St. Bartholomew's Choir's Annual Holiday Concert Set for 12/16

An annual St. Bart's tradition, St. Bartholomew's Choir will join forces with St. Bartholomew's Boy and Girl Choristers and St. Bartholomew's Festival Orchestra for a concert of sacred and secular music of the season in the candlelit splendor of St. Bartholomew's Church. This concert features a blend of treasured classics, compelling new works and delightful arrangements of beloved carols.

Highlights of the concert will include arias and choruses from the Christmas portion of Handel's "Messiah," John Rutter's "Star Carol" and "Christmas Night" with Ola Gjeilo's "O magnum mysterium" all accompanied by orchestra and St. Bartholomew's magnificent Aeolian/Skinner pipe organ, the largest in New York City. St. Bartholomew's Choir will also sing Stephen Paulus' "The Road Home" to honor the esteemed American composer, who recently passed away in Minneapolis, MN.

Soloists for the "Messiah" will include Genevieve McGahey, Eliza Bagg and Jeanmarie Lally, sopranos; Elizabeth Merrill, mezzo soprano; Nicholas Tamagna, counter-tenor; Christopher Carter, tenor and Jason Whitfield, bass.

The audience will join with the choirs and musical forces in singing many of the most popular carols of the season. William K. Trafka will conduct St. Bartholomew's Choir and Festival Orchestra; Jason Roberts will conduct the Boy and Girl Choristers and be the organist for the program.

Tickets at $40 and $25 with a $30 and $15 rate for students/seniors (plus a $3 handling fee per ticket) can be purchased online at www.mmpaf.org or with a credit card by calling (212) 378-0248. Tickets will be available at the concert desk at St. Bart's Central daily from 9 am - 6 pm and will be available at the door on the evening of the concert.

Angel Club Seating is also available for $100. This includes a tax-deductible contribution of $60 to Great Music at St. Bart's, a membership in the Great Friends of Music Guild and an invitation to a festive reception following the concert.

The Great Music Series, produced by the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation, Inc., offers a diverse variety of concerts from large-scale choral works and organ concerts in the church to chamber music and jazz in the acoustically remarkable chapel. Crucial to the musical programming of the series is St. Bartholomew's Choir, a fully professional choir, and the Boy and Girl Choristers, renowned as one of the finest children's choirs in the metropolitan area. The church also possesses an Aeolian/Skinner pipe organ of 168 stops, the largest in New York City and considered to be one of the greatest examples of the American Classic Organ of the 20th century.

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