Works Ranging from William Byrd to Meredith Monk Set for Musica Sacra's 2013-14 Season

Musica Sacra today announced programming for its 2013-2014 concert season. The programmed repertoire spans six centuries, and includes works by composers from William Byrd to Meredith Monk.

Music Director Kent Tritle spoke about the program, saying "this season we are delighted to continue our commitment to new music through the presentation of Jocelyn Hagen's brilliant work amass which is uniquely scored for chorus, vocal and cello soloists, cello quartet, marimba and guitar. We're pairing it with music of one of our heroes, the composer and performance artist Meredith Monk. Collaborating with Meredith and Jocelyn promises to be one of the highlights of the season. We also present our annual performances of Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall. Each year I look forward to weaving anew the fabric of this masterwork through the voices of our fully professional chorus. Our William Byrd event in October will be a joyous combination of great English Tudor Music performed in a splendid Gothic-style environment."

Musica Sacra will open its New York concert season on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 7:30pm, with an exclusive subscriber-only event in the Gothic-style Chapel of St. James at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, New York, NY 10025). The historic venue will be the intimate setting for an a cappella concert featuring Tudor and English Renaissance music: the haunting Mass for 5 Voices by 16th century composer William Byrd, and motets by his contemporaries Thomas Weelkes and Orlando Gibbons. Musica Sacra vocalists - soprano, Jamet Pittman; mezzo-soprano Silvie Jensen; tenors Marc Day and Michael Steinberger, and bass-baritone, Peter Stewart - are featured in the program curated and led by Music Director, Kent Tritle.

A pre-concert discussion for ticketholders titled "Art & Architecture: From Romanesque toward Tudor at St. John's" will be given at 6:15pm in The Chapel of St. James by Dr. Carol Herselle Krinsky, Professor of Art History, NYU College of Arts & Science. A private subscribers' reception with Kent Tritle and the artists will follow the concert.

On Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 8:00pm and Sunday December 15, 2013 at 8:00pm, Music Sacra returns to Carnegie Hall for its 74th and 75th performances of Handel's Messiah in New York City (57th Street at Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019). An anticipated holiday tradition, the concerts featuring the Musica Sacra Chorus and Orchestra will be conducted by Kent Tritle. Soloists will be: Leslie Fagan, soprano; Ian Howell, countertenor; Colin Balzer, tenor; and Sidney Outlaw, baritone. The Concertmaster of the Musica Sacra Orchestra is Jorge Ávila.

Committed to expanding the choral repertoire, Musica Sacra dedicates its spring concert at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (Broadway at 65th Street, New York, NY 10023) to contemporary composers Jocelyn Hagen and Meredith Monk. The performance on Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:30pm includes the New York premiere of Jocelyn Hagen's oratorio amass. Traditional texts from the Roman Catholic mass provide the framework for the composition, along with poetry from Saint John of the Cross and medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, and Eastern texts from the Hindu poet Tukaram. Soprano Jennifer Zetlan; tenor John Matthew Myers; baritone, Mischa Bouvier; and cellist Arthur Fiacco, Jr. are the soloists for the half-evening's length work. Meredith Monk returns for a performance of her composition Nightfall, which was originally written for Musica Sacra in 1995, and recorded by the Chorus under founding Music Director Richard Westenburg (Monk and the Abbess for Catalyst Records/BMG). Vocalists Meredith Monk, Katie Geissinger and Tom Bogdan will also join the Musica Sacra Chorus to perform three excerpts from ATLAS, Part III: Invisible Light: "Other Worlds Revealed," "Explorers' Junctures," and "Return to the Earth." "Hocket," a duet from Facing North performed by Miss Monk and Miss Geissinger will complete the program. The performance is made possible with support from The Sorel Organization.

Jocelyn Hagen, Meredith Monk, and Kent Tritle will participate in a "Composer Conversation" moderated by Nancy Shear of Nancy Shear Artists Services on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 from 6:30-8:00pm at Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (111 Amsterdam Avenue at 65th Street, New York, NY 10023). Reserved seating for subscribers is available at www.musicasacrany.com; the talk is open to the public.

Subscriptions will be on sale on July 8, 2013 with three-concert packages ranging from $245 to $72; a 20% discount off the Box Office single ticket prices. Special student subscriptions are available for $45. Single tickets will go on sale on Monday, August 12, 2013.

For ticket information, visit www.musicasacrany.com, e-mail tickets@musicasacrany.com, or call (212) 330-7684.

About Kent Tritle: Now entering his seventh season as Music Director of Musica Sacra, Kent Tritle is one of America's leading choral conductors. Concurrently serving as Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, Maestro Tritle was described as "the brightest star in New York's choral music world" by The New York Times. A dedicated educator, Kent Tritle is Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music, is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School and serves as the chorus director of the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is the organist of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra, and is in demand internationally as a recitalist. Radio audiences enjoy his weekly show "The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle," a weekly hour-long radio program on New York's Classical 105.9 WQXR and www.wqxr.org devoted to the vibrant genre of choral music and the breadth of activity in the choral community. Kent Tritle has made more than a dozen recordings on the Telarc, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI, and MSR Classics labels. For more information, please visit www.kenttritle.com.

About Musica Sacra: The mission of Musica Sacra is to create definitive, professional choral performances of the highest caliber for the widest possible audience. It supports its mission by presenting concerts; recording, commissioning and performing new choral works; and educating audiences, students, and the general public in the appreciation and history of choral music. www.musicasacrany.com