Cathedral Choir Scholars to join symphony’s ‘Messiah’

Friday, Oct. 24, 2025

SALT LAKE CITY — Three singers from the Cathedral Choir Scholars will step onto the stage at Abravanel Hall during the Thanksgiving weekend to help lead a cherished holiday musical tradition for many.

The choir is composed of alumni from The Madeleine Choir School and others, all of whom are in high school or college.

Isabella Sausedo, a sophomore at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, along with fellow Cathedral Choir Scholars Elliot Jeppsen and Joshua Peterson, will be part of the official choir for the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera annual “Messiah Sing-In” on Nov. 29 and 30. The three will lend their voices to the 80-member chorus that will join thousands of audience members in singing George Frideric Handel’s famous oratorio.

The Madeleine Choir School and its related choirs have collaborated with the symphony in the past, but this is the first time for singers from the Cathedral Choir Scholars. The connection was made possible because Austin McWilliams, the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera chorus master, also sings with the cathedral choir and serves as a choral teacher at The Madeleine Choir School two days a week.

“We asked him if there was a way to collaborate in one of the performances that the Utah Symphony Chorus is participating in,” said Melanie Malinka, director of music at The Madeleine Choir School, who regularly conducts the Cathedral Choir. “So we settled on the ‘Messiah.’”

The symphony’s performance of  “Messiah” seemed like a good fit for the collaboration, McWilliams said. “It’s definitely a piece that if you’re going to be a choral singer, you should definitely know for the rest of your life.”

Singing at these performances is “a fantastic opportunity” for the three students, he said. “There are only 17 orchestras in the entire country that would be considered ‘Tier 1’ orchestras, and the fact that these students are going to get to perform with an orchestra of this caliber while they’re at high school [and college] age is pretty remarkable.”

To prepare for the performance, the three young singers are rehearsing at the choir school before joining the Symphony Chorus for full rehearsals with McWilliams.

For Sausedo, who has been involved with the choir school since fourth grade, taking on the challenge was driven by a sense of purpose.

“High school is hard, and I have found myself very busy most of the time, but when we got invited to sing with the symphony ‘Messiah’ I thought of it as a way of giving back, especially during the holidays,” she said. “I just told to myself I should do it.”

Handel wrote “Messiah” in just 24 days in 1741. The work, based on sacred text, has been performed for close to 300 years, and since Victorian times has been inextricably linked to the holiday season. 

“Our world is really chaotic right now, and arts such as music can bring joy and peace, so I saw this opportunity and took it, even though I know it requires a big effort and time; I think is really worth it,” Sausedo said. “I know I can contribute bringing joy, peace and hope through this performance.”

The Cathedral Choir Scholars, formerly called the high school choir, was renamed and opened to college-age singers two years ago. They sing at the cathedral’s liturgies once or twice a month, sometimes as their own ensemble and sometimes joining other choirs. The group is growing, with plans for its first-ever local tour this year and a high school choral festival in late January that will feature choirs from local Catholic high schools along with schools from Arizona and Florida.

Malinka hopes these events will inspire high schoolers and college students to join the choir. “We would love to have more singers,” she said.

For information about the Cathedral Choir Scholars, contact Choir Director Chris Caruso-Lynch at ccarusolynch@utmcs.org.

 

WHEN: Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 29-30, 7:30 p.m. each night

WHAT: Utah Symphony/Utah Opera

WHERE: Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, SLC

COST: $12-$44

Visit https://utahsymphony.org/event/id/36511/ for tickets.