The Choral Society gratefully acknowledges Univest as a partial underwriter for this concert. Thank you!

BCCS' outstanding series of collaborations with the Riverside Symphonia continues in dramatic fashion during the 2007 - 2008 season, with the presentation of Beethoven's monumental Missa Solemnis. An outstanding quartet of featured soloists includes former Canadian Football League player turned Metropolitan Opera bass Keith Miller, and his wife Joyce El-Khoury, currently the leading soprano at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Soloists Suzanne DuPlantis and Timothy Bentch are well known to area vocal aficionados.

Among the many musical settings of the Catholic High Mass, Bach's Mass in B minor and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis form grand and phenomenal exceptions. Both are distinguished by an exuberance that deviates from ecclesiastical observances and traditions. In this mass, which he himself designated as his greatest and most successful work, Beethoven engages his full powers as a man and an artist with the extreme of zealous and devotional intensity. And so the Missa Solemnis is regarded as the most imposing monument to the composer's awe-inspiring genius, and as one of the nineteenth century's grandest and mightiest manifestations of deep religious feeling.

This live performance is a rare opportunity to hear one of the greatest works of all time, performed by Bucks County's best in a local concert setting, and should not to be missed. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is located at 235 E. State St. in Doylestown. While it is a spacious venue, ticket sales for this single performance of the Missa Solemnis are expected to be brisk. To order tickets or for more information, contact the Choral Society at 215.598.6142 or order tickets online.