Bach's Magnificat, Mozart's Requiem & More Set for Oratorio Society Of New York 2023-24 Season

The Oratorio Society of New York, led by Music Director Kent Tritle, has revealed its 2023-2024 season with three concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall and one at St. Bartholomew's Church. The season also marks OSNY's 150th Anniversary and includes glorious performances of Bach's Magnificat, Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah and Samson, Mahler's Second Symphony, and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Subscriptions are available now.

The season kicks off on Monday, November 6, 2023 at 7:00pm with Bach's Magnificat and Mozart's Requiem, two iconic works in the choral repertoire. Joining the Society as soloists are Laquita Mitchell, soprano, Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano, Eric Carey, tenor, and Adam Lau, bass, together with the Orchestra of the Society, all led by Music Director Kent Tritle.

Continuing the season, Oratorio Society of New York presents its 149th rendition of Handel's Messiah on Monday, December 18, 2023 at 7:00pm. A holiday tradition for the Society since 1874, this year's grand performance - again led by Maestro Tritle - includes soloists soprano Kathryn Lewek, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenor Martin Bakari, and baritone John Brancy, together with the Orchestra of the Society.

The Society presents a concert at St. Bartholomew's Church (St. Bart's) on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:00pm. The program features performances with organ reduction of the final movements of Mahler's Second Symphony and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Additionally, OSNY has announced a call for scores, with one selected work to be performed at this celebratory concert. Organist and arranger David Briggs joins the performance, with soloists Susanna Phillips, soprano, Heather Petrie, contralto, Joshua Blue, tenor, and Tyler Duncan, baritone. Reception to follow. Tickets for this concert will be available after October 1.

OSNY's 150th Anniversary season concludes with a performance of Handel's Samson on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7:00pm. The three-act oratorio - which Handel began to compose immediately after completing his Messiah - is well-known for the arias "Let the bright Seraphim", "Total eclipse", and "Let their celestial concerts". It first premiered at Covent Garden in London on February 18, 1743. Joining the Society, Maestro Tritle, and the Orchestra of the Society for this performance are soloists Nola Richardson, soprano, Mary Beth Nelson, mezzo-soprano, Lawrence Jones, tenor, Sidney Outlaw, baritone, and Joseph Beutel, bass-baritone.

Regarding OSNY's 2023-24 season and milestone anniversary, Music Director Kent Tritle shares, "I'm thrilled to be directing this 150th Anniversary Season of the Oratorio Society of New York, my 19th season with the ensemble! Our work together never ceases to amaze me. Most recently we scaled the heights of Bach's monumental Mass in B minor. In the 2023-2024 season we'll present another of Bach's major works, his Magnificat, paired with Mozart's Requiem. We'll also plumb the depths of Handel's Messiah, an annual OSNY tradition, relearning and re-interpreting Handel's glorious music. In celebration of our sesquicentennial season, we'll present a concert featuring the choral movements of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mahler's Second Symphony. A call for scores is underway to select a contemporary work for that concert. Finally, we'll conclude with Handel's Samson, a work also performed in OSNY's inaugural 1873-1874 season. We cannot wait to celebrate with you!"

The Society's 23-24 season additionally includes the 47th annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition on Saturday, April 13, 2024 in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The annual competition features eight young singers performing major oratorio arias with piano accompaniment. A panel of distinguished judges choose winners and award cash prizes. Winners have performed with OSNY and other organizations at Carnegie Hall and other major NYC locations. Founded in 1977, the competition is the only major vocal competition dedicated to oratorio singing with the goal of nurturing the careers of aspiring oratorio soloists and their commitment to the oratorio repertoire.

Event Information

Bach's Magnificat and Mozart's Requiem

Monday, November 6, 2023 at 7:00pm
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Tickets: Subscriptions start at $90
Link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2023/11/06/Oratorio-Society-of-New-York-0700PM

BACH: Magnificat
MOZART: Requiem

Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Eric Carey, tenor
Adam Lau, bass
Kent Tritle, conductor
Orchestra of the Society
________________________________________

Handel's Messiah

Monday, December 18, 2023 at 7:00pm
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Tickets: Subscriptions start at $90
Link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2023/12/18/Oratorio-Society-of-New-York-0700PM

HANDEL: Messiah

Kathryn Lewek, soprano
Daniel Moody, countertenor
Martin Bakari, tenor
John Brancy, baritone
Kent Tritle, conductor
Orchestra of the Society
________________________________________

Celebratory Concert

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:00pm
St. Bartholomew's Church

MAHLER: Symphony No. 2
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9

Additional programming to be announced

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

Tickets for this concert will be available after October 1
________________________________________

Handel's Samson

Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7:00pm
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Tickets: Subscriptions start at $90
Link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2024/05/06/Oratorio-Society-of-New-York-0700PM

HANDEL: Samson

Nola Richardson, soprano
Mary Beth Nelson, mezzo-soprano
Lawrence Jones, tenor
Sidney Outlaw, baritone
Joseph Beutel, bass-baritone
Kent Tritle, conductor
Orchestra of the Society

Ticket Information
 

Subscriptions to the three concerts at Carnegie Hall are available now at osny.org. Tickets will also be available via carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800, or the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

About the Oratorio Society of New York
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, and 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 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 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.

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 Grammy-nominated volunteer chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York's elite professional chorus.

Kent is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. Also an acclaimed organ virtuoso, Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.

Highlights of the 2022-23 season include two world premieres: A Nation of Others, a new oratorio for six soloists, chorus and orchestra by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell about immigrants' arrival at Ellis Island in 1921, with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, and a setting of the Stabat Mater for organ, soloists, chorus, and orchestra by David Briggs at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Kent also leads Robert Paterson's Whitman's America (2016) and Bach's Mass in B Minor with the Oratorio Society; music from 14th-century England and France and a program featuring music of women composers spanning more than five centuries with Musica Sacra; and "Venice: City of Light," a collaboration with Rose of the Compass, holiday programs, and two organ recitals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Kent also leads his annual performances of Handel's Messiah, with Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society of New York, at Carnegie Hall.

Among Kent's recent notable performances: at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Verdi's Requiem, Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand," and Britten's War Requiem performed by the Oratorio Society of New York and the Symphony and Symphonic Chorus of the Manhattan School of Music; and with the Cathedral Choir, the New York premiere performance by the Cathedral Choir of Einojuhani Rautaavara's Vigilia (called by Opera News "a choral concert for the ages"). With Musica Sacra, world premieres of music by Juraj Filas, Michael Gilbertson, and Robert Paterson and an acclaimed performance of Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil. And with the Oratorio Society of New York, the world premieres of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road (the recording of which received a Grammy nomination) and Juraj Filas's Song of Solomon, and Mozart's arrangement of Handel's Messiah.

Kent has created high-profile collaborations for his groups with other major players in the New York music scene, directing the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus for performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the New York Philharmonic led by Alan Gilbert; Musica Sacra for the New York Philharmonic's live score performances of 2001: A Space Odyssey, also led by Gilbert, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; and the Oratorio Society of New York for Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Orchestra of St. Luke's led by Sir Roger Norrington, and Carnegie Hall's 125th Anniversary Gala. He also led the "Mass Appeal Mass" of the "Make Music New York" festival for three years, including the 2012 premiere of a work by Philip Glass in Times Square.

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.

In more than 150 concerts presented by the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series from 1989 to 2011, Kent Tritle conducted the Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola in a broad repertoire of sacred works, from Renaissance masses and oratorio masterworks to premieres by notable living composers, earning praise for building the choir and the concert series into one of the highlights of the New York concert scene. From 1996 to 2004, Tritle was Music Director of the Emmy-nominated Dessoff Choirs. Kent hosted "The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle," a weekly program devoted to the vibrant world of choral music, on New York's WQXR from 2010 to 2014.

As an organ recitalist, Kent Tritle performs regularly in Europe and across the United States; recital venues have included the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, Dresden's Hofkirche, King's College at Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. With the Philharmonic he has performed Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony conducted by Lorin Maazel, Andrew Davis, Antonio Pappano, and David Robertson, and recorded Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem, Britten's War Requiem and Henze's Symphony No. 9, all conducted by Kurt Masur, as well as the Grammy-nominated Sweeney Todd conducted by Andrew Litton. He is featured on the DVDs The Organistas and Creating the Stradivarius of Organs.

Kent Tritle's discography features more than 20 recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels. Recent releases, including the Grammy-nominated 2018 world premiere performance of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York; the 2016 performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, David Briggs's organ-choral version, and Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra, have been praised by NPR Music, Gramophone, and The American Organist.

Kent is the 2020 recipient of Chorus America's Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. Other recent honors include 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.

Kent Tritle holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from The Juilliard School in organ performance and choral conducting. He has been featured on ABC World News Tonight, National Public Radio, and Minnesota Public Radio, as well as in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He was featured in Episode 6 of the first season of the WIRED video series "Masterminds," an installment titled, "What Conductors Are Really Doing."

Photo credit: Brian Hatton