Kent Tritle's 2023-24 Season Includes the 150th Season of Oratorio Society of New York and the Return of the Great Organ of St. John the Divine

The many facets of Kent Tritle’s career are on prominent display in the 2023-24 concert season of the Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; Music Director of both Musica Sacra, New York’s elite professional chorus, and Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed avocational ensemble; and organist of the New York Philharmonic.

Choral highlights include the 150th season of the Oratorio Society of New York that presents Handel oratorios Samson and Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat and the Mozart Requiem at Carnegie Hall, and a special program featuring the choral movements of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2; a Musica Sacra season featuring “Re:Soundings,” a surround sound choral concert with singers moving throughout the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, as well as Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall; and the Fauré Requiem and holiday programs with the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine.

The season also shines a spotlight on Kent’s organ activity. The Great Organ of St. John the Divine, which was damaged by fire in 2019, will return to use in late 2023, and be celebrated with a series of recitals. Tritle’s solo recital on the refurbished instrument, one of America’s great pipe organs, will include music by Naji Hakim and Olivier Messiaen (he plays a recital on the Cathedral’s digital organ in the fall). He is also the featured soloist in performances of Saint-Säens’s “Organ” Symphony (Symphony No. 3) with the New York Philharmonic. (See the schedule below for full concert details.)

Oratorio Society of New York – 150th season

The 150th season of the Oratorio Society of New York is Kent Tritle’s 19th as Music Director of the 180-voice avocational chorus. The landmark season presents choral masterpieces at Carnegie Hall, the organization’s home since 1891: Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem (November 6, 2023), Handel’s Messiah (December 18, 2023), and Handel’s Samson (May 6, 2024), which the OSNY performed 150 years ago in 1874. There will also be a special sesquicentennial program: a concert featuring the choral movements of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in arrangements for chorus and organ by David Briggs, who will also perform, as well as a contemporary work to be announced (to be chosen from a call for scores from the OSNY) at St. Bartholomew’s Church in midtown Manhattan (March 5, 2024).

The season’s featured soloists include Martin Bakari, Joseph Beutel, Joshua Blue, Lucia Bradford, John Brancy, Eric Carey, Tyler Duncan, Lawrence Jones, Adam Lau, Kathryn Lewek, Laquita Mitchell, Daniel Moody, Mary Beth Nelson, Sidney Outlaw, Heather Petrie, Susanna Phillips, and Nola Richardson.

Musica Sacra – “Re:Soundings,” Messiah, and New York Philharmonic Mozart Requiem

To launch the 60th season of Musica Sacra, New York’s longest continually performing professional chorus, Kent introduces a new program concept site-specific to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: “Re:Soundings,” an immersive, 360° surround-sound concert in the candlelit cathedral. The audience, seated in the choir stalls, in the Great Choir section between them, or up by the High Altar, will experience sound in motion from all corners of the cathedral – medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary works including a world premiere by Daniel Ficarri written for performance in the spaces surrounding the Great Choir (October 17, 2023).

Kent leads Musica Sacra’s annual holiday performance of Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, with soloists Susanna Phillips, Clifton Massey, Steven Wilson, and Joseph Parrish (December 20, 2023), and the ensemble’s spring concert, a Baroque program of the 17th-century German-language requiem Musikalische Exequien of Heinrich Schütz and Handel’s virtuosic Latin psalm setting Dixit Dominus – two signature works championed by the group’s founder, Richard Westenburg (March 19, 2024).

Continuing its distinguished tradition of musical collaborations, Musica Sacra is the featured chorus in the New York Philharmonic’s spring performances of Mozart’s Requiem, led by NYP Music Director Jaap van Zweden (May 23-28, 2024). The chorus, prepared by Kent, received praise for its participation in NYP performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in April. Musica Sacra also returns to the New York City Ballet for that company’s beloved production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (May 28 – June 2).

Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine

The professional Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is joined by the Cathedral Choristers (students at the Cathedral School), volunteer Cathedral Chorale, and Cathedral Orchestra for the annual “Joy of Christmas” concert, at which Kent and Bryan Zaros, the Associate Director of Music and Choirmaster, will lead music of Amy Beach, Franz Biebl, Hannah Kendall, and J. S. Bach, among others, along with Christmas carols sung by all (December 9, 2023). The Cathedral Choir and Orchestra headline the annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, hosted by Harry Smith, performing music by Adolphus Hailstork, Marques L. A. Garrett, Caroline Shaw, Nicholas Cline, Stanley Grill, and J. S. Bach (December 31, 2023).

A program that showcases both the Cathedral’s formidable choral forces and its Great Organ features the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré and the Organ Concerto of Francis Poulenc – Kent conducts the Cathedral Choir, Chorale, and Orchestra in the Fauré work (which also features organ), with vocal soloists Eva Martinez and Joseph Beutel; Daniel Ficarri, Associate Director of Music and Organist, is the soloist in the Poulenc (March 9, 2024). And the latest collaboration between the Cathedral Choir and the period/world music ensemble Rose of the Compass is “This Magic Earth”, which will take place under the Cathedral’s art installation “Divine Pathways” (April 9, 2024).

The Organ Season

The season showcases Kent’s prowess at the organ with performances on two of New York’s major instruments. As the organist of the New York Philharmonic, Kent is the featured soloist in performances of the “Organ” Symphony (Symphony No. 3) of Camille Saint-Säens with the orchestra conducted by Stéphane Denève, on the organ of David Geffen Hall (November 9-12, 2023). Additional performances with the Philharmonic during the season include in Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Messiah, Scriabin’s Poème de l’extase, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.

Kent performs two recitals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: a performance on the Walker Technical digital instrument including music of J. S. Bach, Eugene Hancock, Charles D. Coleman, and Marcel Dupré (September 24, 2023), and a recital as part of the “Return of the Great Organ” series marking that instrument’s return to use after extensive cleaning – a program featuring Naji Hakim’s Te Deum Laudamus, Vincent Persichetti’s Do not go gentle, and Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension suite for organ (February 13, 2024).

This summer, Kent joins two festival orchestras as organist: the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra for performances of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor led by Louis Langrée (July 25-26, 2023), and The Orchestra Now at the Bard Festival for Vaughan Williams’s Concerto in C, for Two Pianos and Orchestra (August 5, 2023). And before the New York season begins, he performs a recital at Grace United Methodist Church in Spencer, Iowa, less than 20 miles from his hometown of Spirit Lake (September 20, 2023).

Amherst Early Music Festival and Tour with Cathedral Choristers

Kent returns to the Amherst Early Music Festival this summer to lead its Choral Workshop in music of Handel and Purcell, culminating in a concert (July 9-16, 2023). He then leads a tour of England with the combined Choristers, Chorale and Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine, with Associate Music Director and Choirmaster Bryan Zaros; the group will sing at Evensong services and Eucharists during residencies at Westminster Abbey in London and the cathedrals of Ely, Lincoln, and Liverpool (August 10-20, 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, New York’s elite professional chorus. 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 recordings – including 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.

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