The Chorus of Westerly Presents a BEETHOVEN & HAYDN Spring Concert??
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WESTERLY, RI ??? Closing out the 59th indoor season, the Chorus of Westerly and Festival Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Howell, present works by two of classical music???s most important composers on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 6pm and Sunday, May 20, 2018, at 2pm. The concert will feature Beethoven???s Mass in C Major and his powerful Coriolan Overture along with Haydn???s festive Te Deum No. 2 in C Major.?? Performances will take place at the historic George Kent Performance Hall, 119 High Street, Westerly, Rhode Island.??
Tickets for the performances are on sale now. Prices range $23-$65 with student discounts available. Tickets can be purchased at the Kent Hall Box??Office at 119 High Street, Westerly, or by calling 401.596.8663. Tickets are also available online at chorusofwesterly.org.??
Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Joseph Haydn are names that ring synonymous with greatness in music history. Regarded as two of the most influential composers, Haydn was instrumental in the creation of chamber music and Beethoven (one of his students) was the defining figure bridging the Classical and Romantic ages of Western music. With their respective extensive portfolios, their works are some of the most recognized pieces of classical music today and have been an important part of the Chorus of Westerly repertoire for the past 59 years.
The Mass in C Major was Beethoven???s first of two masses, composed in 1807, and was written during the same prolific period as his infamous Symphony No. 5. The piece was commissioned for Hungarian Prince Nicholas Esterh??zy II, the same family Haydn served as music director. The premier of Beethoven???s Mass in C Major was received with less than exuberant praise as the prince seemed to favor the more operatic style of Haydn???s masses. Nevertheless, the masterwork is one of Beethoven???s proudest accomplishments and shows him at his very best at setting music to text. ???Beethoven shows a deep sincerity and explosive joy in this breathtaking masterwork. And we are excited to share that with our audiences,??? says music director Andrew Howell.
Beethoven???s Mass in C Major is of particular importance because it holds a special place in Chorus of Westerly history.?? The masterwork was performed during the Chorus???s 1995 tour of England, the organization???s third international tour and second to Great Britain. And in November of 2007, during the 49th concert season, the Chorus of Westerly???s performance of Beethoven???s Mass in C Major marked the organization???s 500th performance. While the masterwork is woven into Chorus history, it has not been heard in Kent Hall in over 10 years. Bringing the score to life again allows a new generation of singers and audiences members to experience this breathtaking masterpiece.
Haydn???s Te Deum No. 2 in C Major, composed around 1800 as a commission from Empress Marie Th??r??se, is a festive hymn of praise set in one continuous movement. The piece, while short in length, really showcases stunning moments of choral and orchestral magic and features an uplifting and glorious ending. While several of Haydn???s larger works have been performed by the Chorus of Westerly over the past 50 years, including the famous Stabat Mater featured on the 2014 Concert Tour of Central Europe, the May 2018 performances mark the debut of his Te Deum No. 2 in C Major in Kent Hall.??
Beethoven???s powerful Coriolan Overture is also on the concert program. Composed in 1807, for the tragedy Coriolan, by Austrian playwright Heinrich Joseph von Collins, the piece is one of Beethoven???s most performed orchestral works.??
Joining the Chorus of Westerly for the performances are four noted vocalists; Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Sophie Michaux, mezzo soprano; Stefan Reed, tenor; and Timothy Jones, bass. Ms. Panthaki has appeared before on the Kent Hall stage, performing as part of the Chorus???s performances of Rutter???s Mass of the Children in 2013, and Bach???s Christmas Oratorio in 2014. Ms. Michaux, Mr. Reed and Mr. Jones will all be making their Chorus of Westerly debuts at the May concert.
The Chorus will offer performances of Beethoven & Haydn on Saturday, May 19, at 6pm and Sunday, May 20, at 2pm. The performance length is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by calling 401.596.8663 or online at chorusofwesterly.org, to secure the best seats. Tickets will also be available for sale on Saturday, May 19, 10am to 4:30pm and Sunday, May 20, 10am to 12:30pm by calling 401.596.8663.
Walk up sales begin in the lobby one hour prior to performance times. Performance hall doors open 30 minutes prior to the performances. The George Kent Performance Hall is handicapped accessible.??
The Beethoven & Haydn concerts are made possible through generous support from South County Health, Mrs. Marion Palm, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Media sponsors for the performances are WCRI Classical 95.9 FM and WBLQ 1230 AM.????
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS??
Sherezade Panthaki,??(soprano) enjoys an international career and ongoing collaborations with many of the world???s finest conductors including Nicholas McGegan, Mark Morris,??Matthew Halls,??Nicholas Kraemer, Laurence Cummings, and Masaaki Suzuki, with whom she made her New York Philharmonic debut.??Recent seasons have featured performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, Beethoven’s??Ninth Symphony??at??Lincoln Center,??her debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s??Grand Mass in c minor??at the Spoleto Festival, Brahms??Requiem??with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Purcell’s??Dido and Aeneas??with the Mark Morris Dance Group across the US, and performances with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; the Oregon Bach Festival; National Symphony Orchestra; Houston, Colorado, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras; and The American Classical Orchestra. Born and raised in India, Ms. Panthaki began her musical education at an early age as a pianist. She holds an Artist Diploma with top honors from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, as well as Masters degree from the University of Illinois and a Bachelors degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Sophie Michaux, was born in London and raised in the French Alps. The 29-year-old mezzo was noted as a ???warm and colorful mezzo??? (Opera News) and as ???a study in color???Michaux???s expressive quality and variety is remarkable ??? (Arts Impulse).??On stage, her roles include Ceres in BEMF???s production of Lalande???s Les Fontaines de Versailles, the title roles in La Cenerentola (NEMPAC), in Rinaldo (Boston Opera Collaborative), for which she was nominated as Best Female Performer in an Opera for the 2015 Arts Impulse Theatre Awards, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Brittenica), Hermia in A Midsummer Night???s Dream (Lowell House Opera), Anne in To Hell and Back (Boston Opera Collaborative). Mrs. Michaux is simultaneously active in Oratorio, and as a chamber music singer in New England. She is also thrilled to have joined the Lorelei Ensemble as a Core Member of since 2016. Although she focuses on classical music, her versatility and musical curiosity have brought her to be an active performer in many repertoires??including French Cabaret songs, English Sea Shanties, as well as various world polyphonies. She is the founding member of Sophie et Adam, a folk music duet with guitarist and singer Adam Jacob Simon, and of Culomba, a world music trio with Adam Simon (Voice, Guitar, Double Bass), and Lysander Jaffe (Voice, Violin).
Stefan Reed, is delighted to be joining the Chorus of Westerly for the first time. Originally from Glasgow, Virginia, Mr. Reed is currently based in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts and is enjoying an active chamber music, oratorio, and recording career with performances and projects in New England and throughout the country. Mr. Reed???s voice has been characterized as an ???intense, focused, lyric tenor??? (Miami Herald), his performances have been described as ???dramatically expressive and technically impressive??? (Boston Musical Intelligencer). He performs regularly with Boston Baroque, Blue Heron, Conspirare, the Handel and Haydn Society (H+H), and Seraphic Fire. He has also delighted audiences with numerous performances with the the Mount Vernon Symphony, Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium, the Tanglewood Chamber Music Ensemble, and both the Boston and Maryland Masterworks Chorales. Mr. Reed spent two summers as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He holds performance degrees from the New England Conservatory and George Mason University.
Timothy Jones, enjoys a reputation as a charismatic presence on operatic and concert stages throughout the United States, Europe and South America. The Boston Globe hailed his voice as ???stentorian and honeyed??? and the Chicago Tribune called his ???complete connection with the text extraordinary.??? A distinguished concert performer, Mr. Jones has soloed with the Cleveland Orchestra singing Handel???s Messiah and Bach???s St. Matthew Passion. He has also performed with Boston Baroque, Baltimore Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Portland Symphony, Saginaw Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Utah Symphony, Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony. His performance of Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer Kevin Puts??? Einstein on Mercer Street is featured on PNME???s recent recording ???Against the Emptiness??? and other recordings include ???Drunken Moon??? and ???The World of Ruth Crawford Seeger???. Mr. Jones is an alumnus of Centenary College and the University of Michigan. He is currently a professor of voice at the University of Houston Moores School of Music.