That's why every year we go to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Sing it Yourself Messiah. Yup, that's right. The whole damned thing, sung by you and selected soloists.

What? You don't know Handel's Messiah? No problem, pal. You can learn it all in one day at the San Francisco Conservatory's "Extreme Messiah", which promises "all the fun of learning Handel's Messiah in one day with instructor Michael Matson. Sunday, December 5 at 1:00-5:00 p.m." Call 415-759-3429 to enroll, and don't forget your Mountain Dew.

That's one day before the big event, which this year will be preformed (by you!) Monday, December 6, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. in the Wattis Room at Davies Symphony Hall. Tickets will run you between 20 and 50 bucks, and can be purchased by calling 415-864-6000. And before you start complaining about having to purchase a ticket to your own performance, please be aware the the money from ticket sales goes directly to the SF Conservatory, the only accredited, major independent conservatory of music of its kind on the West Coast. So, you pay 30 dollars for one of the most amazing, unifying experiences of your life, you help a worthy cause, and for the rest of your life you can honestly say that you've performed in Davies Hall. If that's not a great manifestation of that whole "'tis better to give" thing, we don't know what is.