Grace Notes

Musical Term: Step-out Soloists

In a vocal ensemble, the term “step-out soloists” generally refers to musicians who sing as chorus members as well as being featured on solo parts. Often, they literally “step out” of the chorus to perform their solos.

In Upper Valley Baroque, we favor the “step-out” model and are fortunate to have so many solo-quality singers in our ensemble. In contrast, for certain pieces, we have invited dedicated soloists when the parts are very large and require specific “colors” or voice types. Recent examples are the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion (Spring 2024) and all four soloists in Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Spring 2025).

For the upcoming Handel’s Complete Messiah program, UVB will use the “step-out” model to great advantage. Thirteen singers will be featured soloists for different movements (arias and recitatives).  Most will be familiar faces to UVB audience members.  

For UVB’s performances of Handel’s Messiah, matching step-out singers’ personalities and voices is a bit like casting a play! We hope you are looking forward to hearing the unique result.