The “Messiah” at Bethany

Pastor Olof Olsson and his wife Anna, together with nearly 200 settlers from the Sunnemo Parish in Värmland, arrived in the Smoky Valley of central Kansas in June 1869. They settled on land purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad, and set about founding Bethany Lutheran Church and the community of Lindsborg. 

Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson succeeded Olsson as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in 1879. Bethany College was founded in the sacristy of the church on October 15, 1881, when ten children of the immigrant families began their higher education.   The founding of Bethany College brought remarkable energetic people and ideas to this part of the Great Plains instilling both college and community with deep appreciation for music and art.

The Bethany Oratorio Society was founded in December 1881, when 40 parishioners were welcomed to the parsonage of Pastor Swensson and his wife Alma to learn the words and music of Messiah.  Almost all of them were immigrants from Sweden who still lived in a pioneer world of sod houses.  Alma Swensson, an accomplished musician, worked with the singers throughout the winter and spring in helping them learn the music as well as the English words.  The first performance by the Bethany Oratorio Society was on March 28, 1882, in Bethany Lutheran Church.  Every Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday since, the College and the people of Lindsborg have come together to perform Handel’s great oratorio.  The annual tradition continues today as the oldest continuous annual performance of the “Messiah” in the United States.

The first performance by the Oratorio Society of J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” was on Good Friday, March 29, 1929—the 200th anniversary of the very first performance at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig with Bach himself conducting.  Dr. Hagbard Brase, a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm, instituted the tradition which carries on to this day.

In addition to the music of Handel and Bach during Holy Week, the Midwest Art Exhibition is hosted by the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery.  The exhibition features works by regional artists as well as works from the permanent collection.  The founders of this exhibition in 1899 were Carl Gustafson Lotave, G.N. Malm, and Sandzén.  Lotave studied at the Royal Academy of Art.  Both Lotave and Sandzén studied with Anders Zorn and Richard Berg.

For Messiah media requests and information, contact the director of communications at (785) 227-3380, ext. 8274. For Messiah tickets and recordings, call (785) 227-3380, ext. 8137.