The Mannes Orchestra to Join Forces with New York Choral Society for Performance, 4/8

The Mannes Orchestra, the student orchestral ensemble of Mannes College at The New School, and the New York Choral Society will join forces to perform John Adams' On The Transmigration of Souls and Paul Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, April 8 at Carnegie Hall. David Hayes, who leads both groups, will conduct the performance of these two masterpieces, both of which are inspired by profound historic events and celebrate the strength and resilience of the American spirit. On The Transmigration of Souls will feature the critically acclaimed Young People's Chorus of New York City. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd will showcase the soloists Abigail Fischer (mezzo-soprano) and Lee Poulis (baritone).

The concert, a journey into the innermost depths of our hearts, souls and emotions, will take place in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium (881 7th Avenue, New York, New York) at 8pm. Tickets, $30 - $80, can be purchased at 212.247.3878 or www.carnegiehall.org.

In advance of the concert, on March 30, Mannes College at The New School will present Adams, Hindemith, Whitman and American Memory, a panel discussion featuring Bill Hirst (New School for Social Research), an expert on collective memory; Martha Hodes (NYU), Professor of 19th Century U.S. History and the author of Mourning Lincoln; Karen Karbiener, (NYU), Professor of American Literature and a specialist on Walt Whitman; and David Hayes. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 7:30pm at The New School's University Center (65 5th Avenue, New York, NY), in Room 105 on the Lower Level.

The Mannes Orchestra, which The New York Times has praised its "youthful exuberance," performs a comprehensive symphonic repertoire each year ranging from classical to modern. At Alice Tully Hall this past March, the ensemble gave the New York premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis's Whisper, Echo, A Cry. Previous performance highlights include the New York premiere of Jonny Greenwood's Suite from There Will Be Blood.

John Adams' Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning On The Transmigration of Souls was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002 to commemorate the first anniversary of the September 11attacks. Adams has said his intention was to create in the music a "memory space" akin to being in a great cathedral, where one experiences a sense of something otherworldly and feels the collected energy of generations of souls. In a review of this work, David Schiff of The Atlantic has said, "like the greatest music of the past-Bach, Beethoven, Mahler-[Adams' music] can take us beyond...troubles and complexities to states of serenity, wisdom, and peace."

Robert Shaw commissioned Paul Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd in 1946 to memorialize President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had died the previous year. The text is by American poet Walt Whitman, whose grand elegiac poem of the same name was inspired by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The scholar David Neumeyer has described this piece as Hindemith's "only profoundly American work," and the legendary critic Paul Hume hailed it as "a work of genius."

About Mannes College at The New School

Mannes College develops classical musician-citizens by combining music conservatory traditions with the cutting-edge advantage of being part of The New School, the nation's foremost progressive university. Founded in 1916, the Mannes formula for quality education capitalizes on its world-class faculty, location in the heart of the global arts capital, small class size, and a living tradition of rigor and depth that develops strong technique and great artistry. The Mannes ethos forms the basis of a vibrant community of degree or diploma students in the College or Extension division, and young people studying in Mannes Prep. In this second decade of the 21st century, demands on artists are greater and more complex than ever. Mannes provides a wide range of exciting learning and knowledge building in partnership with its sister divisions of The New School, including one of the world's great design schools, Parsons The New School for Design; the liberal arts at Eugene Lang College; public policy, business, and civic engagement in The New Shool for Public Engagement; and cross disciplinary arts learning at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and The New School for Drama.

About the New York Choral Society (NYCS)

Founded in 1958, the New York Choral Society has become known by audiences and critics for the quality of its performances and the diversity of its repertoire, which encompasses well-known choral masterworks as well as many compositions rarely heard in concert halls. The 175-voice symphonic chorus has garnered wide acclaim for its outstanding performances at prestigious music venues around the world.

For more than half a century NYCS has enriched the cultural life of the New York community by performing a rich variety of choral music from classic to contemporary pieces, including newly commissioned works, to some 10,000 people per year; and by fostering interest and participation in choral music through education and community outreach, especially to children. Since 1984 the singers of NYCS have also served as "ambassadors of music" abroad, with concert tours to Italy, Austria, China, France, Israel, Mexico, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Sicily. In 2014, NYCS toured Central Europe and performed in a high mass in St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna, in Mátyás-templom, Budapest, and at Banffy Castle in Romania.

About David Hayes (Conductor)

David Hayes is a conductor with an unusually broad range of repertory, spanning the symphonic, oratorio/choral and operatic genres. His roles as Music Director of the New York Choral Society and the Mannes Orchestra complement his roles as Music Director of The Philadelphia Singers and Staff Conductor of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Hayes served on the conducting staff of The Philadelphia Orchestra 2001-2011. He has also served as a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic as well as for Sir Andre Previn on the Curtis Symphony Orchestra's 1999 European Tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Recent guest-conducting engagements have included a production of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amorefor Opera Memphis, conducting Britten's The Rape of Lucretiaand the East Coast Premiere performances of Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of Soulfor the Opera Company of Philadelphia as well as conducting the finals of the Fulbright Piano Competition with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.

Past seasons have included concerts with such significant ensembles as The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, Curtis Opera Theatre, European Center for Opera and Vocal Art, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Washington Chorus, Louisiana Philharmonic, Berkshire Choral Festival and the Verbier Festival.

Trained as a violinist and violist, Hayes received his Bachelor of Music in musicology from the University of Hartford and a diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He also studied with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School. He served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America from 2000-2009.

About Abigail Fischer (Mezzo-Soprano)

In the 2014-15 season mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer makes her debut with Los Angeles Opera in Missy Mazzoli's Song from the Uproar, written for her and the NOW Ensemble, and performed the Mother in Stefan Weisman's The Scarlet Ibis at the 2015 Prototype Festival. In the 2013-14 season Ms. Fischer sang Respighi's Il Tramonto and the John Harbison premiere of Crossroads with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble; Handel'sMessiah with Asheville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and Rhode Island Philharmonic; Lieberson's Neruda Songs with Columbus Symphony Orchestra; and Mozart¹s Requiem with Alabama Symphony. In the 2012-13 season she performed the title role in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia with Opera Memphis, Messiah with Virginia Symphony, a John Zorn premiere at New York City Opera's VOX showcase, and Peter Eötvös's Angels in America with Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has also performed Angelina in Rossini's La Cenerentola with Union Avenue Opera/Salt Marsh Opera, Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera North, and Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito with Arcadia Players. Ms. Fischer last appeared with Gotham Chamber Opera in the 2013 double bill of Monteverdi's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Lembit Beecher's I Have No Stories To Tell You.

About Lee Poulis (Baritone)

Lee Poulis has been praised for his "commanding presence" (South Florida Classical Review) and for his "dark baritone, rich in colors" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), calling it a voice "of power and beauty" (Pioneer Press). Twice named Best Young Singer by Die Welt, Lee Poulis has already performed at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden of Berlin, Teatro Real of Madrid, the Opera of Bilbao, Teatro Municipal of Santiago, and with the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn. He performed the title role in the national premieres of Doctor Atomic in Germany and at the Finnish National Opera, a production that was nominated for one of Europe's top theater prizes, Der Faust.

In March, Poulis returned to Europe to reprise the role of Oppenheimer in Adams' Doctor Atomic with Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. In May, he sings his first performances of the title role in Eugene Onegin for his debut with Teatre Principal de Palma. In January he sand the role of Leporello in Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre's production of Don Giovanni. His 2013-14 engagements included Ford in Falstaff with Opera Santa Barbara, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de perles in his debut with Fort Worth Opera, joining the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for its production of Die Fledermaus, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Belleayre Festival Opera. In season 2012-13 he sang Marcello in La bohème in his debut with Toledo Opera, Enrico with Dayton Opera, Zurga with Sarasota Opera, and made his debut with the Berkshire Choral Festival in selections from Les Pêcheurs de perles, La Rondine, and Aida.

Mr. Poulis' concert engagements include baritone soloist in Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the American Youth Symphony, Mozart's Requiem with the Masterworks Chorale, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with the Waltham Philharmonic and the Masterworks Chorale, Haydn's Missa in Angustiis with the Reston Chorale, Lord Nelson Mass at the Beijing Concert Hall, Fauré's Requiem with both the Atlantic Union College and the Gemini Youth Orchestra, and Handel's Messiah with Commonwealth Opera. Mr. Poulis has also appeared in recital with the Marilyn Horne Foundation at Carnegie's Weill Hall, as well as in Washington D.C. with the Washington Vocal Arts Society.

About the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC)

The Young People's Chorus of New York City is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned not only for its superb virtuosity and brilliant showmanship, but as a model for an inclusive society that is being replicated globally. Founded by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez 27 years ago, this groundbreaking program harnesses the power of music to fulfill the potential of every child.

Over the years YPC has created an awareness of the unlimited potential of a children's chorus to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry and has established the youth chorus as a significant and often untapped instrument for making music.

Almost 1,400 children from ages 7 to 18 participate annually through YPC's core after-school program, its Satellite program in New York City public schools, a national affiliate in Tenafly, New Jersey, and since 2012, its first after-school community chorus located in New York City's Washington Heights.

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