American Classical Orchestra Presents Bach's St. John Passion At Alice Tully Hall

The American Classical Orchestra continues its 40th anniversary season with a performance of Bach's grand choral masterwork, the St. John Passion, on Thursday, January 30. The concert is the second of three full orchestral concerts led this season by Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford at Alice Tully Hall. The oratorio is notable as the earliest to survive of the very few Passions Bach composed. 

The role of Jesus is sung by Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca, who can be heard on five Grammy Award-nominated recordings. He debuts this season at BachFest in Leipzig with Bach Collegium San Diego. The role of the Evangelist features tenor Jacob Perry, who recently made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic singing Handel's Israel in Egypt; and the role of Pilate is sung by bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, winner of the 2022 Susan Wadsworth Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

The ACO's next concert is a chamber music performance featuring the Mendelssohn Octet on Friday, March 28 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

St. John Passion

Thursday, January 30, 2025, 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall          

American Classical Orchestra

Thomas Crawford, conductor

ACO Chorus

Roles:

Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone, Jesus

Jacob Perry, tenor, Evangelist

Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone, Pilate

Soloists:

Elisse Albian, soprano

Kristen Hahn, soprano

Reginald Mobley, countertenor

Alex Guerrero, tenor

Gene Stenger, tenor

Edward Vogel, tenor

Timothy McDevitt, baritone

J. S. Bach: St. John Passion, BWV 245

Composed just after Bach's 39th birthday for a vesper service on Good Friday, the St. John Passion premiered in 1724, three years before the St. Matthew, the only other surviving Passion of the five he wrote. While oratorios were originally developed as large-scale musical compositions for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra in celebration of a religious theme, Bach contributed to the genre with vigorous treatment of the choruses and the use of narrative as a binding element. The soloists are American Grammy Award-nominated countertenor Reginald Mobley, sopranos Elisse Albian and Kristen Hahn; tenors Alex Guererro, Gene Stenger, and Edward Vogel; and baritone Timothy McDevitt. The ACO Chorus is comprised of professional New York metro area vocalists who join the Orchestra for larger works.

Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35, are available at aconyc.org or by calling ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4; at lincolncenter.org or the Alice Tully Hall box office, or by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.