The Westchester Oratorio Society will present Mozart's Mass in C Minor (The Great Mass) in a performance to be held on Saturday, January 27, the composer's birthday, beginning 8 PM at the Mary Lou Meese Theater, Fox Lane High School, Route 172, Bedford, NY.

Under the direction of its renowned choral conductor, Harold Rosenbaum, the volunteer chorus, whose members are primarily from Westchester and Fairfield Counties, appears with major orchestras throughout the metropolitan area. The group was founded in 1997 with a commitment to perform choral masterworks from the 18th to 20th centuries in Northern Westchester with full professional orchestras and soloists.

Mozart's Great Mass (K.427) is unusual as it was not a commissioned work. This gave the composer freedom to create a more complex and diverse style of church music than was fashionable with the patrons of the time, including elements borrowed from baroque and Italian opera. The piece was most likely intended by the composer to fulfill a promise he made to his father and as an expression of love towards his wife, Constanze. Never completed, Mozart first performed the piece in 1783 supplementing it with sections from his earlier Masses. Saturday's performance will include only the composer's original parts.

The all-Mozart evening will also feature a performance of the composer's Konzertante Sinfonie in Eb major for violin, viola and orchestra, featuring the oratorio society's acclaimed professional orchestra and soloists Mitsuru Tsubota, violin and Louise Schulman, viola.

Ms. Tsubota made her debut as a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony at age ten. Among her many accomplishments, she has appeared regularly since 1982 at the New England Bach Festival under the direction of Blanche Moyse. Together with Ms. Schulman, both musicians are core members of the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, and both are founding member of Manhattan's Strathmere Ensemble. Ms. Schulman, an accomplished recording artist, is a founding member of the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, and has been its principal violist since the group's inception in 1974.

The Mass in C minor will feature four noted professional vocal soloists, including soprano Marlene Hernandez. The Cuban born singer's wide repertoire ranges from early to contemporary opera, Spanish zarzuela and oratorio. Appearing in venues including Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Concert Hall, her work with the Mannes Opera and Mannes Camerata has earned critical praise from The New York Times.

Soprano Shannah Timms is a rising star in the music world. In 1998 Ms. Timms toured with the New York City Opera National Company. In 1999 she won the Sarasota Opera Guild Award and was a winner in the New York Vocal Artists Competition. Ms. Timms makes her debut at Carnegie Hall this spring.

Rodne Brown is a tenor who has been delighting audiences on the concert, operatic and musical theater stage. He has sung with the New York Virtuoso Singers, Ascension Music and Musica Sacra. Mr. Brown has performed with orchestras throughout the country, including his recent debut with the New York Philharmonic in the Millennium Symphony and The Four Seasons by Michael Torke commissioned by the Disney Corporation. In addition he recently appeared in a smash concert revival of Sweeney Todd, also with the New York Philharmonic.

Christopher Mooney is a young baritone whose work has been called powerful and stylish. He has shared the stage with Sherril Milnes, Jerry Hadley, Jerome Hines and Renee Fleming. His national appearances have included with the New York City Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Aspen Music Festival and the Caramoor Music Festival.

Last season the Westchester Oratorio Society performed with the Westchester Symphony at the SUNY Performing Arts Center in Purchase and made an appearance with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music under the direction of Robert Spano in a performance that was critically acclaimed by The New York Times. After a second concert in northern Westchester in May, the group will conclude its season with a much anticipated performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor on June 10 at Carnegie Hall with Peter Tiboris and the Manhattan Symphony, along with the Riverside Choral Society and California's Windsong Southland Chorale.

The Westchester Oratorio Society rehearses on Tuesday evenings at John Jay Middle School in Cross River, NY. Auditions are available for the remainder of the group's spring season, including Carnegie Hall. Those interested in auditioning can call 763 3453. Tickets for the January 27 Mass in C Minor concert are $20 ($15 seniors and students). They can be ordered in advance by calling 914 763 9389. For more information about the group go to its web site at www.westchesteroratorio.org.

Contacts:

Harold Rosenbaum 914-763-3453

Liz McDonald (Board of Directors) 914-763-8740