An Evening With Gilbert & Sullivan

The quiet hamlet of Pound Ridge will be turned topsy-turvy Saturday evening, October 5, when the Westchester Oratorio Society presents, "An Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan" at the Hiram Halle Library, 271 Westchester Avenue, at 8:00 P.M. The performance, which is being planned by WOS singer and board member, Rica Mendes-Barry, will include excerpts from Gilbert & Sullivan favorites including The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance and much more! Audience participation will be encouraged with music available for several sing-a-long choruses. Performers will include soprano Elizabeth Evans Emery, tenor Peter Emery, soprano Susan Poliniak, and Ms. Mendes-Barry, herself, who was introduced to the singers while performing at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Philadelphia, PA. All of the cast members are well-known in New York City and have performed with such notable groups as the Blue Hill Troupe, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of New York, the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival cast, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players, the Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Savoy Fare and Troupers Light Opera Company. The Westchester Oratorio Society's sixth season gets underway on Saturday evening, November 9, when WOS makes a special appearance with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, performing the Finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Interfaith Committee Concert of Remembrance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. On Saturday evening, January 11, the group will present Schubert's Mass in A Flat Major at the Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, and on Sunday, May 4, the season concludes with a presentation of Bach's St. John Passion at the Rye Presbyterian Church. The group will hold its gala benefit dinner at the Hammond Museum on Saturday evening, April 5, 2003, an event which will feature a performance by the world-renowned pianist Misha Dichter. "An Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan" is one of the oratorio society's Soiree Series of events, which are an important part of the group's annual fundraising efforts. There will be a silent auction including rare G&S ephemera. As with all of the events in the series, refreshments and food will be served. Tickets are $35 per person and can be reserved by calling 914-763-9389. Auditions for new singers are ongoing for all voices. Although no previous experience is required, some sightreading ability is desired. For more information, or to audition, you can call 914-763-9389 or visit the group's web site at www.westchesteroratorio.org