The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and The Providence Singers Perform MESSIAH Today

Today, December 7 marks the cultural high point of Rhode Island's holiday season, when the RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA joins forces with THE PROVIDENCE SINGERS, CHRISTINE NOEL, artistic director, in their seventh annual performance of George Frideric Handel's MESSIAH. Soloists include soprano MARTHA GUTH, mezzo-soprano ABIGAIL FISCHER, tenor CHRISTOPHER HUTCHINSON, and bass-baritone MATTHEW BURNS . The Philharmonic's Resident Conductor FRANCISCO NOYAconducts. The perennial favorite holiday concert features a family-friendly start time of 7:00pm today, December 7 at The Vets in Providence. WPRO News Talk 630 is the media sponsor. Tickets (starting at $15) are available at www.riphil.org/tickets and the RIPO box office at 401.248.7000.

Two hundred and seventy-one years after its first performance, Handel's Messiah remains the most frequently performed, beloved work in the choral canon, featuring: the "Hallelujah" chorus, "For Unto Us a Child is Born," "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," and other favorites. Handel completed the entire composition in only twenty-four days, and the oratorio has been performed consistently - revised, updated, staged, and restored to its "period" form - ever since.

"Ever since Handel's Messiah was first performed on April 13, 1742 in Dublin," said FRANCISCO NOYA, "it has captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. The universality of this work speaks volumes about Handel as a composer who was able to capture, in music, one of the most significant chapters in human history."

Noya continued: "I am really excited to be able to share this great work with all of you. Together with my colleagues of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and The Providence Singers, as well as a star-studded cast of soloists, we look forward to seeing you all as we perform this timeless masterpiece."

All four soloists are making their debut with the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Soprano MARTHA GUTH has performed with Helmuth Rilling and the Bachakademie Stuttgart, Seiji Ozawa and Robert Spano at Tanglewood, John Nelson in Grand Rapids, the New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, and in her native Canada, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic. Operatic credits include Opera Lyra Ottawa, Santa Fe Opera and Chelsea Opera, as well as in Göggingen, Germany and in Lucca, Italy. Ms. Guth was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and holds degrees from Oberlin, Cincinnati College/Conservatory of Music, and the Hochschule für Musik in Augsburg/Nürnberg.

Mezzo-soprano ABIGAIL FISCHER has performed with ensembles from the LA Philharmonic to the Boston Pops, in works from Handel and Rossini to world premieres of John Zorn, Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli, Bernard Rands, Elliott Carter, and the Bang on a Can artists. Recent highlights include Ms. Fischer's LA Philharmonic debut in Peter Eötvös' Angels in America, Messiah with Virginia Symphony, the title role inRape of Lucretia with Opera Memphis, and a recording and performance of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with Boston Baroque.

CHRISTOPHER HUTCHINSON, tenor, has performed with Chautauqua Opera, Arizona Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Louisiana State University (LSU) Opera. At the Boston University Opera Institute, he studies with Professor Penelope Bitzas: performance history there includes Florencia en el Amazonas, Don Giovanni, and Siren Song, among others. Mr. Hutchinson graduated from Louisiana State University with a Master of Music degree where he studied with tenor Robert Grayson.

Bass-Baritone MATTHEW BURNS made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Handel's Messiah, and has sung with American Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, Princeton Pro Musica, and Highland Park Orchestra. Opera credits include New York City Opera, Juilliard Opera Center, Bard Music Festival , Dayton Opera, Virginia Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New York's New Choral Society, Dayton Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Cleveland, Opera Omaha, Utah Opera, New Orleans Opera, Arizona Opera, Toledo Opera, Kentucky Opera, Saratoga Opera, Opera Birmingham, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera New Jersey and Opera Southwest.

THE PROVIDENCE SINGERS celebrates choral art through concerts of masterworks and contemporary works, creative collaborations, recordings of American choral treasures, new music commissions and education programs. Led by artistic director CHRISTINE NOEL, The Providence Singers presents an annual concert series and performs regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic. A guest appearance with Dave Brubeck at the 2004 Newport Jazz Festival was hailed by Mr. Brubeck as "the best performance yet" of his cantata, Gates of Justice.At Brubeck's invitation, the Providence Singers premiered The Commandments and reprised Gates at Lincoln Center in 2005. Other collaborators include the Kronos Quartet at the FirstWorks Festival, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New Haven Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, the Aurea Ensemble and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. The National Endowment for the Arts selected The Providence Singers to host one of seven American Masterpieces Choral Festivals in 2007. With additional NEA support, the Singers' recording of Lukas Foss's cantata The Prairie was released on the BMOP/sound label in November 2008 and acclaimed by the American Record Guide as "a beautiful work, excellently performed." The chorus's second CD, a recording of Pulitzer-winning composer Dominick Argento's Jonah and the Whale, was released in 2010.

The Philharmonic's season features eight Classical concerts on Saturday nights at The Vets. Four are preceded by Amica Rush Hour concertson Friday, and four have Friday Open Rehearsals. The Amica Rush Hour Series offers an early start time - 6:30pm - on Friday November 15,March 21, and April 11. These shorter, informal, accessible concerts feature full performances of select repertoire from the SaturdayClassical concerts. Open Rehearsals, on Fridays at 5:30pm (January 17, February 21, May 9), offer insight into the collaboration between the conductor, guest artists and orchestra musicians as they prepare for the upcoming Classical concert. Subscriptions are on sale now. Please call the Philharmonic box office at 401.248.7000, or visit www.riphil.org/tickets.