Kingston Choral Society will celebrate their 60th anniversary at the end of this month with a period performance of Handel’s Messiah at All Saints Parish Church.

An appropriate choice for the occasion, Messiah was the first piece ever to be performed by the choir when it was assembled from singers at local churches by the Mayor of Surbiton in 1949.

Musical director Graham Ross says: “The piece is very relevant to how Kingston Choral Society, then the Surbiton Oratorio Society, came into being.

“Messiah was performed in March 1950, and the group repeated it the following year at which point a choir was formed.

“It’s certainly a challenge approaching a chorus that is so familiar to people. Obviously, most people have heard of Handel’s Messiah, it’s such a widely performed work. That said, I think it’s important to bring a fresh perspective to the score, and not simply to go back to old ideas.

“There’s so much to the piece, and aspects of it get neglected sometimes. People can forget the level of dramatic intensity required.

“The chorus involvement is really quite high and it plays a vital part in the telling of the story. It’s certainly not a case of the soloists carrying the narrative with the chorus supporting them.

“You have to prepare meticulously when the chorus carries such a large chunk of the work.

“It’s been great to strip it back down to the bare essentials. We’ll be doing a period performance with traditional instruments, including a harpsichord, which was what Handel included in the original performance.”

The diamond anniversary performance will feature soprano Sophie Bevan, who recently sang with the ENO version of Messiah. Alongside her will be Kate Symonds-Joy as alto, Daniel Joy as tenor and George Humphreys as base.

This is not the only concert marking the choir’s anniversary. The season will be peppered with celebratory events, including performances of the Duruflé Requiem and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs this summer.

Handel’s Messiah, All Saints Parish Church, Kingston, March 27, 7.30pm, £14/£12/£5. Call 020 8339 0816 or visit kingston.gov.uk/index.htmfor details.