The Lancaster Chorale will present Felix Mendelssohn's "Elijah" on Saturday, May 17, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m. at the Gardner Theatre on the campus of Lancaster Country Day School, 725 Hamilton Road, Lancaster. Doors will open 30 minutes before concert time.

A 30-piece professional orchestra and soloists will join nearly 100 singers to present the oratorio under the direction of Bruce Gerlach. Baritone Jeffrey Martin will sing the title role of Elijah, and other performers will include his wife, soprano Abigail Martin; mezzo soprano Gwendolyn Bowers; tenor Brenten Megee; and Isaac Warner, a 13-year-old boy soprano from the Mennonite Children's Choir of Lancaster. Jan Stauffer will be the accompanist.

Mendelssohn's oratorio tells the story of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. An oratorio is similar to an opera, but without the theatrical staging. Since its 1846 premiere, "Elijah" has been among amateur choirs' most performed oratorios.

Gerlach discovered his love for choral singing and conducting at Penn Manor High School. He later earned a doctorate in choral conducting from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He is a professor emeritus from College of the Ozarks, near Branson, Mo. He and his wife, Margie, returned to his native Lancaster after he retired.

Jeffrey and Abigail both earned master's degrees in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory in Maryland before continuing their graduate work at the University of Minnesota. Jeffrey, director of vocal studies at Lancaster Bible College (LBC), holds a doctorate in vocal performance and has sung leading roles in many operas in the U.S. and Europe. Abigail teaches voice at LBC and has also performed internationally. She is currently a student of retired Metropolitan Opera star Gwynne Geyer. The couple has two young children.

Bowers graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., before completing a two-year apprenticeship with the Houston Grand Opera and the University of Houston. She has sung the mezzo soprano role in "Elijah" with the Rochester Symphony. Bowers has also performed the title role of Bizet's opera "Carmen" in Geneva, Lisbon, and Paris.

Megee graduated from Lancaster Bible College with degrees in voice and Bible and holds a master's degree in voice and conducting from West Chester University. He is the performing arts associate at Friends Home in Kennett in Chester County and the tenor section leader for the Brandywine Valley Chorale. He also serves as the music and choir director at Millersville Community United Methodist Church.

Isaac is an eighth-grade student at Lancaster Country Day School and the son of Carrie and Philip Warner. He was a featured soloist in the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's performance of Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms."

Admission is free. A freewill offering will be received.

For more information about the Lancaster Chorale, visit http://www.lancasterchorale.org.