Kent Tritle to Lead Concerts at St. John the Divine, Oratorio Society of New York and More

To begin his spring concert season, acclaimed choral conductor and organist Kent Tritle will showcase both these roles in the first three days of February 2026 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: he conducts the Oratorio Society of New York in a program of French Romantic sacred music, including works by Fauré, Gounod, and Lili Boulanger, and he performs a recital on the cathedral's Great Organ (re-inaugurated last year after a six-year renovation): music by Jeanne Demessieux, Larry King, and David Hurd alongside Bach, Mendelssohn, and Widor (the complete programs follow below).

Kent is the music director of three of New York's esteemed choruses, and this spring he conducts them in programs featuring great choral works and a brand new one. He leads the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine in Brahms's A German Requiem (Ein Deutsches Requiem) on a program with Carlos Simon's An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave on March 7; Musica Sacra in the world premiere of Wayne Oquin's On the Words of Walt Whitman, on a program with other works by Oquin and Caroline Shaw on March 11; and Handel's Alexander's Feast with Oratorio Society of New York on May 11.

Soloists are sopranos Susanna Phillips (Brahms and Oquin), Lauren Snouffer (Alexander's Feast); tenor Richard Pittsinger (Alexander's Feast); and baritones John Moore (Oquin), Sidney Outlaw (Alexander's Feast), and Joseph Parrish (Brahms).

One of America's leading choral conductors as well as an acclaimed organ virtuoso, Kent Tritle is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; Music Director of both Musica Sacra, New York's elite professional chorus, and Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed avocational ensemble; and organist of the New York Philharmonic.

MUSICA SACRA

“Oquin and Shaw” with the world premiere of Wayne Oquin's On the Words of Walt Whitman – Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 7:00 pm at St. Bartholomew's Church

The world premiere of Wayne Oquin's new work On the Words of Walt Whitman – setting both iconic poems as well as new discoveries from the Walt Whitman Archive – for soloists, chorus, chamber orchestra, and organ, featuring soprano Susanna Phillips and baritone John Moore, centers this program, which also features Caroline Shaw's Entr'acte for string orchestra and selections by Oquin for a cappella chorus: O Magnum Mysterium, Alleluia, and Sure on this shining night. This concert, at St. Bartholomew's Church, will be recorded for future commercial release.

ORATORIO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

Music of the French Romantic Period – Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 5:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Free concert

This program of sacred French music accompanied by organ draws on nearly a century of liturgical expression from the late Romantic period to early modernism, featuring music by Louis Vierne, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, Lili Boulanger, and Jules Massenet. The full program follows below. 

50th Anniversary of the Concert of the Century – Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 7:00 pm at Carnegie Hall

This special event marking the 50th anniversary of Carnegie Hall's “Concert of the Century,” which itself celebrated the 85th anniversary of the hall's founding, is a star-studded event, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the NYO-USA orchestra and a host of guests including the OSNY, which performed at Carnegie Hall's 1891 opening.

Handel's Alexander's Feast – Monday, May 11, 2026, at 8:00 pm at Carnegie Hall

Kent Tritle leads a rare performance of Handel's oratorio Alexander's Feast, composed in 1736. The OSNY last performed this ode to the power of music in 1878, and it has only been presented in its entirety at Carnegie Hall once before, in 1959. Based on a poem by John Dryden, the work celebrates the feast held by Alexander the Great in honor of his conquest of Persia and culminates in a final chorus that exalts Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. The concert's soloists are soprano Lauren Snouffer, tenor Richard Pittsinger, and baritone Sidney Outlaw.

CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE

“Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem” – Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 7:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

A performance of Brahms's uniquely humanist mass for the dead, Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), featuring soprano Susanna Phillips and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, is the culmination of this program that begins with the second movement of Sibelius's Symphony No. 3 (Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto), and Carlos Simon's An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave, a work for string orchestra that was written to honor the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown.

Kent leads the members of his music team at St. John the Divine in the Cathedral's Holy Week services March 29 to April 5 – see the schedule below.

ORGAN SEASON

Kent Tritle Organ Recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 7:30 pm

With the Great Organ of St. John the Divine back in business (re-inaugurated in 2025 after a six-year silence), Kent's annual recital puts the instrument through its paces with a program of Bach, Mendelssohn, and works by Jeanne Demessieux, David Hurd, Larry King, and Charles-Marie Widor. The full program follows below.

New York Philharmonic

As the organist of the New York Philharmonic, Kent will join the orchestra in March in performances of Elgar's Enigma Variations.

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 Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed avocational chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York's elite professional chorus. In addition, Kent is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School , serving its Vocal Arts Department. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic.

Kent Tritle's discography of more than two dozen releases includes recordings on the Telarc, Naxos and MSR Classics labels. His most recent recordings were made live at Carnegie Hall, with works by Moravec/Campbell including the Grammy-nominated performance of Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York. With Musica Sacra he has most recently recorded Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson and Lauds by Laurence Bunin. He recorded Juraj Filas' Requiem, Oratio Spei, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Kühn Choir, and a host of recordings ranging from Gregorian chant to Schnittke's Concerto for Choir with the Choir of St Ignatius Loyola. His discography also includes highly acclaimed organ recordings on the Gothic and Epiphany labels.

Kent Tritle is renowned as a master clinician, giving workshops on conducting and repertoire; recent years have included annual choral workshops at the Amherst Early Music Festival, workshops at Berkshire Choral International, Summer@Eastman and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. As Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music from 2008 to 2022, Kent established the school's first doctoral program in choral conducting. A Juilliard School faculty member since 1996, he currently directs a graduate practicum on oratorio in collaboration with the school's Vocal Arts Department.

As an organist, Kent has performed recitals at such historic venues as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Zurich Tonhalle, and Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, King's College (Cambridge), Westminster Abbey, and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.