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 WOS is excited to be introducing our new, young and
inspiring conductor, Benjamin Niemczyk. No stranger
to WOS, Benjamin has been our official photographer
and graphic designer, and has on occasion added his
rich bass/baritone vocals to our concerts. Welcome
Benjamin. We are delighted to have you on board and
we look forward to your artistic leadership and
inspiration.
At work both in front of and behind the camera,
Benjamin Niemczyk is an artist of uncommon range.
Balancing his time between photography, graphic
design, singing and conducting, he gave his debut as
conductor of the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago
Symphony in a staged performance of Saint-Saens
Carnival of the Animals in 2000. Since that
time, he has sung in the most admired concert halls
of Chicago and New York. Having studied under
contemporary music gurus Cliff Colnot and Harold
Rosenbaum, he gave his Town Hall conducting debut in
2004, his European debut in the south of France in
2004 and continues to participate in concert
performances at such venues as Avery Fisher Hall,
Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music
Hall as well as on national television and in
feature films. He can be heard on numerous
commercial recordings, particularly those of early
music.
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He is a founding member of C4 (Choral
Composer/Conductor Collective, www.c4ensemble.org),
the nation's largest new music choral ensemble and
looks forward to continued sold-out performances in
NYC and elsewhere. He is a strong advocate of the
production and performance of new music of all
genres and musical languages. He comes to WOS with
an equally steadfast commitment to preserving music
of the past, cementing it into the modern musical
canon, especially works of the mid and late Romantic
period.
In addition to his musical interests, Mr. Niemczyk
is an accomplished photographer and graphic
designer, having created advertising materials for
companies including Hal Leonard, G. Schirmer and
Lyric Opera of Chicago and numerous small arts
organizations. His design business, BDN Design (www.bdndesign.com),
specializes in advertising materials and art
photography, particularly of and for the NYC area.
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Not a stranger to Westchester Oratorio Society, Mr.
Niemczyk has often taken the reins in the absence of
its past conductor, as he has done for The Canticum
Novum Singers, an ensemble of which he was a member
from 2003-2007. Future projects include increased
work with WOS and C4 as well as a broad
proliferation of photography projects beyond the
east and into the Midwest.
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Mr. Niemczyk holds degrees in composition from
Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and the DePaul
University School of Music. He resides in Brooklyn,
NYC.
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For the comprehensive history
of WOS, click
here.
The
Westchester Oratorio Society enters its
exciting twelfth season with renewed energy under
the baton of its Artistic Director and Conductor,
Benjamin Niemczyk. WOS will open the 2009-10 Season
on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 4PM at the
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, featuring Mary
Jane Newman on organ in Bach's
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Anthony Newman's
Kyrie and Chorale from Requiem
(accompanied by the composer), and Beethoven's
Mass in C, Op. 86.
Featured soloists are Melissa Shippen, Soprano,
Elizabeth Thorne, Alto, Daniel Neer, Tenor, and
DeAndre Simmons, Baritone.
WOS' spring concert will take place in May 2010 at
the same venue and will feature Bach's
Motet No. 6, Brahms' Las dich nur nichts
and concludes with Schubert's Mass No. 5 in
A-Flat.
On Sunday, November 21, 2010, WOS will present
Handel's Messiah, complete, with REBEL
Baroque Orchestra on period instruments at the
Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco.
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HISTORY
WOS was founded in 1997 when a few individuals in
South Salem joined with their neighbour, the noted
choral conductor, Harold Rosenbaum, in order to form
a choral group that would create a high quality
musical experience for audiences and singers in
northern Westchester and surrounding areas. Since
its inception, WOS, has made a significant
contribution to the musical fabric of the County,
performing early music, choral masterworks of the
18th to 20th centuries and contemporary works
accompanied by professional soloists and orchestras.
Artistic Director, Benjamin Niemczyk, an
accomplished soloist in his own right, is also a
strong advocate of the production of new music of
all genres. Voted "Best Amateur Chorus in
Westchester" by Westchester Magazine, the
Westchester Oratorio Society has also distinguished
itself in guest appearances at Carnegie Hall and the
Performing Arts Center at Purchase, as well as in
performances with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at
Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (in a
production of Olivier Messiaen's opera, St.
Francis of Assisi lauded by the New York Times),
the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and at
Carnegie Hall performing Verdi's haunting Requiem.
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In addition to providing major concert experiences
for singers and audiences, the Society offers
musical opportunities to the community. Its popular
Summer Sings series, which is open to singers at all
levels, involves reading sessions of choral
masterworks under the direction of top-notch
conductors. The Society's Chamber Choir provides
choral music on a smaller scale to local
organizations and institutions, such as hospitals
and nursing homes.
The Society also affords the opportunity for young
people, from middle school to college age, to
participate. It encourages their individual
membership in the chorus and involves youth choral
groups in many of its concerts.
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