Greetings!
It is hard to believe that this year, during which we have endured so much, is nearing its end. We still have a challenging road ahead, but all the more reason to take the time to celebrate the holiday season in whatever ways we can – and you can join me for all of the ways below...one of which is in person!
I am privileged to be Music Director for three organizations: Musica Sacra, Oratorio Society of New York, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Please learn more about upcoming holiday events below, and I invite you to join me in supporting them, especially this year as we make our way back to the light.
Thank you, my friends! I wish you all a very happy, safe, and peaceful holiday season!
Love,
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Kent Tritle
Donate now to:
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Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine |
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Join in-person: Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine on the Cathedral Steps on Sunday, December 13, 3 PM. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine presents Kent leading the Cathedral Choir in concert as a gift to the people of New York City.
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Amplified from the steps of the Cathedral at Amsterdam Avenue & 112th Street, the choir (masked and distanced, but in festive spirit), with soloists Lianne Coble, Kirsten Sollek, and Gregory Purnhagen, will sing Tomas Luis de Victoria’s motet O magnum mysterium, Jan Peterszoon Sweelinck’s Hodie Christus Natus Est, a Christmas spiritual medley arranged by Joseph Jennings, and other carols of the season in this 45-minute celebration. (In the event of rain the concert will take place from a tent on the Cathedral’s Pulpit Green.) Afterwards, the concert video will be posted to the Cathedral site for streaming. |
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Christmas services and New Year’s Eve at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine are all online this year, but Kent and members of the Cathedral’s choirs will be participating in all of the livestreams. For this year’s New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, hosted as always by Harry Smith with the Dean of the Cathedral, The Right Reverend Clifton Daniel III, Kent leads a virtual celebration featuring soprano Jamet Pittman, cellist Arthur Fiacco, and the Cathedral Choir highlighted by Take Care of This House from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by Leonard Bernstein and Alan J. Lerner.
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Oratorio Society of New York |
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“The Grand Tradition Continues: OSNY Messiah 2020” is a performance of selections from Handel’s Messiah that will debut for on-demand, free streaming on Monday, December 21, 8 PM on the Oratorio Society of New York website.
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To mark Christmas 2020 in all its uniqueness, Kent and the Oratorio Society of New York, determined to find a way to continue the OSNY’s 147-year tradition of annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, devised a plan to do so within the safety guidelines of our Covid age. Taped in October in the barn at Kent’s house in upstate New York, the performance features Tritle leading 24 members of the OSNY chorus, a 12-member orchestra, and star soloists Susanna Phillips, Heather Petrie, Joshua Blue, and Sidney Outlaw. |
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“It was a cold October morning; we used tent heaters to warm the space, and broke every 20 minutes for aerosol dispersion,” described Kent. Everyone was Covid-tested, masked, and distanced, but even so, “The rush of joy was tremendous from the first note of the Overture! We dressed in our elegant best, and had the time of our lives, even with the social distancing. I will remember that day forever.”
More good news for Kent and the OSNY: The Naxos recording of the world premiere performance of Sanctuary Road, the oratorio by Paul Moravec (music) and Mark Campbell (text), that Kent led with the Oratorio Society at Carnegie Hall in 2018, has been nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category. You can see the complete list of nominees here. |
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And here are three musical gifts, led by Kent, to inspire the hope with which we look forward to the new year.
Union, a song by 18th-century American composer William Billings performed by Musica Sacra:
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Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre, a collaboration between Musica Sacra and Just Friends, arranged by Just Friends member Shelton Becton:
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You Are The Light, a setting of a quote from the late Congressman and legendary civil rights leader John Lewis composed by Ara Dinkjian and performed by Rose of the Compass (of which Ara is a member) and the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine:
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Kent Tritle is one of America's leading choral conductors. Called "the brightest star in New York's choral music world" by The New York Times, he is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed 200-voice volunteer chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York City. In addition, Kent is Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic. kenttritle.com
Photo: Jennifer Taylor
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