The Brick Presbyterian Church to Celebrate 100th Performance of John Stainer's THE CRUCIFIXION

The Brick Presbyterian Church will continue its 2023-24 Worship & Arts series with a Good Friday worship service featuring John Stainer's oratorio The Crucifixion on Friday, March 29 at 12:15 PM.

Brick Church began performing The Crucifixion in the early 1920s, and this year will mark the 100th year of this grand tradition. To honor the occasion, the Chancel Choir will perform with full orchestra, in the arrangement by Barry Rose, former Master of the Choir at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. The powerful and dramatic solos will be sung by Jeffrey Taveras, tenor, and Malcolm Merriweather, baritone.

The service is free and open to the public, and all are welcome. For more information, please visit this page.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Raymond Nagem is Minister of Music at The Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, and a member of the organ faculty at Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches organ literature, service playing, and improvisation. He completed his D.M.A. at The Juilliard School in 2016, where he was a student of Paul Jacobs. A native of Medford, Mass., Dr. Nagem attended the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School and began organ lessons there with John Dunn. He earned his B.A. from Yale University in 2009, studying the organ with Thomas Murray, and his M.A. in 2011 from Juilliard.

Prior to his appointment at Brick, he served for eleven years at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he was Associate Director of Music and Organist. His album Divine Splendor, recorded on the Great Organ of St. John the Divine, is available on the Pro Organo label. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, Dr. Nagem began a weekly online recital series from the cathedral, "Tuesdays at 6," featuring a diverse range of music spanning the entire organ repertoire. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cycling, and crossword puzzles.

GRAMMY nominated conductor and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather is Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and Music Director of New York City's The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. He is a sought-after interpreter of symphonic choral works most recently conducting grand performances of Bach's St. John Passion, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Handel's Messiah. In addition to core symphonic repertoire, he is known for the world premiere recordings of The Ballad of the Brown King, Credo, and Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) with The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he has conducted the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Novus Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ensembles under his baton have performed at venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Square Garden, Brooklyn Academy of Music Westminster Abbey, and at the Vatican before Pope Francis. At the invitation of Solange Knowles, he joined the interdisciplinary studio and creative agency, Saint Heron, for performances with Voices of Harlem and The Clark Sisters in Glory to Glory: A Revival of Devotional Art. Dr. Merriweather has earned degrees from Eastman, Manhattan School of Music, and Syracuse University and was a fellow at Tanglewood. He is on the faculty at Brooklyn College. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @maestroweather and at malcolmjmerrweather.com.

Jeffrey Abel Taveras (Tenor). A native of Long Island, Jeffrey is eager to be back at Brick Presbyterian Church for the 100th performance of John Stainer's The Crucifixion. Currently, Jeffrey serves as cantor and choir member in the Music Ministry at St. Aloysius Catholic Parish in New Canaan CT. Prior to being called to this ministry, he was a member of the Chancel Choir at Brick from 2016 to 2023. Jeffrey earned a BA from SUNY-Purchase Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Boston University.

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