Jason Tramm to Conduct Morris Choral Society In 'Candles And Carrols'

Jason C. Tramm will conduct the Morris Choral Society as it opens its 2016-17 season with a holiday themed concert at the Bickford Theater, Morristown, New Jersey on December 10 and 11.th Candles and Carrols will feature works by Caldwell and Ivory, Leavitt, Praetorius, Respighi and Whitacre celebrating over three centuries of inspiring and beloved holiday choral music, essentially chronicling the existence of the Morristown settlement dating back to 1715.

The highly-anticipated 14th annual concert, billed as a Holiday Spectacular, pulls out all the stops showcasing the 75-member strong Morris Choral Society (MCS) one of Morristown's most beloved performing arts organizations, now its 44th season. The concert marks the debut of newly appointed Music Director Jason C. Tramm who will lead the MCS, guest soloists, the MidAtlanic Opera Wind Ensemble in a holiday program which will also feature the Columbia High School Choir directed by Jamie Bunce and MCS popular all male sextet "Express Male."

Ottorino Respighi's exquisite and rarely performed "Lauda Per La Natività Del Signore" (Laud to the Nativity) - a work for soloists, chorus and wind instruments - will serve as the centerpiece for the Morris Choral Society's 2016-17 season opening concert December 10th and 11th at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown, NJ. Featured in Respighi's cantata will be noted guest soloists soprano Andrea DelGiudice, Japanese soprano, Mizuho Takeshita and tenor Theodore Chletsos.

Composer Ottorino Respighi's exquisite and rarely performed "Lauda Per La Natività Del Signore" (Laud to the Nativity) - a work for soloists, chorus and wind instruments - serves as the centerpiece for the Morris Choral Society's 2016-17 season opening concert December 10th and 11th at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown, NJ. Respighi's dramatic cantata depicting the miracle of the Nativity centers upon three principal characters - Mary, the Angel and the Shepard- sung by Andrea DelGiudice, Mizuho Takeshita and Theodore Chletsos respectively. Respighi's sublime orchestration is as unusual as it is ingenious, reflecting the composer's love of Renaissance and Baroque music. The chorus, acting both as narrator and shepherds, rounds out the dramatic cast.

Among the featured guest soloists performing in Ottorino Respighi's "Lauda Per La Natività Del Signore" (Laud to the Nativity) is soprano Andrea DelGiudice who sings the role of Mary. Ms. DelGiudice enjoys a full career in Europe and the United States as a leading international soprano. Her verismo roles include the Puccini and Verdi heroines alongside renowned artists such as Placido Domingo, Johan Botha, Sherill Milnes, Alexei Steblianko, and Nicola Martinucci. Ms DelGiudice has performed at the Scottish National Opera, Munich State Opera, Liege Opera, Opera Bonn, Edmonton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, DiCapo Opera Theater and Arizona Opera.

Andrea has been featured as a concert soloist at Boston's Jordan Hall with some of Boston's foremost instrumental soloists, Brockton Symphony Orchestra, WGBH's "Morning Classics" in Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs and original works including Shema by composer Simon Sargon. Andrea's diverse talents led to numerous international recording contracts in over 200 major films and animated features in Rome, Italy with Walt Disney/ Buena Vista, RAI television and Sundance Films.

Ms. DelGiudice was recently appointed to the Advisory Board of del'Arte Opera Ensemble of New York City, whose members include NYC Agents, Directors/ Conductors from Chicago Lyric Opera, Metropolitan Opera, West Edge Opera, Yale University, and renowned singers. She also currently serves as Artistic Advisor and Voice Faculty at the Narnia Arts Academy in Narni, Italy, and Voice Faculty at The Neighborhood Playhouse of the Theater in New York City.

Singing the role of the Angel is Japanese soprano, Mizuho Takeshita - one of the most exciting young singers in today's operatic realm. Ms. Takeshita envelops her audience with vocal legato and musical intellect. Her energy and passion for singing has led Ms. Takeshita to develop a flourishing musical career. Most recently, Mizuho gave her Lincoln Center Debut at Alice Tully Hall singing with the Mannes Orchestra. She was selected by the Martina Arroyo Foundation's Prelude to Performance to sing the part of Olympia in Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" to which she "aced Olympia's roulades with crystalline accuracy and blazing sustained notes above the staff." - The Metropolitan Opera Guild. She is a winner of the Metropolitan National Council District Audition and Mannes College Concerto Competition in addition to a Finalist of Joy in Singing 2015 and Opera Index Singing Competition and the Second Prize in the Tokyo International Music Competition. She recently concluded her first Russian opera performance of title role in Snow Maiden by Rimsky-Korsakov in Washington DC.

Ms. Takeshita holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from Ochanomizu University in Japan and a Professional Study Diploma from Mannes College The New School for Music where she studied under the tutelage of Amy Burton.

Sing the role of the Shepard, noted tenor Theodore Chletsos has performed to much acclaim throughout the Netherlands and Belgium, performing in tours of Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, and Rigoletto, where he was universally praised for his "ringing high notes" and dramatic talents. His roles included Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rodolfo in La Bohème, il duca in Rigoletto, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Alfredo in La Traviata, Luigi in il Tabarro, Anatol in Vanessa, the title role in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching's recent sequel Buoso's Ghost, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Tom Norman in the North American premiere of Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man.Mr. Chletsos made his Carnegie Hall and New York City Opera debut in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, conducted by George Manahan. Theodore has performed with Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Central City Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Utah Opera, Opera New Jersey, Baltimore Concert Opera, Chautauqua Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Symphony, among others. Mr. Chletsos performed in the world premiere (and can be heard on the original cast recording) of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath with Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera.

Mr. Chletsos' concert work includes Verdi's Messa da Requiem, Beethoven's Symphony #9 and Missa Solemnis, Handel's Judas Maccabaeus and Messiah, Rossini's Petite Messe Solonnelle and Stabat Mater, Mozart's Requiem, Bach's Christmas Oratorio and B Minor Mass, Dvorak's Mass in D, and Bruckner's Te Deum, among many others. Awards include the Shoshana Foundation's Richard F. Gold Career Grant and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions National Semi-Finalist. Mr. Chletsos received his Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and pursued graduate studies at University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, where he performed Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Judge Danforth in Robert Ward's The Crucible.

Conductor Jason C. Tramm's work in the symphonic, operatic, and choral repertoire has received acclaim both nationally and internationally. Noted productions under his baton include a world premiere of the Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in Tirana, Albania; the MidAtlantic Opera Company's inaugural production of Verdi's Rigoletto in 2014 and their mainstage production "Verdiana" in honor of the Verdi Bicentennial. As Artistic Director of the New Jersey State Opera from 2008-2012, Tramm's performances included the 75th anniversary production of the Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at Newark's Symphony Hall and the 2009 HDTV broadcast presentation with PBS affiliate NJN, of "Verdi Requiem: Live from Ocean Grove which garnered a regional Emmy Award nomination. Since 2006 Tramm has held the position of Director of Music Ministries for the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, where he conducts both sacred and secular works. National broadcasts from the historic 6,500 seat Great Auditorium, home to the magnificent Hope - Jones Organ have included Léon Boëllmann's Fantasie-Dialogue for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 35 with Gordon Turk, organ; Rittenhouse Orchestra and Alexandre Guilmant's Symphony Number 1 in d for Organ and Orchestra presented by American Public Media's classical music show "Pipe Dreams", aired locally on New York's classical music station WQXR. Tramm also serves as Artistic Advisor for the New Jersey based Adelphi Orchestra.

In 2015 Tramm made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in "A Prayer for Peace" featuring the works of Behzad Ranjbaran (Elegy for Cello and Strings), Leonard Bernstein's (Chichester Psalms), Vaughan Williams (Dona Nobis Pacem) and Adnan Saygun (Selections from Yunis Emre). He returns to NYC in March of 2017 to conduct the second concert of the Prayer for Peace trilogy at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. An accomplished educator, Tramm serves on the faculty at Seton Hall University as Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities, College of Communication and the Arts where he leads the University Choir, Chamber Choir, Orchestra, and teaches voice and conducting.

Jason Tramm's guest conducting engagements will include appearances with the Oltenia Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and Academic Choir of Romania (12/21-23/2016), and with Narnia Festival 2017 in Italy, where he will conduct Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica. In February 2017 Tramm returns to conduct Verdi masterworks, "Rigoletto" with South Carolina's Palmetto Opera (2/20/17) and "La Traviata" with Opera New Hampshire (2/25/17).

ABOUT THE MORRIS CHORAL SOCIETY

The Morris Choral Society, now celebrating its 44th year is one of Northern New Jersey's oldest and most active and beloved not for profit arts organizations dedicated to enhancing community life by performing and presenting the highest quality classical choral repertoire from the last three centuries. Since its founding in 1973 the Morris Choral Society (MCS) has dedicated itself to the residents of Morris County and has played a significant role in Northern New Jersey's artistic community, nominated by its peers for the 2016 New Jersey People's Choice Award, Choral Group Division. Traditionally each performance season includes two major concerts as well as several concert appearances at many of Morristown's annual celebrations: Independence Day, the historical Holly Walk, its popular Fall Festival On the Green, and First Night. The MCS has performed with Judy Collins in her Christmas Show; with Dave Brubeck in La Fiesta de la Posada, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. The Morris Choral Society has received international recognition performing successful concerts in England in 1990, Ireland in 1994, Scotland and Wales in 1996, France in 1998 and Italy in the summer of 2000. The MCS has been represented by "ambassadorial" choral contingents in multi-choral units in Eastern Europe in 1997 and 2000. Over the past 5 decades the MCS has assembled a vast and varied musical repertoire, the cornerstone of which is an impressive library of music from the Renaissance to the present. Since 2010 the Morris Choral Society sponsors an annual scholarship open to New Jersey residents or students currently attending a New Jersey school, age 19 or older who are pursuing a major or course of study in one of the following disciplines: vocal performance, vocal conducting, or music education with a major in voice.

MCS is home to the popular sextet, Express Male a lively, fun-filled sextet with a dazzling repertoire consisting of serious choral pieces, traditional gospel songs, Broadway favorites and a variety of popular tunes. Formed four years ago as an independent vocal ensemble within The Morris Choral Society, Express Male continues to entertain audiences at major MCS concerts and is featured in concerts throughout the region. The MCS is funded in part by the Arts Council of the Morris Area through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding has also been provided by the Arts Council of the Morris Area/Dodge Foundation Partnership. To learn more about the Morris Choral Society and its programming visit www.morrischoralsociety.org.

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