The Oratorio Society Of New York PerforMs Choral Movements Of Mahler's Second Symphony & Beethoven's Ninth Symphony At St. Bartholomew's Church On March 5

The Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY), led by Music Director Kent Tritle, continues its 150th Anniversary and 2023-2024 season with a special celebratory concert at St. Bartholomew's Church (St. Bart's) on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:00pm. Reception to follow.

The program features organ reductions of the final movements of Mahler's Second Symphony and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Also included are OSNY's call for scores winner's compositions. In the fall of 2023, the Oratorio Society of New York announced a call for scores and selected two standout submissions to be performed at this celebratory concert: Oliver Caplan's Cloud Anthem and Karen P. Thomas' Le Stelle.

Joining the Society is organist and arranger David Briggs – hailed as “One of the world's greatest contemporary organists” by The New York Times – with soloists soprano Susanna Phillips (“pure gleaming tone”, Chicago Classical Review), contralto Heather Petrie (“deep, resonant projection that can fill a hall”, New London Day), tenor Joshua Blue (“his ringing tenor blooming beautifully”, Broad Street Review), and baritone Tyler Duncan (voice “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding”, The Globe and Mail).

Award-winning American composer Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director of the American Prize-winning Juventas New Music Ensemble, writes, “Every once in a while, I read a poem that resonates so deeply it makes my entire body quiver. Cloud Anthem by Richard Blanco, President Obama's second inaugural poet, is one of those works. I'm incredibly grateful for his permission to set this poem to music and share its profound message. May we each follow its call to soften our hard edges and abide as one together in one single sky.” Caplan's works have been performed in over 200 performances nationwide.

Composer and conductor Karen P. Thomas is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Seattle Pro Musica. Le Stelle (The Stars) is an a cappella mixed choir setting of the ending section of the final Canto from Dante's Inferno. This brief text describes Dante and his guide, Virgil, ascending from the depths of hell (Inferno) and finally glimpsing the stars through a small opening. Musically, this setting evokes the end of the long wandering through the Inferno, with a surprising view of the stars as a reward. Le Stelle was commissioned by ACFEA Tour Consultants for the Pacific Chorale (Rob Istad, conductor), in support of Chorus America.

Maestro Kent Tritle remarks, “This concert is truly a concert of celebration! With the brilliance of organist David Briggs's transcriptions, we are able to perform both the magnificent "Choral Cantata" of Beethoven – the final movement of his Ninth Symphony, alongside the glorious conclusion of Mahler's Symphony II, “Resurrection”. We have a stunning cast of soloists on board, and I'm also deeply excited for our New York premieres of works by Oliver Caplan and Karen P. Thomas.”

OSNY's 150th Anniversary season concludes with a performance of Handel's Samson on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7:00pm. Joining the Society, Maestro Kent Tritle, and the Orchestra of the Society for this performance are Nola Richardson, soprano, Mary Beth Nelson, mezzo-soprano, Lawrence Jones, tenor, Sidney Outlaw, baritone, and Joseph Beutel, bass-baritone.

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Event Information
Celebratory Concert at St. Bartholomew's Church
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:00pm
St. Bartholomew's Church
Tickets: $35 - $60
Link: https://bit.ly/StBarts2024

Gustav Mahler: Second Symphony
Ludwig van Beethoven: Ninth Symphony
OLIVER CAPLAN: Cloud Anthem
KAREN P. THOMAS: Le Stelle 

Susanna Phillips, soprano
Heather Petrie, contralto
Joshua Blue, tenor
Tyler Duncan, baritone
David Briggs, organ
Kent Tritle, conductor
Orchestra of the Society

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About Susanna Phillips
Alabama-born soprano Susanna Phillips is one of today's most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. Ms. Phillips is a recipient of The Metropolitan Opera's 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award. Known for her sparkling portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème, Ms. Phillips has sung at the Met as Musetta, Pamina, Donna Anna, Rosalinde, Antonia/Stella, Micaëla, Donna Elvira, and most recently in her role debut as Mimi. Role highlights at the Met under James Levine include Fiordigili, which The New York Times called a “breakthrough night”, and Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho's L'amour de Loin. Ms. Phillips was also a featured artist in the Met's Summer Recital Series. 

In the current season, Ms. Phillips joins Boston Baroque for Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra for Beethoven 9. She joins both Music of the Baroque and Oratorio Society of New York for the Mozart Requiem and Bach Magnificat, and returns to OSNY later in the season for Beethoven 9 and Mahler 2. In addition, she presents recitals with Myra Huang, Gloria Chein, and Anthony McGill at Dallas Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, and other venues and dates to be announced.

Last season, Ms. Phillips returned to the Metropolitan Opera for her role debut as Mimi in La Bohème. She joined the Dallas Symphony for Mendelssohn's Lobgesang and the Utah Symphony for Elijah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Other concert and recital engagements included Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder with the Amarillo Symphony, a recital with True Concord at the Tuscon Desert Song Festival, Vaughan Williams's Sea Symphony with Oregon Bach Festival, and a recital with Chamber Music Northwest.

About Heather Petrie
Heather Petrie is “a true contralto, with a big, deep, resonant projection that can fill a hall.” (New London Day). Recent career highlights include a concert tour of South Korea; Carnegie Hall performances of Handel's Messiah with Musica Sacra, and with the Oratorio Society of New York; Mozart's Requiem with the American Classical Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall; Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in Salt Lake City; two productions with the Metropolitan Opera, and several concerts throughout the New York area. 

In 2019 Heather was the second prize winner in the Oratorio Society of New York's Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, and made her Carnegie Hall solo debut that winter with OSNY. As a soloist, she has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, Voices of Ascension, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, and the New Orchestra of Washington. 

She performs frequently with the New York Philharmonic, Musica Sacra, the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, and the Choir of Temple Emanu-El. In addition to numerous operatic roles, she has been a member of the opera chorus at both Bard Summerscape and the Princeton Festival, and is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus. Heather is a founding member of the critically acclaimed, eight-voice treble group Etherea Vocal Ensemble, and is prominently featured on both of their recordings, released by Delos. She holds degrees from Bard College and SUNY Purchase Conservatory.

About Joshua Blue
In the 2023-24 season, British-American tenor Joshua Blue makes his Houston Grand Opera stage debut creating the role of Wilson in the world premiere of Jake Heggie's new work Intelligence. He also performs Moravec's Sanctuary Road with both the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and Princeton Pro Musica. Mr. Blue will join the Royal Opera House on tour to Japan covering the Duke in Rigoletto with Antonio Pappano on the podium. He returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Tamino in Julie Taymor's production of The Magic Flute and reunites with conductor Leon Botstein to perform Dvořák's Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra as well as Brahms' Rinaldo at the Fisher Center at Bard with The Orchestra Now. Mr. Blue has been engaged by the LA Phil, Washington National Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Wolf Trap Opera, collaborating with conductors James Conlon, Gianandrea Noseda, Eun Sun Kim, Fabio Luisi, James Gaffigan, Carlo Rizzi, Bertrand de Billy, Bernard Labadie, and Leonard Slatkin, at venues as far-ranging as the Hollywood Bowl. He is the recipient of The Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize and James McCracken and Sandra Warfield Opera Prize. Mr. Blue holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School.

About Tyler Duncan
With a voice described as “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding” (The Globe and Mail), baritone Tyler Duncan has performed worldwide to great acclaim in both opera and concert repertoire. Throughout his varied career, he has performed with several of the world's leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony. Mr. Duncan has also performed numerous roles at The Metropolitan Opera.

Frequently paired with pianist Erika Switzer, Mr. Duncan has delivered acclaimed recitals in prestigious venues worldwide. Their captivating performances have mesmerized audiences in New York, Boston, Chicago, Paris, and across Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, and South Africa.

Mr. Duncan has received prizes from the Naumburg, London's Wigmore Hall, and Munich's ARD competitions, and won the 2010 Joy in Singing competition, 2008 New York Oratorio Society's Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, 2007 Prix International Pro Musicis Award, and Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. Mr. Duncan earned music degrees from the University of British Columbia, Hochschule für Musik (Augsburg), and Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich). As a current faculty member at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA, he finds joy in helping the next generation of singers find their true voice. Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Mr. Duncan now resides in the scenic Hudson Valley of New York. You may find him frequenting many a roadside farmstand seeking the perfect, freshly picked Macintosh apple.

About David Briggs
David Briggs is an internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences. Consistently ranked as one of the finest organists of his generation, David's extensive repertoire spans five centuries. He has also become one of the foremost organ transcribers of symphonic works, having transcribed orchestral compositions by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Bruckner, Ravel, Bach, and Mahler.

Described as “an intrepid improviser” by Michael Barone, host of American Public Media's Pipedreams, and “one of our finest organists” by the New York Times, David also frequently performs improvisations to silent films.

At the age of 17, David obtained his FRCO (Fellow of the Royal College of Organists) diploma, winning the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. From 1981-84 he was Organ Scholar at King's College, Cambridge University, during which time he studied with Jean Langlais in Paris. The first British winner of the Tournemire Prize at the St. Albans International Improvisation Competition, he also won the first prize in the International Improvisation Competition at Paisley. 

Deeply committed to ensuring organ music remains relevant and vibrant, David enjoys giving pre-concert lectures and demonstrations. He teaches performance at Cambridge University, frequently serves on international organ competition juries, and gives master classes at colleges and conservatories. David also performs more than 50 concerts a year at some of the most prestigious venues throughout North America and Europe, and is also a prolific composer.

David is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.  

About the Oratorio Society of New York
Celebrating its 150th anniversary during the 2023-2024 season, the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY.ORG) is one of the oldest musical organizations in the United States and has become New York City's standard for grand choral performance. Founded in 1873 by Leopold Damrosch, the Society has played an integral role in the musical life of the city. In its early years, the Society established a fund to finance the building of a new concert hall, a cause taken up in earnest by the Society's fifth president, Andrew Carnegie. In 1891, under the direction of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Society helped inaugurate this new Music Hall, which would be renamed Carnegie Hall several years later.

The Society continues to perform several times each season at Carnegie Hall. Its annual performances of Handel's Messiah, a New York holiday tradition unbroken since 1874, have become a holiday favorite with New York audiences. In addition to its collaborations with the New York Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke's, as well as other performing arts institutions, the Society performs internationally every few years – including recent concerts in Japan, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, and Brazil.

The Society is also committed to commissioning and championing new works, including most recently two pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Grammy Award-winning librettist Mark Campbell: Sanctuary Road, the recording of which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award and is available from Naxos Records, and A Nation of Others, which saw its premiere in November 2022 after multiple pandemic-related delays. The recording of the premiere will also be commercially released

The OSNY membership consists of avocational and professionally trained singers, as well as non-singing members. Auditions are held twice annually at the beginning of the fall and winter terms. OSNY is a not-for-profit 501c3 corporation governed by a volunteer board of directors with a professional music staff and executive director.

OSNY was awarded the Handel Medallion in 1974 and helped found the New York Choral Consortium.

About Kent Tritle
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 features more than 20 recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI, and MSR Classics labels. Recent releases include the Grammy-nominated Naxos recording of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York; Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in David Briggs's organ-choral version, and Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra. Other releases include the 2013 recording of Juraj Filas' Requiem, Oratio Spei dedicated to the victims of 9/11, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Kühn Choir; Messages to Myself, an acclaimed recording with Musica Sacra of five new works; and recordings – including Cool of the Day, an a cappella program of music ranging from Gregorian chant, Palestrina, and spirituals to Strauss's Deutsche Motette, and Ginastera's The Lamentations of Jeremiah with Schnittke's Concerto for Choir – with the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola. 

Kent Tritle is renowned as a master clinician, giving workshops on conducting and repertoire; he leads annual choral workshops at the Amherst Early Music Festival, and recent years have included 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.

 Kent Tritle founded the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at New York's Church of St. Ignatius Loyola and led it to great acclaim from 1989 to 2011. From 1996 to 2004, he was Music Director of New York's The Dessoff Choirs. Kent hosted “The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle” on New York's WQXR, a weekly program devoted to the vibrant world of choral music, from 2010 to 2014. Among his recent honors are the 2020 Chorus America Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award from Career Bridges, and the 2016 President's Medal for Distinguished Service from the Manhattan School of Music. Kent is on the advisory boards of the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective (C4) and the Clarion Music Society, and was the 2016 honoree at Clarion's annual gala. He was recently featured in the WIRED video series “Masterminds,” an installment titled, “What Conductors Are Really Doing”.

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