On Dec. 10 I experienced our Symphony’s Christmas Concert- an overwhelmingly mammoth undertaking of Handel’s “Messiah”. Dr. Scott Anderson’s energy and vision seemed more than equal to the energy and vision that God gave Handel during the composition of the Oratorio. The vocal soloists, all past students of ISU’s music program, were all superb, and the pared down orchestra was the perfect balance for the large combined choirs all of which had been prepared by Dr. Anderson.The one nagging question I ask is: “how is all this possible?” We take for granted that Idaho has the best potatoes in the world. We take for granted that Idaho unearths world class gems. But how does a “GEM” like last night’s performance happen in this railroad town of Pocatello? When Jesus performed his miracles some naysayers slyly attributed his “power” to the devil. Is there some secret, evil, Machiavelliian energy at work here? Last night’s soul inspiring aural testament proves otherwise. My high school orchestra conductor, Dr. Thor Johnson, told us that the highest praise he ever received was when the talk (after performing a Beethoven Symphony) was about the divine inspiration of Beethoven. He felt he had done a good job if he “got out of the way” and let the composer speak. This is what must be the truth about what we all heard and felt last night. Only by being guided into a single-minded focus on the genius of Handel’s music (what other source but God indeed) could what we experienced last night been a possibility. Thank you to every single person who felt touched to strive to honor that Divine Spark that still pours forth in the “Messiah.”

Doug Buurma

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