Kent Tritle Announces Spring 2017 Season
By: Christina Mancuso Jan. 31, 2017
To launch his 2016-17 season, Kent Tritle made his conducting debut in Asia with a program of Beethoven and Bellini at South Korea's Great Mountains Music Festival and School in August, and in November led the New York premiere at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine of the recently deceased Einojuhani Rautavaara's Vigilia. Opera News, praising Tritle's "profoundly musical direction," said, "Truly, this was a choral concert for the ages. ... For those of us who love choral music, and for those of us who particularly love choral music connected to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, this concert was possibly the finest event of the 2016-17 season."
Kent launches the spring leg of the season with his annual organ recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, on an instrument that is acknowledged as one of the great pipe organs in the country, playing a program of Bach, Franck, and Rorem. He leads two collaborations among his ensembles: a program of Duruflé's Requiem performed by the Cathedral Choir and the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra, and the third annual presentation of a major choral work by the Oratorio Society and the Manhattan School of Music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: Britten's War Requiem. And rounding out the spring are a program of Bach, Brahms, and Britten with Musica Sacra, Bach's monumental Mass in B Minor with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, and a performance as soloist in Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony with The Apollo Orchestra. (Full schedule with links is below.)
Called "New York's leading choral conductor" by The New Yorker, Kent Tritle is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed 200-voice avocational chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York City. In addition, Kent is Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic and Chair of the Organ Department of the Manhattan School of Music.
Great Music in a Great Space at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
The acclaimed performance of Rautavaara's Vigilia highlighted the sixth season of the revived Great Music in a Great Space series at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, whose choral events often feature the acclaimed Cathedral Choir. Two programs remain this season:
· Duruflé's Requiem - This gem of early 20th-century Parisian liturgical culture, a choral repertoire touchstone, is performed by the Cathedral Choir and the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra, with featured soloists Kirsten Sollek, mezzo-soprano; Arthur Fiacco, cello; and Raymond Nagem, organ. (Tuesday, February 21, 2017)
· Britten's War Requiem - In his third presentation of a major choral masterpiece with the combined forces of the Manhattan School of Music (Symphony and Symphonic Chorus), Oratorio Society of New York, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Kent leads two performances of Britten's War Requiem, the first presentation of the work in the Cathedral since a 1992 rendition by the New York Philharmonic led by Kurt Masur. Susanna Phillips, soprano; John Matthew Myers, tenor; and Matthew Worth, baritone, assistant conductor David Rosenmeyer, and the Cathedral Choristers led by Bryan Zaros join more than 350 choral singers, organ, and orchestra for Benjamin Britten's monumental 1962 work, a searing statement on the tragedy of war. This follows a 2014 performance of Verdi's Requiem, and two performances in 2015 of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand," which sold to capacity audiences. (Thursday & Friday, April 6 & 7, 2017)
Recording: Mahler "Symphony of a Thousand" Organ Arrangement
The Pro Organo label recently released a recording of David Briggs's arrangement of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand," for vocal soloists, choruses, and organ, recorded at its world premiere performance April 7, 2016, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, with Tritle conducting the Oratorio Society of New York, choruses of the Manhattan School of Music, and David Briggs on organ. https://proorgano.com/product/mahler8/
The 144th season of the Oratorio Society of New York, the city's standard for grand choral performance, is Kent Tritle's 12th as its music director. In addition to the Britten War Requiem at St. John the Divine, coming up this spring are:
· Britten's War Requiem (see above, Great Music in a Great Space) (April 6 & 7, 2017)
· Kent leads the OSNY on a trip to Uruguay for two concerts in the Teatro Solis in Montevideo, where they will perform Bruckner's Te Deum, Mozart's "Great" Mass in C Minor, and the first movement of Orff's Carmina Burana (March 14-15, 2017), with soloists Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Malena Dayen, mezzo-soprano; Alex Richardson, tenor; and Alejandro Meerapfel, baritone. The program will be recorded for broadcast by Direct TV in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and in the Caribbean.
· The work that caps the OSNY Carnegie Hall season is none other than Bach's Mass in B Minor. The soloists joining Kent, the chorus, and the Orchestra of the Society are Leslie Fagan, soprano; Christopher Ainsley, countertenor; Lawrence Jones, tenor; and Sidney Outlaw, baritone. (Monday, May 8, 2017)
The 2016-17 season of the acclaimed professional chorus is Kent Tritle's tenth as its music director. In addition to presenting its annual three-concert series, Musica Sacra has in recent years been featured with such major New York institutions as the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, and Orchestra of St. Luke's. This past summer, Kent directed the group for a performance with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart festival; upcoming is another appearance with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and a program of Bach, Brahms and Britten in the lead-up to Easter:
· Musica Sacra performs Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke's led by its music director, Pablo Heras-Casado, at Carnegie Hall. (Thursday, February 16, 2017)
· Bach, Brahms, and Britten - Bach's great motet Jesu, meine Freude; Brahms's Schaffe in mir, Gott, a motet that reflects his devotion to Bach's music; and two celebratory works by Britten - Festival Te Deum and Rejoice in the Lamb - combine for a program to mark the lead-in to the Easter season. (Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
Manhattan School of Music
In addition to leading the choral ensembles of the Manhattan School of Music, where he is Director of Choral Activities, in performance at the school, Kent has increasingly been preparing them for performances with and at major New York institutions. In recent years, they have performed with the New York Philharmonic and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and headlined performances of David Lang's Little Match Girl Passion and Tan Dun's Water Passion after St. Matthew at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among this season's high-profile collaborations:
· Duruflé's Requiem - (see above, Great Music in a Great Space) (Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
· Britten's War Requiem (see above, Great Music in a Great Space) (April 6 & 7, 2017)
Organ Performances
For his annual recital on the Great Organ of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Kent will perform Bach's Toccata and Fugue in C, BWV 564; Rorem's Views from the Oldest House; and Franck's Grand Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17 (Wednesday, February 8, 2017) . Kent will also perform this program at the Church of the Palms in Sarasota, FL (Sunday, February 26, 2017).
And he will be the soloist in a performance of Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony with The Apollo Orchestra, a young chamber orchestra based in the Washington, DC, area, in the final concert of its 2016-17 season (Friday, June 9, 2017, at Church of the Little Flower, Bethesda, MD).
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 acclaimed 200-voice avocational chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York City. In addition, Kent is Director of Choral Activities and at the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic and Chair of the Organ Department of the Manhattan School of Music.
Kent Tritle's discography of recordings on the Telarc, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels include his most recent release, Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra, about which Gramophone said, "As shaped by Music Director Kent Tritle, the myriad hues, lyricism and nobility in Paterson's music emerge in all their splendour." Other releases, including his 2013 recording of Juraj Filas' Requiem, Oratio Spei dedicated to the victims of 9/11, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Kühn Choir; Messages to Myself, an acclaimed recording with Musica Sacra of five new works; and two releases with the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, Cool of the Day - an a cappella program of music ranging from Gregorian chant, Palestrina, and spirituals to Strauss'sDeutsche Motette - and Ginastera's The Lamentations of Jeremiah with Schnittke's Concerto for Choir, have been praised by Gramophone, the American Record Guide, and The Choral Journal.
Kent Tritle founded the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at New York's Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, and led it to great acclaim from 1989 to 2011. From 1996 to 2004, Mr. Tritle was Music Director of New York's The Dessoff Choirs. Kent hosted "The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle" on New York's WQXR, a weekly program devoted to the vibrant world of choral music, from 2010 to 2014.
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KENT TRITLE SPRING 2017 SEASON
Wednesday, February 8, 2017, at 7:30 pm
Great Music in a Great Space at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
KENT TRITLE, organ
J. S. BACH Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564
ROREM Views from the Oldest House
FRANCK Grand Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17
Thursday, February 16, 2017, at 8:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor
Erin Morley, soprano
Florian Boesch, baritone
Musica Sacra,
Kent Tritle, Music Director
LUTOS?AWSKI Musique funèbre
BRAHMS Ein deutsches Requiem
Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at 7:30 pm
Great Music in a Great Space at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
CATHEDRAL CHOIR OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AND CHAMBER CHOIR
Kent Tritle, conductor
Kirsten Sollek, mezzo-soprano
Arthur Fiacco, cello
Raymond Nagem, organ
DURUFLÉ Requiem
DURUFLÉ Four Motets
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Church of the Palms, Sarasota, FL
KENT TRITLE, organ
J. S. BACH Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564
ROREM Views from the Oldest House
FRANCK Grand Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17
Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Kent Tritle, conductor
Raymond Nagem, organ
BACH Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
BRITTEN Festival Te Deum
BRAHMS Schaffe in mir, Gott
BRITTEN Rejoice in the Lamb
March 14 & 15, 2017
Teatro Solis, Montevideo, Uruguay
Orquesta Filarmonica de Montevideo
Kent Tritle, conductor
Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Malena Dayen, mezzo-soprano
Alex Richardson, tenor
Alejandro Meerapfel, baritone
MOZART "Great" Mass in C Minor
BRUCKNER Te Deum
ORFF Carmina Burana (selection from Part I)
Thursday & Friday, April 6 & April 7, 2017, at 7:30 pm
Great Music in a Great Space at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC SYMPHONY AND SYMPHONIC CHORUS
ORATORIO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
Kent Tritle, conductor
David Rosenmeyer, assistant conductor
Susanna Phillips, soprano
John Matthew Myers, tenor
Matthew Worth, baritone
The Cathedral Choristers,
Bryan Zaros, director
BRITTEN War Requiem
Monday, May 8, 2017, at 8:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
Kent Tritle, conductor
Leslie Fagan, soprano
Christopher Ainsley, countertenor
Lawrence Jones, tenor
Sidney Outlaw, baritone
BACH Mass in B Minor
Friday, June 9, 2017
Church of the Little Flower, Bethesda, MD
Stephen Czarkowski, conductor
Kent Tritle, organ
Program to include:
SAINT-SAËNS Organ Symphony
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