The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra And Musica Vocale Present BACH HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra (KCCO) kicks off the holiday season with a rare performance of J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts-Oratorium) during Bach Home for the Holidays 7:30 p.m. December 4 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City, Mo.

Joining the KCCO will be internationally-acclaimed vocal soloists Jay Carter, Kyle Stegall, Jason Steigerwalt and Lindsey Lang along with Musica Vocale conducted by Arnold Epley.

Often referred to as Bach's most sublime music, the Christmas Oratorio is the Christmas narrative as seen through the eyes of the angels and shepherds and has rarely been performed in Kansas City.

"I am particularly thrilled to be performing this work alongside longtime friends at home in Kansas City and to be a part of making sure our community has an opportunity to engage with Bach's masterpiece," said Jay Carter who performed the work last year on tour with Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan.

"I can't wait to watch our local audiences beam exuberantly in the opening bars of Jauchzet frohlocket, bob their heads along with the jaunty bass and trumpet aria Grosser Herr, and enjoy a blissful moment of peace as the opening sinfonia of the second cantata returns accompanying a beautiful and familiar chorale," he said.


PROGRAM
J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248, parts 1 - 3)
Musica Vocale with soloists: Jay Carter, Kyle Stegall, Jason Steigerwalt and Lindsey Lang

TICKETS
Individual tickets for Bach Home for the Holidays are $20 - $35. Senior, student and season ticket discounts are available. Students 5 - 18 FREE with Adult Season ticket holder. Tickets also include a free pre-show talk with the conductor at 6:30 p.m. Purchase tickets online at kcchamberorchestra.org or call (816) 235-6222.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jay Carter has gained recognition as one of the nation's finest countertenors. Recent appearances include Bach's St. Matthew Passion with American Bach Soloists and Choir of St. Thomas Church; Bach's Weinachtsoratorium with Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan, Handel's Messiah with National Symphony and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Vivaldi's Gloria with Nicholas McGegan and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Kyle Stegall, tenor, has had successful solo debuts in Japan, Australia, Vienna, Italy, Singapore, and Canada, as well as on major stages across America in collaboration with many of the world's most celebrated artistic directors including Manfred Honeck, Joseph Flummerfelt, William Christie, Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki and Stephen Stubbs. This season, he makes his Houston Bach debut and releases an album of Schumann lieder with fortepianist, Eric Zivian.

Jason Steigerwalt, baritone, has an active career in both Germany and the United States. He has recently been heard in Handel's Messiah and Saul, Saint-Saens Oratorio de Noel and Bach's St. Matthew Passion. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut under the direction of Ton Koopman in Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, and has worked with the RIAS Kammerchor and Rundfunkchor in Berlin, the Gächinger Kantorei in Stuttgart, Apollo's Fire in Cleveland and Musica Sacra in New York. Since 2013, he has been member of the Komische Oper Berlin, where he sings in more than 100 performances each season. Notable productions include Prokofiev's Der feurige Engel, Shostakovich's Die Nase, Mozart's Figaro, and Barrie Kosky's production of Berstein's West Side Story.

Lindsey Lang, soprano, has sung for early music festivals in Berkeley, Bloomington, New Brunswick, New York, and Quito, Ecuador. She has performed such great works as Bach's B Minor Mass and Magniicat, Britten's A Boy Was Born, Handel's Messiah, and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass under the baton of Joseph Flummerfelt. Lindsey currently sings with the Kansas City Chorale and is music director at Asbury United Methodist Church.

Musica Vocale is a 24-member ensemble made up of highly skilled regional choral musicians who perform choral literature under the direction of Arnold Epley. The ensemble is comprised of veteran members of the region's musical community. Most of the choral artists bring extensive experience as music educators and performers and are engaged throughout the region as soloists and conductors. Epley is emeritus professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at William Jewell College and Conductor Laureate of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus.

The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, now in its 32nd season, is the region's only professional resident chamber orchestra. Founded by music director and conductor Bruce Sorrell, the orchestra features talented professional musicians who live and work in the metropolitan area including members of the Kansas City Symphony, music faculties of the University of Kansas and the Conservatory at University of Missouri - Kansas City, and freelance professionals. For more information, visit KCChamberOrchestra.org

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