Oratorio Society of New York Coming to Carnegie Hall, 5/5

The Oratorio Society of New York is in its 142nd season as the city's standard for grand choral performance, and its tenth with its current music director, Kent Tritle. Celebrating the culmination of their landmark season together and, as it happens, emergence from a frigid and stormy winter, Tritle and the OSNY will present two life-affirming works for their spring concert: the ardent, hopeful Chichester Psalms of Leonard Bernstein, which will be conducted by the OSNY's associate conductor, David Rosenmeyer (also marking his tenth season with the group), and Carl Orff's spirited, bawdy Carmina Burana. Soloists Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Peter Tantsits, tenor; Takaoki Onishi, baritone, and the Choristers of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine join the OSNY on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at 8:00 pm, at Carnegie Hall.

The concert marks the first performance of the full orchestral version of Carmina Burana by Tritle. Called a "scenic cantata" by Orff, Carmina is based in medieval poetry celebrating love and earthly pleasures, and has been an enduring favorite since its 1937 premiere; it is also widely known through countless quotations of the chorus "O Fortuna" in movies and television commercials.

"Bernstein and his exuberance, coupled with the playfulness of Carmina Burana, made a great deal of sense to me," says Tritle. Leonard Bernstein's 1965 Chichester Psalms, commissioned by England's Chichester Cathedral, combines Christian choral tradition with Hebrew verse. Tritle decided to ask David Rosenmeyer to conduct it on this program, remembering that Bernstein is a personal hero to Rosenmeyer. As Rosenmeyer tells it, when he first came to New York, it was a very meaningful experience to visit Patelson's Music House and hold the score for Chichester Psalms in his hands. Rosenmeyer was born in Argentina and began his musical studies in Israel.

Kent Tritle is one of America's leading choral conductors. Called "the brightest star in New York's choral music world" by The New York Times, he is also Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Music Director of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York. In addition, Tritle is Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra. www.kenttritle.com

Now in his tenth season as Associate Conductor of the Oratorio Society of New York, David Rosenmeyer has led the Society in Carnegie Hall performances of Britten's Te Deum (2010) Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine (2008) and Stravinsky's Mass (2007), which marked his Carnegie Hall debut. A conductor, vocal coach, pianist, and accompanist, Mr. Rosenmeyer is the music director of the Fairfield County Chorale and is also on faculty at New York University where he serves as Music Director of the Choral Arts Society and the University Singers. In addition, he is on the artist roster of the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute, where he works with the Musical Connection series, designing and bringing engaging interactive musical outreach programs to underserved communities. www.davidrosenmeyer.com

Soprano Jennifer Zetlan is swiftly garnering recognition for her artistry and captivating stage presence. Her 2014-15 season has included a reprisal at Carnegie Hall of a role she created last season at the Ojai Festival, that of Mozart/Donna Anna in Steven Stucky's and Jeremy Denk's The Classical Style, as well as The Tempest Songbook with Gotham Chamber Opera, the creation of the role of Fanny in the world premiere of Morning Star with Cincinnati Opera, and Ligeti's Requiem with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. www.jenniferzetlan.com

Always eager to push the boundaries of the lyric tenor repertoire, tenor Peter Tantsits was recently named "one of his generation's most consistently satisfying contemporary vocal music specialists" by OPERA Magazine (UK). Mr. Tantsits is often called upon to perform 20th century classics by Berg and Ligeti as well as new works, including recent successes on the stages of Teatro alla Scala, Lincoln Center, and the Beijing International Music Festival. An original member of ICE, International Contemporary Ensemble, Peter has collaborated with the ensemble on works by composers such as Berio, Birtwistle, Gubaidulina, Kagel, Ligeti, Nono, Rihm, Ustvolskaya, and Xenakis.

A native of Tokyo, Japan, baritone Takaoki Onishi in one year won the top prize in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and first prize in both the Opera Index, Inc., Vocal Competition and the Licia Albanese-Puccini International Vocal Competition. Mr. Onishi is also the inaugural first-prize winner of the IFAC-Juilliard Prize Singing Competition in Japan, which provided him a full scholarship to attend The Juilliard School. At Juilliard, he appeared in the U.S. premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's Kommilitonen! Recently, he won praise for his performances in the title role in Eugene Onegin at Juilliard and the role of Jesus in Bach's St. Matthew Passion. In spring 2013, he created a leading role in the world premiere of Marty Roger's The Memory Stone with Houston Grand Opera's East/West program.