HALLELUJAH! NHSO OFFERS FOUR CHANCES TO HEAR HANDEL’S MESSIAH DECEMBER 18-21

State-Wide Performance Tour to Include Venues in New Haven, Madison, Middletown and Fairfield

NHSO to Donate Proceeds from December 18 Performance to the Community Soup Kitchen

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) will present four performances of Handel’s Messiah in a statewide tour December 18-21, 2014. Starting in Woolsey Hall in New Haven on December 18, the tour will continue December 19 at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, December 20 at First Congregational Church of Madison, and December 21 at the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School.

One of the best known choral works of all time, Messiah is a collection of biblical texts compiled into the story of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection; it is traditionally performed for both Christmas and Easter celebrations. Messiah features such well known songs for solo vocalists with the orchestra as “Every Valley Shall Be Exalted” and “He Shall Feed His Flock,” as well as monumental choruses like “For Unto Us a Child is Born” and, of course, the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

The NHSO will donate proceeds from the December 18 performance at Woolsey Hall to the Community Soup Kitchen. The NHSO has supported the Community Soup Kitchen for several seasons and was the recipient of the soup kitchen’s “Silver Ladel” award in 2013. For more information about the Community Soup Kitchen, visit www.csknewhaven.org.

For these performances, the NHSO will be joined by four solo vocalists: soprano Nicole Percifield, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenor Jorge Prego and baritone Brian Vu. The first three performances will feature the Christ Church Oratorio Society of New Haven and the final performance will feature the Greater Middletown Chorale.

Originally from Alberta, Canada, soprano Nicole Percifield is currently completing her second year with Yale Opera. Most recently, she sang the lead role of Suor Angelica in the NHSO and Yale Opera’s co-production of Suor Angelica at St. Mary’s Church in November. Additionally, she has appeared with Boston Midsummer Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera and Minnesota Opera. Percifield was a finalist at the 2013 Metropolitan Opera Connecticut Districts, advancing to the New England Regionals.

Praised by the New York Times as “Excellent – Notably… the Countertenor Daniel Moody, whose vocal resonance makes a profoundly startling impression…” Daniel is known for the unusual beauty of his voice.  A lover of opera, early music, sacred and art song alike, Daniel has performed at the Boston, Indianapolis, and Washington Early Music Festivals and on national radio programs with the Peabody Consort. He has performed at the Tanglewood Festival, and made his Asian debut with Hong Kong Voices in 2011.  Daniel is graduate student at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music.

Spanish tenor Jorge Prego is in the final year of his DMA residency at Yale, where he has previously appeared as Ferrando in Così fan Tutte, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He has sung with the Hartford and Richmond Symphony Orchestras and has appeared in the Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, Poland and DuPage Opera of Chicago, as well as feature appearances in Milan and Zurich. A Second Prize winner in the 2008 Heida Hermanns International Vocal Competition, Mr. Prego holds a Masters Degree in Piano from The Hartt School, a Professional Diploma in Opera from Roosevelt University of Chicago, and an Artist Diploma in Opera from Yale University.

Described as “debonair” by the Washington Post, baritone Brian Vu, an Orange County native, is currently a student at Yale Opera. He has been a featured performer at Music Academy of the West, Wolf Trap Opera, and the National Symphony Orchestra. A 2014 Eastern Region Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he has also received awards from the George London Foundation, Gerda Lissner Competition, Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition, Kurt Weill Foundation and the Opera Buffs of Los Angeles.

The Christ Church Oratorio Society was formed for special performances of large-scale Baroque and Classical works like Handel’s Messiah and Coronation Anthems, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Passion settings, and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri. The group consists of current Christ Church Choir singers, Christ Church Choir alumni, and singers from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and performs with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and various local chamber ensembles.

Established in 1977 as a community chorus in Middletown, CT, the GMChorale (Greater Middletown Chorale) has evolved to become one of New England’s most engaging choirs. It is acclaimed for its innovative symphonic choral presentations.  Under the inspired leadership of Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, the chorale performs beloved masterworks and newly commissioned masterpieces on a global scale. For more information, visit gmchorale.yolasite.com.

December 18 Symphony Supper: Indulge in a delicious Symphony Supper with other music lovers at Community Soup Kitchen at 5:30pm on Thursday, December 18; visit NewHavenSymphony.org or call 203.865.0831 x16 for details. Proceeds from this dinner to benefit the Community Soup Kitchen.

December 18 Prelude: Join Artistic Director of Greater Middletown Chorale Joseph D’Eugenio for an intriguing FREE pre-concert discussion on Thursday, December 18 from 6:30-7:00pm at Yale’s Sudler Hall.

December 20 Pre-Concert Talk: Yale Music History Professor Paul Berry will lead a pre-concert talk about Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, at 6:30pm in Hubley Hall (adjacent to the church). A historian of chamber music and song in nineteenth-century Germany and Austria, Professor Berry received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. His first book, from Oxford University Press, is Brahms Among Friends: Listening, Performance, and the Rhetoric of Allusion. He is also a singer specializing in German song and early music.

The December 18 performance of Handel’s Messiah is sponsored by Bank of America. The December 20 pre-concert talk is presented by Shoreline Village CT and First Congregational Church of Madison. The 2014-2015 Season media sponsor is the New Haven Register.