The Bluffton University music department will present the 114th rendition of Handel's Messiah at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, in Founders Hall. This event is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken.

Dr. Mark J. Suderman, Bluffton professor of music and director of choral activities, will conduct the performance. Suderman has been at Bluffton University since 2000. In addition to conducting the Bluffton Choral Society, he directs Camerata Singers, Bluffton's premier choral ensemble, and Bel Canto, an all-female chorus. He teaches conducting, music education and applied voice.

Suderman also conducts a select community choir, Concentus, and is director of music at First Mennonite Church in Bluffton. He has conducted numerous large-scale choral/orchestral works. This is his 16th occasion conducting Handel's Messiah-his ninth at Bluffton University.

The chamber orchestra is composed of 20 area instrumentalists, including a number of faculty and students. The soloists are Dr. Crystal Sellers, soprano; Julia Szabo, alto; David Sawatzky, tenor; and Calvin Griffin, bass.

"The opportunity to perform Handel's Messiah at Bluffton goes well beyond its long tradition," said Suderman. "Each performance, unique in its own right, offers the possibility of a more in-depth look at the beauty and meaning of this incredible combination of music and scriptural text."