Local music nonprofit to perform ‘Lamb of God’ oratorio
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IDAHO FALLS — Witness Music Southeast Idaho, a nonprofit organization comprised of local musicians, is prepping for their annual performances of the “Lamb of God” oratorio.
The group will stage a series of performances of “Lamb of God” in venues from Rexburg to Pocatello. Their opening performance is on Friday, March 31, at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls.
“Lamb of God” is an oratorio written by Rod Gardner that covers the final days of Jesus Christ’s mortal life. The show renders this story through music and narration, with different soloists playing the characters that figure in the story.
“It’s a very powerful production,” the show’s conductor, Donna Howard, told EastIdahoNews.com. “Some equate it to a more modern version of (Handel’s) ‘Messiah.’ People just love this oratorio. There are narrators, there are soloists, and there’s a full orchestra. It’s got everything.”
Howard says “Lamb of God” gets its power from the fact that it renders Christ’s sacrifice in a way that is very relatable to people.
“(Lamb of God’) helps people connect to our Savior and to the understanding of some of the things he went through,” she said. “For instance, the person who portrays Peter sings a song that talks about ‘How could I possibly let (Jesus) down’ and his anguish from denying him three times.”
“Music brings out more emotions than the spoken word,” she added. “Setting this to music brings out those feelings more and helps people really feel it in their heart.”
Helping bring this music to life is a large group of talented local musicians, all part of the southeast Idaho chapter of Witness Music. A nonprofit organization founded in 2002, Witness Music works to bring sacred, inspiring music to stages across the country.
The east Idaho chapter performs “Lamb of God” around Easter each year and performs before packed houses of thousands of people. Howard said audiences love the way “Lamb of God” combines a powerful spiritual story with beautiful music.
“We had a (youth) group come to one of our tech rehearsal nights, and they were not excited to be there,” she said. “They were chatty for about the first twenty minutes and then fell silent. They listened and they watched and at the end of it, they applauded loudly. My husband was in the foyer as they left and he heard one of the young men was still clapping. He said ‘That was so good, I’m going to clap all the way home.’”
You can experience Witness Music Southeast Idaho’s performance of Rod Gardner’s “Lamb of God” oratorio beginning this Friday, March 31 at 7 p.m. at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls. You can visit Witness Music Southeast Idaho on their website or Facebook page for other dates and more information.
Admission is free but donations will be taken. Donations are also accepted through the website. Donations are used to pay for performance venues and the costs of staging the shows.
