include choristers from the Community Congregational Church in Short Hills, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Millburn, Temple B'Nai Jeshurun and other local churches, educational and musical institutions. The Festival Orchestra will comprise distinguished artists from major New York orchestras including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, American Ballet Theater Orchestra and others.

Messiah is an English language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, with scriptural text by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and from the Coverdale Psalter, the version of the Psalms included in the Book of Common Prayer.  First performed in Dublin in 1741, it received a London premiere the following year.

Today, Messiah has become one the best known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.  The Hallelujah chorus in Part II of the work is one of the most recognizable musical works in the history of music. 

The Rev. Bowie Snodgrass, Rector of Christ Church in Short Hills, will introduce the concert.  The Concert is presented free of charge. Free will donations are welcome. Christ Church in Short Hills is located at 66 Highland Avenue, Short Hills, NJ.

Award-winning Indian-American conductor George Mathew is the founder and Artistic Director of Music for Life International, a New York-based global social enterprise, which creates social impact and public diplomacy through music. He has appeared in the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Europe as conductor, pianist and speaker.  Mr. Mathew and Music for Life International have presented a series of global humanitarian concerts at Carnegie Hall which have brought together hundreds of musicians from over 120 of the world's most distinguished orchestral, chamber and choral ensembles to raise funds and public awareness for major international crises.

Dr. Andrew Moore is the Organist and Choirmaster of Christ Church in Short Hills.  Dr. Moore is Chairman of the Music Department at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.  Dr. Moore earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and holds a Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from The Juilliard School in New York City.

The Christ Church Parish Choir's section leaders and choristers will be the featured vocal soloists in this performance of Messiah. They are Antonia Kitsopoulos-Graziano, Soprano; Lyssandra Stephenson, Contralto; Richard Marchisio, Tenor; John Lamb, Bass.

The historic, renowned organ at Christ Church in Short Hills is a 63 rank Aeolian-Skinner opus 1347 designed by organ builder Joseph Whiteford in 1960 and restored in 2015 with a new antiphonal organ and Trompette en Chamade is the largest of its kind in the state of New Jersey.  

Christ Church in Short Hills, established in 1882, is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Christ Church in Short Hills is located at 66 Highland Avenue, Short Hills, New Jersey.