Rachel Burckardt's MOUNT AUBURN REQUIEM to Premiere at SUNY Purchase Next Week

On Saturday, September 28th at 6:00 pm, the Boston-based Tutti Music Collective and the New York-based Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO) will join forces for a captivating evening of music featuring an orchestra of 40 and a 35-member chorus at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center's Recital Hall. This special concert, conducted by Maestro Justin Bischof, will feature the renowned Celtic tenor Ciarán Nagle and the critically acclaimed saxophonist Ken Field in a diverse program of works by award-winning composer Rachel Burckardt.

Highlighting the evening will be the New York premiere of Rachel Burckardt's Mount Auburn Requiem. This poignant piece is dedicated to the memory of Burckardt's classmates from the Albertus Magnus High School Class of 1972. The performance brings Burckardt's long-held wish to present this work close to her alma mater, located just 15 miles west in Bardonia, NY, to fruition. A portion of all ticket sales will benefit the Scholarship Fund at Albertus Magnus High School.

The concert will take place at the Recital Hall, SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. Tickets are priced between $25 and $75 and can be purchased through MtAuburn-NY.eventbrite.com

For more information about MOO, please visit moonyc.org.

In addition to the Mount Auburn Requiem, the concert will feature several other notable works by Rachel Burckardt:

• For Elaine & Steve: Composed for the wedding of Burckardt’s first son, performed by Burckardt on piano with Ken Field on saxophone.
• Ave Maria: A moving a cappella choral setting of the traditional prayer, performed by the chorus.
• Heal Me: A heartfelt prayer for divine healing, set for voice, piano, strings, and winds, featuring Diana Fischer on piano and mezzo-sopranos Darby Clinard and Kayleigh Bennett.
• Ascendance: A dynamic piece for electric guitar, orchestra, and saxophone. This composition reflects the theme of rising above societal challenges through uplifting melodies and harmonies, accompanied by a video featuring photos from Burckardt’s hike up Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. Performers include Ken Field on saxophone, Phil Neighbors on drums, Blake Newman on bass, and Burckardt on electric guitar and piano.

Join us for an evening of moving music and support a worthy cause while enjoying the extraordinary talents of these celebrated artists.

Rachel J. Burckardt (woodharbormusic.net), a New York City native, is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer now living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Rachel serves as a volunteer liturgical musician at St. Cecilia Parish in Boston, Massachusetts.   At St. Cecilia's she has served in multiple roles, most recently (pre-pandemic) as one of the Interim Music Directors.  She is also an assisting accompanist (piano, guitar, bass, organ), composer in residence, and choir member.  Rachel is also an associate member of the Boston Archdiocesan Festival Choir.  Presently, she is also on the Board of Directors of the Back Bay Chorale.

Her sacred and liturgical compositions span various musical styles from chant to gospel and include settings of psalms, liturgical acclamations, and sacred songs.  ​"Rachel Burckardt has a unique compositional style, personal and always pushing the boundaries of a complex harmonic language. "  (Joe Matzzie, composer and guitarist)  "There is nothing derivative about Rachel's compositions. They are honest."  (Paul Hoffman, teaching artist, South Shore Conservatory and Music Director, St. John the Evangelist Church, East Bridgewater, Massachusetts)

Ken Field, Saxophone (kenfield.org) is a composer, saxophonist, flautist, and percussionist. He has received international public and critical acclaim for his solo work, his work with the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble (which he leads), Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Willie Loco Alexander's Persistence of Memory Orchestra, and the Armenian/American jazz project Musaner, as well as his commissioned compositions and performances with Bridgman/Packer Dance. Field has composed a number of pieces for the children's television program Sesame Street.  He was named a Finalist in Music Composition by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of JazzBoston and as Chair of the Truro Concert Committee.  He is Past President of the Board of Directors of Tutoring Plus of Cambridge and a past member of the Organizing Committee of the HONK! Festival.  Field hosts The New Edge, a weekly radio program of creative instrumental music currently airing on WMBR, WOMR, and taintradio.

Ciarán Nagle, Irish Tenor (ciarannagle.com) performs around the globe as the founding member and producer of the world renowned Three Irish Tenors and as a solo artist. He has had the privilege of singing the American National Anthem at the Heinz Stadium, sharing the stage with Neil Diamond and receiving many accolades such as the Keys to Jersey City and a Certificate of recognition for his contribution to the arts from the Governor of Pennsylvania, to name but a few. Ciarán and Rachel have collaborated on several of Rachel's albums and also sing together with the Boston Archdiocesan Festival Chorus.

The Tutti Music Collective (TMC) is committed to showcasing the music of local minority, LGBTQ, and living composers. Organized by Elijah Langille and Rachel Burckardt after the 2022 Requiem Concert, the TMC believes that concert music should reflect the diversity of the world we live in, and we strive to create a space where these voices can be heard and celebrated. Through our performances, we hope to inspire and engage audiences, while also promoting inclusivity and equity in the arts.

MOO Modus Operandi Orchestra (moonyc.org)

Modus Operandi Orchestra's mission is to present symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire at the highest artistic level with the goal to engage and enrich the local community. A vital component of its mission is to provide the opportunity for some of the finest freelance musicians in New York City, led by internationally acclaimed conductor Justin Bischof, to perform the staples of the great symphonic and operatic repertory as well as contemporary works and world premieres with their colleagues. Their concerts have been met with critical acclaim and a dedicated audience following. Many of their players have gone on to perform with major ensembles including Berlin’s Konzerthaus Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony and St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra. MOO’s stellar roster of international guest soloists have appeared with Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Edinburgh Festival, Lyric Opera Chicago, New Israeli Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Seattle Symphony, Hong Kong Opera, Seattle Opera, Vlaamse Opera (Belgium), Sante Fe Opera, Montreal Opera, Opera North (UK), New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.   

MOO presented an Annual Children’s Benefit Concert for 10 years to help at-risk children that raised over $1,000,000 which enabled more than 700 at-risk children from Mount Vernon to attend the life-altering Children’s Aid Society Wagon Road summer camp. MOO was in residency at the historic Church of St. James the Less Scarsdale, NY, from 2007–2017 performing several times a season. They began their New York City residency at St. Mary Church, Long Island City, in November 2019.

Justin Bischof, Founder, Artistic Director & Conductor of MOO (justinbischof.com)

New York City resident Justin Bischof is one of the most eclectic artists of his generation.  He is an internationally acclaimed orchestral and opera conductor as well as concert organist, pianist and improviser. He has performed in some of the world’s great venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Lincoln Center, Rose Theatre Lincoln Center, Tonhalle of Zurich, Eli Broad Theatre of Los Angeles, St. Paul’s Cathedral London, Notre Dame Paris, Cologne Cathedral, to name a few. He has collaborated with some of the world’s most prominent artists including Joshua Bell, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun and Roberta Peters. As an orchestral conductor, he was worked with numerous ensembles including National Arts Center Orchestra, The Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Vancouver Symphony, the Royal Symphony of Oman, the State Philharmonic Kavkazskiye of Russia, the WAAPA orchestra in Perth Australia, and the National Orchestra of Haiti. He made his Australian Opera Conducting Debut in Perth at the WAAPA leading a critically acclaimed production of the Australian Premiere of Robert Ward’s Pulitzer Prize winning The Crucible. Other important opera premieres include the Hawaiian premiere of Menotti’s The Medium and the Telephone, working with members of The Honolulu Symphony and Hawaii Opera Theatre. He is one of the profession’s most respected organists and has concertized extensively. He has performed numerous premieres for solo organ and with chamber ensembles. He won the First Prize at the 2000 AGO International Organ Improvisation Competition and is a leading proponent of the craft with his all improvisation performances have been met with critical acclaim throughout the world. Bischof has performed and recorded with numerous orchestras including the Zurich Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony and the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt. Before COVID, he performed the Middle East premiere of Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva for Orchestra and Organ in February 2019 at the Royal Opera House in Muscat Oman with the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt. Professor Bischof taught for many years at the esteemed Manhattan School of Music as well as Barnard College Columbia University. He is sought after as a guest professor for master classes around the world. He maintains a private conducting studio for gifted conductors.  He serves on numerous boards including as Chair of the Alumni Council of MSM and Chair of the Conductors Retreat at Medomak. 

To post a comment, you must register and login.