Kent Tritle to Conduct World Premieres of A NATION OF OTHERS, STABAT MATER, and More in 22/23 Season

Two world premieres - A Nation of Others, a new oratorio for six soloists, chorus and orchestra by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall that brings to life one day of immigrants' arrival at Ellis Island in 1921 (November 15, 2022); and a setting of the Stabat Mater for organ, soloists, chorus, and orchestra by David Briggs at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (March 8, 2023) - are highlights of the 2022-23 season of Kent Tritle, who is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Music Director of both the Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed volunteer ensemble, and Musica Sacra, New York's elite professional chorus.

A Nation of Others, originally scheduled to premiere in May 2020, is an Oratorio Society commission, as was the acclaimed 2018 Moravec/Campbell work Sanctuary Road, the Naxos recording of which, led by Kent, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Also on the November 15 program is Robert Paterson's Whitman's America (2016), settings of poems from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, and orchestra.

These works stand at the contemporary end of Kent's season programs, which also include Bach's Mass in B Minor with the Oratorio Society of New York (May 8, 2023); and wide-ranging programs with Musica Sacra - music from 14th-century England and France interspersed with contemporary voices (October 25, 2022) and a program featuring music of women composers spanning more than five centuries (April 18, 2023) - performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the latest example of which, a March 2022 concert featuring music by Brahms, Viktor Kalabis, Wang Jie, and Arvo Pärt led Opera News to dub Musica Sacra "one of NYC's best professional choruses."

Kent also leads his annual performances of Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall, with the Oratorio Society of New York (December 19, 2022) and Musica Sacra (December 21, 2022).

In addition to the Briggs premiere, Kent leads the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine in "Venice: City of Light," a collaboration with Rose of the Compass celebrating the variety in the city's cultural fabric (May 16, 2023); as well as the Cathedral's annual "The Joy of Christmas" concert (December 9 & 10, 2022) and the "New Year's Eve Concert for Peace" (December 31, 2022).

Kent also conducts a performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, UT (March 19, 2023).

An acclaimed organist, Kent Tritle performs two recitals at St. John the Divine: a program of works by J. S. Bach, César Franck, and Stephen Paulus (October 16, 2022), and music of David Hurd and Maurice Duruflé (April 16, 2023). He also performs a recital on the Fisk organ at Christ Church Episcopal in Westerly, RI (September 30, 2022), and at First United Methodist Church in West Des Moines (October 9, 2022). As the organist of the New York Philharmonic, Kent will give the first performances on the new organ of David Geffen Hall on the hall's reopening program (Oct. 12-18, 2022), in Respighi's Pines of Rome.

Kent continues his work as a choral conductor clinician with participation in the Interfaith Choral Festival at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California (January 28, 2023).

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 avocational chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York City. In addition, Kent is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School, serving its Vocal Arts Department. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic.

Kent Tritle's discography features more than 20 recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels. Recent releases include the Grammy-nominated Naxos recording of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York; Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in David Briggs's organ-choral version, and Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra. Other releases include the 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 discs - Cool of the Day, an a cappella program of music ranging from Gregorian chant, Palestrina, and spirituals to Strauss's Deutsche Motette, and Ginastera's The Lamentations of Jeremiah with Schnittke's Concerto for Choir - with the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola.

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.

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, he 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. Among his recent honors are the 2020 Chorus America Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, 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. He was recently featured in the WIRED video series "Masterminds," an installment titled, "What Conductors Are Really Doing."

Photo Credit: Jennifer Taylor

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