Hélène Grimaud Performs Beethoven with Oratorio Society for 5th Anniversary Concert
The Westchester Oratorio Society, under the direction of its acclaimed Artistic Director, Harold Rosenbaum, begins its 5th Anniversary Season with an exciting and very special all-Beethoven program on Saturday evening, December 1, at John Jay High School in Cross River, NY. The group will perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, a piece for piano, chorus and orchestra, featuring the internationally-renowned pianist, Hélène Grimaud. The performance will also include Beethoven's Mass in C Major. The French born Ms. Grimaud, who like Mr. Rosenbaum is a South Salem resident, has been a fixture on the world stage since her debut with the Orchestre de Paris a decade ago at age 18. Her reputation has grown dramatically in this country over the past several years through her acclaimed recordings with major American orchestras such as the Baltimore Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. This past summer she opened the Caramoor Music Festival in a performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 that was simulcast on WQXR. Beethoven composed during a tumultuous period of great scientific and artistic exploration, political upheaval, and war. His Choral Fantasy is a hymn to beauty and art that musically resembles his Ninth Symphony. Beginning with a wide-ranging piano solo, and continuing with theme and variation between piano and orchestra, the piece's choral finale contains musical and textual messages reminiscent of the Ninth's famous "Ode to Joy." The Mass in C Major represents Beethoven's grappling with spiritual issues of the age in which he lived. Once again, Beethoven looks to art and science to raise men above the brutality of the world. The quiet, concluding plea of the Mass is a prayer for peace that still rings clear and true today. For the Choral Fantasy, Ms. Grimaud, the oratorio society's 90-voice chorus and its professional orchestra will be joined by student singers from John Jay High School. Both Mr. Rosenbaum and Ms. Grimaud have worked with area students on many occasions. Ms. Grimaud's involvement has been not only as a world-renowned musician, but also as a founder of the Wolf Conservation Center in Lewisboro, a local organization dedicated to promoting wolf conservation through education. A post-event champagne-dessert reception at an area home will jointly benefit the oratorio society and the wolf center. You can also visit Ms. Grimaud's homepage for more information.
The Westchester Oratorio Society, which rehearses on Tuesday evenings at the South Salem Presbyterian Church, was founded in 1997 with a commitment to perform choral masterworks in Northern Westchester with full professional orchestras and soloists. In its first four years, in addition to performing two local concerts each season, WOS has performed with such premier organizations as the Westchester Symphony Orchestra at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase, The Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The Mass in C Major will feature an impressive list of soloists. Soprano Carolyn Scimone Rowan, a native of Briarcliff Manor, is a regular recitalist at Caramoor. She will be joined by the Canadian alto Mary-Lou Vetere, Armenian-born tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan, and baritone Chris Thompson. They will be performing with the oratorio society's acclaimed professional orchestra headed by instrumental leader Louise Schulman, who is a founding member of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Tickets for the concert, which begins at 8:00 P.M. may be purchased in advance by calling (914)763-9389. General Admission is $20, seniors and students are $15. Limited VIP seating is available for $40, or $65 including the post-concert artist reception. For more information about WOS visit the group's web site at www.westchesteroratorio.org |
