Bach Festival Society Concludes Season with SPRING IN VIENNA, 4/28-4/29

Vienna has been home to some of the world's most important composers and has inspired some of the greatest works in Western musical history. The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park concludes its 2011–2012 Season with "Spring in Vienna," featuring music that captures the spirit of the "city of music." The Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra are joined by soprano Julia Foster and tenor Curtis Rayam on a program including the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, the first movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 8 ("The Unfinished"), excerpts from Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes, and "Spring" from Haydn's The Seasons.

Considered the birthplace of the Classical style, Vienna's leading legacy is music. Vienna has been the setting for several prominent composers and their most famous works. The composers featured on this program-Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms-experienced great success during their time in Vienna.

Julia Foster, soprano, is active in the stage, concert, and teaching arenas. Ms. Foster's recent concert engagements have included Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah, and Bach's Mass in B Minor. On the operatic stage, Ms. Foster has been seen as Elisetta in Cimarosa's Il Matrimonio Segreto, Beth in Adamo's Little Women, and Vitige in Handel's Flavio with Ars Lyrica Houston, among others. Ms. Foster currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at Rollins College, where she coordinates a voice area of over 75 students and teaches music in both the classroom and studio.

Curtis Rayam, tenor, made his professional debut in 1971 with the Miami Opera in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and since then has performed extensively in the United States, Germany, Austria, France, Israel, Vienna, and South Africa with major opera companies and symphony orchestras. In 1997, Curtis Rayam returned home to Florida and joined the music faculty of Bethune-Cookman University. He continues to perform in the USA and abroad, while remaining active both in church and within the wider community. Rayam sits on the Board of Directors for the Choral Society of Winter Park at Rollins College, where he teaches voice as an adjunct.

Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 7:30pm
Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 3:00pm
Knowles Memorial Chapel, Rollins College
1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Tickets range from $20 to $50.
Call the Box Office at 407.646.2182 or visit www.BachFestivalFlorida.org.

About the Bach Festival Society
The Bach Festival Society celebrates 77 years of outstanding musical offerings and Annual Festivals during its 2011–2012 Season. Located in Winter Park, Florida, it is one of the longest continuously operating Bach Festivals in the country and among America's great oratorio societies. The Bach Festival Society brings the highest caliber of classical music to Central Florida. Performances are held in the intimate settings of Tiedtke Concert Hall and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the beautiful campus of Rollins College.

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