The Marietta College Oratorio Chorus will present the 83rd performance of George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, on Fourth Street in Marietta.

The performance is free and open to the public.

Any donations made will be given to charity.

Unlike the four other choirs at Marietta College, the Oratorio Chorus is a "town-and-gown" group comprised of both students and community members.

"The community involvement fits well with the department's mission to support music throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley," said Daniel Monek, director of Oratorio Chorus, associate professor of music and chairman of the Edward E. MacTaggart Department of Music at Marietta College. "We are an important artistic outlet for a large number of local residents."

The use of this type of choral group may be the reason the tradition of performing the "Messiah" every year developed. When Gerald Hamilton, musical director of the college, arrived on campus in the fall of 1926, the singing of the Christmas portion of the work was one of the first major events he organized. That performance drew a crowd of more than 1,400 people.

Monek believes this led to a performance again the following year, and, before anyone realized it, the tradition had taken roots. In part, that had something to do with the unique nature of the event.

"Since day one, it included faculty, staff, students and community members not only in the chorus, but, up until recent decades, also in the orchestra.

As a result, the event has always been a joining of the college and the town," Monek said.