Handel's "Messiah" has been performed annually in Lindsborg since 1882. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, founder of Bethany College and pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church, was introduced to it by Pastor Olof Olsson, a Lindsborg pioneer who had moved to Augustana College, Illinois. Mrs. Swensson organized singers from neighboring churches to join the Bethany College choir, and rehearsals began in December 1881 even though many singers could neither read music nor speak English. The first Easter Concert was given March 28, 1882, with 75 singers, and the chorus eventually grew to more than 500 voices. In addition to annual Holy Week concerts in Lindsborg, the Bethany Oratorio Society performed "Messiah" for 8000 soldiers at Fort Riley in 1919 and also gave concerts in Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, Topeka, and at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1997. In Lindsborg, "Messiah" had four homes: Bethany Church, Old Main, Ling Auditorium, and Presser Hall on the Bethany College campus. Alma Swensson conducted the chorus for its first three years; Dr. Hagbard Brase conducted it for 31 years from 1915 to 1946; and Dr. Elmer Copley conducted for 28 years from 1960 to 1988. NBC Radio broadcast a live performance in 1939 that was heard nationwide, and PBS televised live Easter Sunday performances in 1981 and 1986. Since "Messiah" began in Lindsborg more than 125 years ago, it has had 24 conductors, along with many soloists, organists, orchestra musicians, and devoted chorus members.