This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony will perform Handel’s Messiah, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Auditorium on the campus of Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines. The choral and symphonic masterpiece will be led by Douglas Boyd, and will feature soloists Joélle Harvey, soprano; Susan Platts, alto; Robin Tritschler, tenor; Christòpheren Normura, bass; and the North Carolina Master Chorale, Alfred E. Sturgis, director.
Scholar Dr. Richard Rodda writes that the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1742 was a triumph, and highlights a review from Faulkner’s Dublin Journal that glowingly reports, “It gave universal Satisfaction to all present; and was allowed by the greatest Judges to be the finest Composition of Musick that ever was heard.”
In demand world-wide, Douglas Boyd is currently Chief Conductor of the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland and Artistic Director of Garsington Opera in England. In ten seasons as Music Director of the Manchester Camerata, he transformed the orchestra into one of the United Kingdom’s finest. His live recordings with the Camerata have received universal critical acclaim. Like so many of Boyd’s performances, his debut with the Camerata at London’s BBC Proms concerts was praised for clarity, vibrancy and musicality.
One of the major choral organizations of the Southeast, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 70 years. Under the direction of Alfred E. Sturgis since 1993, the Master Chorale presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary. Its singers, selected by audition, bring a collective wealth of training and experience. The Master Chorale regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions. Music Director and conductor Sturgis holds multiple degrees in music and performed with Robert Shaw in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to the Master Chorale, Maestro Sturgis serves as Music Director for the Carolina Ballet and the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra. Founded as the Raleigh Oratorio Society in 1942, Master Chorale has evolved into a major regional performing arts group that works with over 250 artist-musicians each season, reaching an annual audience of over 10,000 choral arts enthusiasts.
A native of Bolivar, New York, soprano Joélle Harvey is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most promising young talents of her generation. She is the recipient of a First Prize Award in 2011 from the Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, a 2009 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, and a 2010 Encouragement Award (in honor of Norma Newton) from the George London Foundation Vocal Competition.
British-born Canadian mezzo-soprano Susan Platts brings a uniquely rich and wide-ranging voice to concert and recital repertoire for alto and mezzo-soprano. She is particularly esteemed for her performances of Gustav Mahler’s works. In May of 2004, as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, world-renowned soprano Jessye Norman chose Ms. Platts as her protégée from 26 international candidates and has continued to mentor her ever since.
In concert, tenor Robin Tritschler has appeared with many leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Nézet-Séguin and Jurowski), L’Orchestre National de Lyon, Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (de Waart), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Herreweghe), Moscow Virtuosi (Spivakov) and BBC Philharmonic. With the RTE Concert Orchestra, he performed the Messiah before Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Vatican State.
Christòpheren Nomura has emerged at the forefront of his generation of singers. Since making his New York City debut, he has performed throughout the world, hailed as one of classical music’s “rising stars” by the Wall Street Journal. He has become a regular guest artist with a number of orchestras including the Pacific Symphony Orchestra under Carl St. Clair and the North Carolina Symphony with Grant Llewellyn.
Tickets to the concert range from $24 to $50. Student tickets are $10. To purchase tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724. Tickets are also available at the Campbell House, 482 East Connecticut Ave. in Southern Pines, The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., in Southern Pines, and one hour prior to the concert outside Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines, N.C., 28387
In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks, post-concert discussions, and “Meet the Artists,” which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. For the Dec. 7 performance, Timothy Haley of Sandhills Community College will give a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Pinecrest High School Band Room.
Partners for the 2014/15 Southern Pines/Moore County series include First Bank, Southern Prime Steakhouse, and St. Joseph of the Pines.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 200 performances annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, and Associate Conductor David Glover.
Headquartered in downtown Raleigh’s spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington — as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year — and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.
Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
Handel’s Messiah
Douglas Boyd, conductor
Joélle Harvey, soprano
Susan Platts, alto
Robin Tritschler, tenor
Christòpheren Normura, bass
North Carolina Master Chorale
Alfred E. Sturgis, Music Director
Sunday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, Southern Pines, N.C.
Program Listing
North Carolina Symphony
Handel’s Messiah
Douglas Boyd, conductor
Joélle Harvey, soprano
Susan Platts, alto
Robin Tritschler, tenor
Christòpheren Normura, bass
North Carolina Master Chorale
Alfred E. Sturgis, Music Director
HANDEL – Messiah
I. The Advent of the Messiah
II. The Passion of Christ
III. His Resurrection
