Conductor Phillip McLendon has announced four soloists for the 43rd Messiah Sing Along, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at the First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave., Santa Barbara.

The orchestra of talented musicians has been assembled by Jim Mooy.

The Messiah Sing Along is a benefit for Unity Shoppe.

“With the audience as the choir, this performance of ‘Handel’s Messiah’ (the Christmas portion plus the ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Worthy is the Lamb/Amen’) is sure to be a highlight of the holiday season,” organizers said.

Returning as the soprano soloist is Nichole Dechaine, who holds master and doctor of musical arts degrees in vocal performance from UCSB. She teaches private voice and music courses and conducts choirs at Westmont, Alan Hancock, and Santa Barbara City colleges.

Dechaine has performed leading roles in opera and musical theater productions, and appears as soloist with numerous choirs, orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. and abroad.

Locally, she has performed with Opera Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Master Chorale, Choral Society, Quire of Voyces, and church choirs.  

Santa Barbaran Katelyn Neumann will sing the alto solos. Neumann has been the recipient of accolades from both local and national music organizations, including being a six-time Santa Barbara Music Club scholarship winner.

She has performed several operatic roles with the Lyric Opera Studio in Weimar, Germany; Capitol City Opera in Atlanta, Georgia; and Opera San Jose.

Neumann lives in Washington, D.C., where she sings with Maryland Lyric Opera, Opera NOVA, and The Victorian Lyric Opera Company. She is part of the music ministry at National United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., and she teaches voice and piano.

Myron Aguilar will be the tenor soloist. Aguilar has performed with the Chancel Choir at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College Choir, Chamber Singers, and the SBCC Glee Club.

Aguilar is a singing coach and teacher offering private and group voice lessons in Santa Barbara to students of all levels and ages.

He studied voice and education at SBCC and the UCLA School of Music, and is certified in the Heart-Based Singing method.

Bass soloist Evan Hughes has built a career as a versatile and daring singer on the international operatic stage.

Hailed by Opera News as “strikingly imaginative,” and the New York Times for his “appealing clarity and emotional heft,” Hughes’ career began in the at the Curtis Institute of Music and as a young artist at the Metropolitan Opera, leading to European debuts.

He has made his mark at Carnegie Hall, The Met, Hollywood Bowl, and Berlin and Paris philharmonics. He has been a soloist with the New York, Moscow, and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Met Chamber Ensemble,  Boston Lyric Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Opernaus Zurich.

This will be the 40^th year for Phillip McLendon to conduct the Messiah Sing Along, according to organizers.

A tenor himself, McLendon has conducted numerous choirs and orchestras over a long career.  He was the founding director of the Santa Barbara Master Chorale which he led for over two decades.

McLendon has instructed accomplished vocalists and was director of the Santa Barbara High School A Cappella Choir and Madrigal Singers from 1995-2013.

He is a recipient of the Individual Artists Award in Choral Music Direction from The Arts Fund and was named a Santa Barbara Hero by the Independent.