Figure Humaine
Benjamin Britten Advance Democracy 
Ilsa Weber Wiegala
Jacob Beranek Abendgebet 
Francis Poulenc Un soir de neige and Figure Humaine
Elsa Barraine Prelude
Trinity Choir; Melissa Attebury, Director 

Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9
Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit, BWV 115

Nola Richardson, soprano
Sylvia Leith, alto
Kyle Stegall, tenor
Edmund Milly, bass

Our first Sunday concert of 2025 features two giants of Baroque and classical eras.

Bach: Cantata 83: Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde

Bach’s Cantata 83 celebrates the Feast of the Purification of Mary with joyous melodies and intricate harmonies, reflecting both spiritual significance and Bach’s mastery of Baroque composition.

Mozart: Symphony No. 25

Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor is marked by its dramatic intensity and emotional depth, featuring powerful orchestration and dynamic contrasts that exemplify the Sturm und Drang style.

Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano

Ben Hawker, tenor

Edmund Milly, bass-baritone

Edmund sings the bass solos in a production of Handel’s Messiah directed by Edward Polochick.

Baltimore Basilica Festival Orchestra & Chorus

Edmund sings the bass solos in a production of Handel’s Messiah directed by Edward Polochick.

Baltimore Basilica Festival Orchestra & Chorus

Edmund makes his Lancaster Symphony solo debut in Handel’s Messiah.

Edmund makes his Lancaster Symphony solo debut in Handel’s Messiah.

Edmund makes his Lancaster Symphony solo debut in Handel’s Messiah.

Divine Muse: Honoring Saint Cecilia
Alessandro Scarlatti St. Cecilia Mass
George Frideric Handel Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day overture
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, Director
Trinity celebrates the patron saint of music, Saint Cecilia, whose devotion, piety, and martyrdom have inspired countless works of art, literature, and music. Presented across three concerts and throughout liturgical services in October and November, the Divine Muse series will highlight the powerful connection between music and faith. Director of Music Melissa Attebury leads this culminating performance on the eve of Saint Cecilia’s Feast Day.

Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Alice Sara Ott, piano

STRAVINSKY Renard
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Just when it seemed that Bartók, destitute and homesick, was at death’s door, he rallied to create the audaciously vibrant Concerto for Orchestra, spotlighting every instrument in the ensemble. For Ravel, a degenerative brain disease kept him from performing his own piano concerto, but it did not dampen his wondrous sense of sonic sparkle. Internationally renowned pianist and recording artist Alice Sara Ott preserves Ravel's musical vision with a playful rendition of his virtuosic concerto. Stravinsky, exiled from his Russian homeland and silenced by World War I, turned his frustration into the most rascally sort of fun in this burlesque tale about a cunning fox.

Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Alice Sara Ott, piano

STRAVINSKY Renard
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Just when it seemed that Bartók, destitute and homesick, was at death’s door, he rallied to create the audaciously vibrant Concerto for Orchestra, spotlighting every instrument in the ensemble. For Ravel, a degenerative brain disease kept him from performing his own piano concerto, but it did not dampen his wondrous sense of sonic sparkle. Internationally renowned pianist and recording artist Alice Sara Ott preserves Ravel's musical vision with a playful rendition of his virtuosic concerto. Stravinsky, exiled from his Russian homeland and silenced by World War I, turned his frustration into the most rascally sort of fun in this burlesque tale about a cunning fox.

Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Alice Sara Ott, piano

STRAVINSKY Renard
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Just when it seemed that Bartók, destitute and homesick, was at death’s door, he rallied to create the audaciously vibrant Concerto for Orchestra, spotlighting every instrument in the ensemble. For Ravel, a degenerative brain disease kept him from performing his own piano concerto, but it did not dampen his wondrous sense of sonic sparkle. Internationally renowned pianist and recording artist Alice Sara Ott preserves Ravel's musical vision with a playful rendition of his virtuosic concerto. Stravinsky, exiled from his Russian homeland and silenced by World War I, turned his frustration into the most rascally sort of fun in this burlesque tale about a cunning fox.

Edmund sings the bass solos in Haydn’s Creation with Princeton Pro Musica, under the direction of Ryan Brandau.

On November 1, 2024, the New York Choral Society will present Voices of Light, a work by New York native Richard Einhorn, for orchestra, soloists, and chorus. This compelling piece will be paired with the legendary silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, which chronicles the trial and torment of Joan of Arc in the hours leading up to her execution. Starring the famous Comédie Française actress Renée Falconetti, this recently restored 1928 film, originally censored by the Catholic Church, offers a unique opportunity for both film and music lovers to experience the movie on a large screen at Alice Tully Hall, in partnership with the Mannes Orchestra. This production has been made possible through the generous support of the Martin L. Finkelman Bequest.

Featured Soloists: THE POLYPHONISTS

Amy Broadbent, Soprano

Sylvia Leith, Mezzo-Soprano

Matthew Hill, Tenor

Edmund Milly, Bass-Baritone

Join the Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir on a musical journey beginning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s music library in Leipzig and ending in the present day. Our program opens with virtuosic choral works that the great Thomaskantor taught his students in Leipzig before exploring contemporary responses to similar texts. Framed by the structure of a Lutheran service of Vespers, this concert will also include Bach Akademie Charlotte’s first performances of works by living composers. A not-to-be-missed highlight will be the first performance of Giles Swayne’s Magnificat I in the Southeast. Inspired by a field trip he took to southern Senegal and Gambia, Swayne incorporated the opening call of the Senegalese ploughing song O Lulum into the beginning of his composition. Brimming with unbridled fertility, rhythmic verve, and percussive drive, Swayne’s work shattered expectations of what ‘church music’ could be.

Adam GUMPELZHAIMER Deus in adiutorium
Héloïse WERNER O Sapientia
Heinrich SCHÜTZ Confitemini Domino
Roderick WILLIAMS O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA Sicut cervus – Sitivit Anima mea
Francesco CROATTI Duo Seraphim
John TAVENER Mother of God, Here I stand
Giles SWAYNE Magnificat
Joanna MARSH Evening Prayer
John RUTTER Hymn to the Creator of Light
Michael PRAETORIUS Benedicam Dominum

Join the Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir on a musical journey beginning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s music library in Leipzig and ending in the present day. Our program opens with virtuosic choral works that the great Thomaskantor taught his students in Leipzig before exploring contemporary responses to similar texts. Framed by the structure of a Lutheran service of Vespers, this concert will also include Bach Akademie Charlotte’s first performances of works by living composers. A not-to-be-missed highlight will be the first performance of Giles Swayne’s Magnificat I in the Southeast. Inspired by a field trip he took to southern Senegal and Gambia, Swayne incorporated the opening call of the Senegalese ploughing song O Lulum into the beginning of his composition. Brimming with unbridled fertility, rhythmic verve, and percussive drive, Swayne’s work shattered expectations of what ‘church music’ could be.

Adam GUMPELZHAIMER Deus in adiutorium
Héloïse WERNER O Sapientia
Heinrich SCHÜTZ Confitemini Domino
Roderick WILLIAMS O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA Sicut cervus – Sitivit Anima mea
Francesco CROATTI Duo Seraphim
John TAVENER Mother of God, Here I stand
Giles SWAYNE Magnificat
Joanna MARSH Evening Prayer
John RUTTER Hymn to the Creator of Light
Michael PRAETORIUS Benedicam Dominum

Join the Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir on a musical journey beginning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s music library in Leipzig and ending in the present day. Our program opens with virtuosic choral works that the great Thomaskantor taught his students in Leipzig before exploring contemporary responses to similar texts. Framed by the structure of a Lutheran service of Vespers, this concert will also include Bach Akademie Charlotte’s first performances of works by living composers. A not-to-be-missed highlight will be the first performance of Giles Swayne’s Magnificat I in the Southeast. Inspired by a field trip he took to southern Senegal and Gambia, Swayne incorporated the opening call of the Senegalese ploughing song O Lulum into the beginning of his composition. Brimming with unbridled fertility, rhythmic verve, and percussive drive, Swayne’s work shattered expectations of what ‘church music’ could be.

Adam GUMPELZHAIMER Deus in adiutorium
Héloïse WERNER O Sapientia
Heinrich SCHÜTZ Confitemini Domino
Roderick WILLIAMS O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA Sicut cervus – Sitivit Anima mea
Francesco CROATTI Duo Seraphim
John TAVENER Mother of God, Here I stand
Giles SWAYNE Magnificat
Joanna MARSH Evening Prayer
John RUTTER Hymn to the Creator of Light
Michael PRAETORIUS Benedicam Dominum

Bach’s appointment in 1723 as Thomaskantor in Leipzig heralded a period of intense creative energy for the composer. Over the next four years, Bach would use his considerable talents to write works for choir that reach levels of virtuosity, expression, and jubilation unmatched by any other composer of the German Baroque. The Motets, as a collection, are the lodestar of Baroque choral polyphony and were likely performed repeatedly until Bach’s death in 1750. Approachable and deeply moving, the Motets are among the few Bach works that did not fall out of fashion after the composer’s death. In a tour-de-force performance, The Thirteen’s musicians, “exquisite in every way” (Gramophone) perform all of Bach’s motets in concert.

Bach’s appointment in 1723 as Thomaskantor in Leipzig heralded a period of intense creative energy for the composer. Over the next four years, Bach would use his considerable talents to write works for choir that reach levels of virtuosity, expression, and jubilation unmatched by any other composer of the German Baroque. The Motets, as a collection, are the lodestar of Baroque choral polyphony and were likely performed repeatedly until Bach’s death in 1750. Approachable and deeply moving, the Motets are among the few Bach works that did not fall out of fashion after the composer’s death. In a tour-de-force performance, The Thirteen’s musicians, “exquisite in every way” (Gramophone) perform all of Bach’s motets in concert.

Bach’s appointment in 1723 as Thomaskantor in Leipzig heralded a period of intense creative energy for the composer. Over the next four years, Bach would use his considerable talents to write works for choir that reach levels of virtuosity, expression, and jubilation unmatched by any other composer of the German Baroque. The Motets, as a collection, are the lodestar of Baroque choral polyphony and were likely performed repeatedly until Bach’s death in 1750. Approachable and deeply moving, the Motets are among the few Bach works that did not fall out of fashion after the composer’s death. In a tour-de-force performance, The Thirteen’s musicians, “exquisite in every way” (Gramophone) perform all of Bach’s motets in concert.

A Brief History of Western Music

Patrick Dupre Quigley, conductor
Honey Meconi, consulting scholar

Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley gives you a crash course on the history of Western music in one lively evening with chorus, period keyboard instruments, and cello. You’ll hear the contrasts and connections between eras: the stark simplicity of Medieval chant, the rich polyphony of the Renaissance, the ornate structure of the Baroque, the elegant balance of the Classical, the passionate intensity of the Romantic, and the creative ingenuity of the Contemporary. Don’t miss this chance to experience the evolution of Western music in a new and exciting way.

A Brief History of Western Music

Patrick Dupre Quigley, conductor
Honey Meconi, consulting scholar

Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley gives you a crash course on the history of Western music in one lively evening with chorus, period keyboard instruments, and cello. You’ll hear the contrasts and connections between eras: the stark simplicity of Medieval chant, the rich polyphony of the Renaissance, the ornate structure of the Baroque, the elegant balance of the Classical, the passionate intensity of the Romantic, and the creative ingenuity of the Contemporary. Don’t miss this chance to experience the evolution of Western music in a new and exciting way.

A Brief History of Western Music

Patrick Dupre Quigley, conductor
Honey Meconi, consulting scholar

Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley gives you a crash course on the history of Western music in one lively evening with chorus, period keyboard instruments, and cello. You’ll hear the contrasts and connections between eras: the stark simplicity of Medieval chant, the rich polyphony of the Renaissance, the ornate structure of the Baroque, the elegant balance of the Classical, the passionate intensity of the Romantic, and the creative ingenuity of the Contemporary. Don’t miss this chance to experience the evolution of Western music in a new and exciting way.

A Brief History of Western Music

Patrick Dupre Quigley, conductor
Honey Meconi, consulting scholar

Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley gives you a crash course on the history of Western music in one lively evening with chorus, period keyboard instruments, and cello. You’ll hear the contrasts and connections between eras: the stark simplicity of Medieval chant, the rich polyphony of the Renaissance, the ornate structure of the Baroque, the elegant balance of the Classical, the passionate intensity of the Romantic, and the creative ingenuity of the Contemporary. Don’t miss this chance to experience the evolution of Western music in a new and exciting way.

Ensemble Veritas, asmall vocal ensemble directed by Stephen Sands, performs new works by Harvard composers.

The Saint Matthew Passion is considered by Bach enthusiasts and aficionados alike to be the composer’s greatest surviving work. Others would argue that it’s the finest composition ever produced in western music. Among a list of unrivaled qualities, Bach is remembered as a great architect of musical form, and his Matthew Passion, taken as a whole, evinces a meticulous formal symmetry in addition to being a work of deepest emotional expression in all of its minutest detail. Both performers and audiences are profoundly affected by this work long after first experiencing it. The Washington Bach Consort performs this epic drama once every three seasons, so with an all-star cast, you won’t want to miss this performance!

Aaron Sheehan, Evangelist

Jonathan Woody, Jesus

Clara Rottsolk, soprano I

Margot Rood, soprano II

Kristen Dubenion-Smith, alto I

Rhianna Cockrell, alto II

Jacob Perry Jr., tenor I

James Reese, tenor II

Enrico Lagasca, bass I

Edmund Milly, bass II