NYCS To Perform Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle 2/25

New York Choral Society (NYCS) will perform Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle in the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on February 25 at 8pm. The esteemed chorus performs under the baton of NYCS Music Director John Daly Goodwin, alongside soprano Joyce El-Khoury, mezzo-soprano Marjorie Dix, tenor Michele Angelini and bass Brian Kontes.

Written during Rossini's retirement in 1863, the sacred composition caused a sensation upon its completion but was debuted to a private audience only. The original arrangement called for four soloists, a chorus of six and was scored for two pianos and a harmonium. Referred to by Napoleon III as neither little, solemn, nor liturgical, the Mass was considered by some to be a creative self-renewal for the venerated composer.

About the Artists
Michele Angelini, tenor, made his European debut in 2006 as Conte di Liebenskoff in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims at the prestigious Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy. In the 2010-2011 season Mr. Angelini will perform the roles of Lindoro in L'italiana in Algieri in Bilbao, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the Savonlinna Festival. He will join the New York Choral Society for Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle and will return to the Metropolitan Opera for Armida. Mr. Angelini will also make his Opera Colorado debut in La Cenerentola. Future engagements include the role of Conte Liebenskoff in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims at Firenze's Teatro del Maggio Musicale.

Marjorie Dix, mezzo-soprano, is a graduate of Duquesne University and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Development Program. She has performed at the Metropolitan Opera and in opera houses throughout the United States and abroad. Some of her accomplishments include Marie in Wozzeck at Opéra National de Lorraine and Isolde in Tristan und Isolde with Virginia Opera. Ms. Dix has performed works ranging from Bach to Harbison. Marjorie has appeared with major orchestras and chamber ensembles such as the Houston Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Ensemble with James Levine.

Joyce El-Khoury, soprano, is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia. In the 2010-2011 season Miss El-Khoury returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Frasquita in Carmen, Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride with Maestro James Levine and a collaboration with The Juilliard School, her role debut as Mimi in La bohème with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, and she returns to The New York Choral Society to perform Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle. She ends the season with her Tanglewood Music Festival debut performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Future engagements include her European debut as Violetta in La Traviata with the Welsh National Opera, Violetta with the Knoxville Opera, Musetta for her Canadian Opera Company debut and her debut in concert with the Münchner Philharmoniker.

Brian Kontes, bass, began the 2010-2011 season with his debut at Opera Hong Kong as Colline in their new production of La bohème. He then returned to New York City to sing the role of Remigio in La Navarraise with the Opera Orchestra of New York in Carnegie Hall and appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in La Fanciulla del West. Other recent engagements include The Bonze and Yamadori in Nashville Opera's Madame Butterfly, Colline in Piedmont Opera Theatre's La bohème, and several concerts in Carnegie Hall as bass soloist in the Fauré Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Haydn's Paukenmesse, with Mid-America Productions.

About the New York Choral Society
The New York Choral Society (NYCS), founded in 1958, has become known by audiences and critics for the quality of its performances and the diversity of its repertoire, which encompasses well-known choral masterworks as well as many compositions rarely heard in concert halls. The NYCS has presented eleven world premieres and has commissioned works by Paul Alan Levi, Morton Gould, Stephen Paulus, and Robert De Cormier.

John Daly Goodwin, Music Director of the New York Choral Society, has built on the ensemble's tradition of excellence over the past 23 seasons to make it the chorus of choice for American Ballet Theatre, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and the September Concert Foundation. Under his direction, the chorus has performed in China, the Czech Republic, Israel, Austria, France, Italy, and Greece. His performances of such works as Mahler's 8th Symphony, Beethoven's Missa solemnis, and the Requiems of Verdi, Mozart, and Brahms have achieved much critical acclaim. He has conducted more than 90 concerts around New York City, including 40 in Carnegie Hall and 7 at Lincoln Center, and has prepared choruses for Leonard Bernstein, Dennis Russell Davies, Asher Fisch, Yong Yan Hu, Yehudi Menuhin, Eve Queler, Julius Rudel, Gerard Schwarz, Leonard Slatkin, and Robert Spano and for 17 telecasts.

Goodwin's strong personal commitment to music education has led him to do extensive volunteer work with aspiring young musicians. Through Young Audiences, Artsgenesis, and the New York Choral Society's Mini Maestros program, he has brought the gift of music to thousands of children in New York City public schools.

TICKET INFORMATION:
For ticket information, call (212) 247-3878 or visit www.nychoral.org