About The Hallelujah Project:
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the music industry watched as live performances were cancelled, venues closed, and audiences and performers were quarantined at home. But these changes could not stop the music! Too Hot To Handel: The Gospel Messiah decided to bring together some of the musicians who have performed this piece over the years since it debuted to create a virtual performance of Hallelujah that could be sent out to the world, to remind everyone that even in difficult times, music has the power to uplift the spirit and move the soul. And for that we say, “Hallelujah!!!”
In June 2020, Marin Alsop, Bob Christianson, and Gary Anderson came up with the idea to reach out to choruses who had sung Too Hot To Handel over the years and, with the assistance of their music directors and conductors, have singers record themselves singing The Hallelujah Chorus from The Gospel Messiah. After collecting all the recordings, they worked with a video production team and special guest musicians to put together the stitched-together video of The Hallelujah Project, which premiered on Facebook Live on Saturday, December 12, 2020.
The video featured the Too Hot Rhythm Section joined by “Blue Lou” Marini (tenor sax), The Voices of Santa Fe, and members of Too Hot Chicago Choir at Auditorium Theatre, Colorado Symphony Chorus, Rackham Choir at the Detroit Opera House, Sao Paolo Symphony Choir, The Carter Legacy Singers, and the Morgan State University Choir, with guest conductor Marin Alsop. The live premiere of the video received more than 18,000 views in the first 24 hours, and now has more than 40,000 views between YouTube and Facebook.