From Dean Travalino 914-763-5393
Bedford, NY

The Westchester Oratorio Society, led by artistic director Harold Rosenbaum, begins its 7th Season on Saturday, January 10th, when the group presents George Frideric Handel's moving Old Testament oratorio, Esther, at the Mary Lou Meese Theater, Fox Lane High School, Route 172, Bedford, NY at 8:00 P.M. The Oratorio sets to music the story of the Jewish holiday, Purim, which is a celebration for Esther, the young Jewish girl who became the Queen of Persia and, through her courage, saved her people. Handel learned the story as a young man traveling in Italy and studying music. In Venice, he became enthralled with the Jewish community's colorful celebration of the holiday. The Westchester Oratorio Society again appears with the Strathmere Ensemble, an all-professional orchestra whose membership comprises many of the finest chamber music instrumentalists in The New York City area. The orchestra is led by Louise Schulman, who herself is a founding member of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. The Canticum Novum Youth Choir will also be appearing. Soloists for the performance are Cynthia Richards Wallace, soprano, whose credits run the gamut from the New York Philharmonic and Musica Sacra to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion; countertenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum, a 2003 Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition-NY Districts; Branden James, an internationally sought-after tenor; and bass Mark Rehnstrom, who made his Carnegie Hall debut last year with Musica Sacra. Though not often performed today, Esther is widely accepted as having given birth to England's national obsession for oratorio, beginning with its first public performance in 1732. Handel had been composing and producing operas in London for decades, another tradition he learned about in Italy. Both because of the biblical nature of the story and because of a Protestant ban on operas during Lent, the composer brought Esther to the public in the semi-staged oratorio form, which included musical interludes and featured the chorus as an integral member of the cast. The English audiences warmed to the work immediately, just as they were beginning to tire of the melodramatic opera form, performed in a foreign language (Italian), by foreign stars who were often aloof and had lifestyles that often shocked their conservative audiences. Many of Handel's subsequent oratorios were also based on biblical subjects. His transformation to the new musical form was complete by 1742 with the smash, international success of The Messiah. The oratorio society's exciting season concludes on April 14, with the group's second appearance at Carnegie Hall performing Verdi's Requiem with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. For this performance Mr. Rosenbaum will be making his conducting debut with the orchestra, and the chorus will be joined by his two acclaimed NYC chamber choirs as well as over 100 of his choral students from the University at Buffalo. WOS's 6th annual gala benefit will be held at Le Chateau in South Salem on Sunday evening, April 25, 2004. The event will feature a recital by cellist, Carter Brey. A John Jay High School graduate, Mr. Brey is a virtuoso soloist who has appeared with virtually all the major orchestras in the United States, and is the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic. Tickets for Esther are $20 general admission, $15 seniors/students, with preferred seating available for $40. To purchase tickets by credit card call 914-763-9389, or visit the group's web site at www.westchesteroratorio.org,

This performance is made possible by the Arts Alive program of the Westchester Arts Council with funding from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts.