GOTTA SING! Every holiday season offers the chance for thousands of singers—and wannabes—to burst into song. As regular choristers dust off Handel’s Messiah for appreciative audiences—Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio all have excellent performances lined up—hosts of shower singers start looking for alternatives that bring the crowd into the act. Kerrville’s First United Methodist Church, for example, hosts a do-it-yourself Messiah, complete with orchestra and soloists, in which the audience sings the chorus. For those who like the lighter approach, may we recommend John Aielli’s Christmas Sing-Along at the state capitol grounds, a tree-lighting ceremony and songfest led by the Austin baritone and KUT-FM personality. For relief from excess holiday cheer, check out the Sing-A-Long Sound of Music at Galveston’s Grand 1894 Opera House, where you can belt out “Do-Re-Mi” and maybe even catch sight of “Do, a deer, a female deer” or “Re, a drop of golden sun”. If mass-organized activities just won’t do, one can always assemble a group of friends and “go a-wassailing”—singing carols house to house for a wee bit of liquid refreshment. (See Austin: Other Events; Galveston: Theater; and Elsewhere: Other Events.)
