The Bucks County Choral Society, under the direction of Thomas Lloyd, has announced its 38th concert season - A Season of Great Works. The Choral Society's 2010-2011 season includes "A Night at the Opera" with stellar soloists from Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts, a performance of Bach's
St. Matthew Passion with internationally-acclaimed vocal soloists and the Riverside Symphonia, a program of American Masters - Old & New, and rare BCCS Christmas performances of Handel's
Messiah.
The season opens in October, with "A Night at the Opera", presenting a wide range of operatic favorites for soloists and chorus from Verdi, Purcell, Beethoven, Mozart, Argento, Bizet, Wagner, Leoncavallo, Rossini, and more. Featured soloists from The Academy of Vocal Arts are Cristina Nassif (soprano), Olivia Vote (mezzo soprano), John Viscardi (tenor), and Scott Conner (bass). The performance will be given on Saturday evening, October 23 at Lenape Middle School in Doylestown.
For the first time in a long time, the Choral Society's Annual Festival of Christmas Music will be highlighted by performances of G.F. Handel's
Messiah, pt. 1.
Messiah will be presented in unique fashion, incorporating chorus, soloists from within BCCS, and a string quintet led by Riverside Symphonia concertmaster Ruo Tao Mao. The Chamber Choir of the Choral Society will contribute Christmas music from C. Hubert H. Parry, and the full choir will sing carol arrangements. Christmas concerts are held at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Doylestown on Friday (12/10) and Saturday (12/11) evenings, and on Sunday (12/12) afternoon. Vocal soloists from BCCS and autoharpist John Hook will present Carols with Autoharp preludes, beginning 30 minutes prior to each concert.
BCCS, Riverside Symphonia, and an outstanding group of vocal soloists join together in early April to present a memorable performance of J.S. Bach's monumental
St. Matthew Passion. Nationally and internationally-acclaimed vocal soloists for this concert include Robert Petillo, Dashon Burton, Laura Heimes, Suzanne DuPlantis, Joseph Mikolaj, and Kevin Deas. The
St. Matthew Passion is rarely heard in Bucks County - one not-to-be-missed performance will be given at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Doylestown, on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
The Choral Society finishes the season with a tribute to "American Masters - Old & New". The program includes music from foundational modern American composers such as Copland, Bernstein and Sondheim as well as musical contributions from the newest wave - Brown, Guettel, and Gordon. BCCS will sing the world premiere of
Four Lanston Hughes Settings - a new piece from Ricky Ian Gordon, commissioned by the Karen and Michael Noland Commission Fund. Soprano Leslie Johnson is featured. The concert takes place on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the New Hope - Solebury High School in New Hope.
To purchase tickets, or for more information, please contact the Bucks County Choral Society at 215.598.6142, or online at www.buckschoral.org.
