PRAISE! Brings Together Four Interfaith Choirs at the Kimmel Center Tonight

The vast walls of Verizon Hall will be bursting with the vibrant voices of four Philadelphia-area choirs as the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts presents Praise! tonight, June 10 at 8pm.

Accompanied by the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ and brass ensemble, First Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia), Saint Paul's Episcopal (Chestnut Hill), First United Methodist, (Germantown) and Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Philadelphia) will join forces for an inspiring evening of music by Mendelssohn, Verdi and more. The concert will also feature Cantor Amy Levy from Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Elkins Park).

"Praise! is a celebration of the choral spirit gathering some of Philadelphia's best regional choirs together with the brilliant textured sounds of the Kimmel Center's Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ," said Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers. "We are so pleased to create this inspiring evening that engages the Philadelphia community in an interfaith performance."

Under the direction of Music Director Andrew Senn and joined by special guests Cantor Amy Levyand soprano Jennifer Hsiung, this gathering of four of Philadelphia's best choirs will feature the beauty of the human voice showcased with the Kimmel Center's towering organ. In the sublime Kyrie from theMesse Solonelle by 19th-century French composer Louis Vierne, himself an organist, the mighty organ commands, and the choir's voices follow; and in Cesar Franck's lyrical setting of Psalm 150, the choir's voices soar along with the chords of the organ, raising this musical prayer to the heavens. Intimate moments shine as well, as in the hushed and beautiful opening to Max Helfman's setting of Hashkiveinu, the Sabbath prayer for peace.

Known for his colorful programming and virtuosic playing, Andrew Senn is currently the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. A Chicago native, at eighteen Andrew was accepted on a merit-based, full-tuition scholarship to study organ with John Weaver at The Curtis Institute of Musicin Philadelphia. While at Curtis, he held posts at historic St. Peter's Church and Washington Memorial Chapel, the National Shrine in Valley Forge National Park. He also began a ten-year post as an Assistant Organist at the world-famous Wanamaker Organ, where he performed over 2,000 daily recitals.

Cantor Amy Levy has served as cantor at Reform Congregation Kenneth Israel in Elkins Park and Blue Bell since 2004. Graduating from the University of Kansas in 1996 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music for Vocal Performance, Cantor Levy went on to the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute for Religion's School of Sacred Music. Cantor Levy served Temple Israel in Tulsa, Oklahoma until June 2004. She served on the Executive Board of the American Conference of Cantors, and is active in Hadassah. She performed in Cantorial Concerts from New York to Oklahoma.

Soprano, Jennifer Hsiung, has studied at The Mannes College of Music, and completed her formal training in Philadelphia at The Academy of Vocal Arts. Ms. Hsiung has performed repertoire ranging from Bach to Bright Sheng. Opera role highlights include La Zelatrice in Suor Angelica, Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, Tigrana in Puccini's Edgar, Stephano in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and more. She sang Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at the St. Barth Music Festival. She has the been recipient of awards from the Henry and Maria Holt Scholarship Foundation, San Jose Opera Guild, Shoshana Foundation (The Richard Gold Career Grant), Mario Lanza Scholarship Foundation, Metropolitan Opera National Council, among others.

Tickets are available from $20-$40 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, at the Kimmel Center box office at Broad & Spruce Streets (open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

FULL PROGRAM:

FRANCK: Psalm 150
HYMN: Love Divine, All Love's Excelling (with audience)
MENDELSSOHN: Verleih uns frieden
HELFMAN: Hashkiveinu
HYMN: In Our Day of Thanksgiving (with audience)
MATTHEWS: The Lord Is My Shepherd
VERDI: Libera Me (from 'Requiem')

*** Interval ***

HYMN: Praise to the Holiest (with audience)
WESLEY: Thou Wilt Keep Him
GIBBONS: Sing Unto the Lord
VIERNE: Kyrie (from 'Messe Solennelle')
HALLEY: Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee
STANFORD: Te Deum in B-flat

FEATURED CHOIRS:
First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia (Andrew Senn, music director)
Saint Paul's Episcopal, Chestnut Hill (Zach Hemenway, music director
First United Methodist, Germantown (Kevin O'Malia, music director)
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia (John Romeri, music director)

About The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ - Unveiled in May 2006, The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, Dobson organ Op. 76, ranks as the largest mechanical-action concert hall organ in the United States with 6,938 pipes, four blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, and a total weight of app. 32 tons. The largest pipes are made of wood and are about 32 feet tall, while the smallest metal pipes are similar in size to a slender drinking straw. It is the culmination of more than six years and 52,000 man-hours of planning, construction, and voicing (the process of producing specific tones by manipulating the speech of organ pipes).

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts - Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, The Kimmel Center's mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of The Kimmel Center's 2014-2015 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org

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