World-class operatic tenor vocalist Rod Dixon, in Detroit for his performance in Rackham Symphony Choir’s production of the jazz gospel variation on Handel’s Messiah -- titled Too Hot To Handel -- at the Detroit Opera House, will conduct a special Master Class for music students at Wayne State University on Thursday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Schaver Music Recital Hall located in the Old Main building on the WSU campus.

Dixon conducts master classes across the country, working one-on-one with voice students of varying skill levels. The class at Wayne State will be a two-hour session covering vocal technique, vocal styles, preparation, the art of singing in different genres (classical, Broadway, gospel, jazz), singing in different languages, telling the musical story, the vocalist gig bag and pitfalls of the business. A Q&A session will follow.

Students also will hear anecdotes from the globe-trotting tenor, formerly of the Three Mo’ Tenors, now touring as Cook, Dixon & Young. Dixon and Victor Trent Cook are reprising their roles in Too Hot To Handel with soprano Alfreda Burke.

Tickets are on sale now for two performances of Too Hot To Handel on Dec. 9, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway in Detroit. Prices range from $18 to $58. Tickets are available by phone at (313) 237- SING (7464), in person at the Opera House box office, online at www.MichiganOpera.org. Group tickets for as few as 10 person are available at a discount through the Group Sales Office of Detroit Opera House at (313) 237-3409 or by visiting www.rackhamchoir.org.

This year, for the first time ever, there will be a weekday performance for students. This full dress rehearsal will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Student reservations are $10 each and must be made exclusively through the box office at (313)237-3409.

The jazz-gospel take on George Frideric Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, is a musical extravaganza. Joining the choir will be the Too Hot To Handel Orchestra, highlighted by local classical, gospel and jazz dignitaries, such as Alvin Waddles on piano, Marion Hayden on bass and Dave Taylor on drums. Joining them this year will be Wayne State music professor Chris Collins on saxophone. The entire performance comes together under the baton of Suzanne Mallare Acton.

The performance is a co-production of the Rackham Symphony Choir and the Detroit Opera House. It is made possible through the support of LaSalle Bank.