Boston Civic Symphony Sing Along Concert: Ode to Joy, April 27!

Boston Civic Symphony will celebrate the finale of its centennial season with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, on Sunday, April 27th at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. Tickets and information about all Boston Civic Symphony concerts can be found at bostoncivicsymphony.org.

Joined by Chorus pro Musica, which coincidentally is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season, Boston Civic Symphony will perform Beethoven’s iconic masterpiece in a “grand celebration of unity and joy.” declared Civic Music Director Francisco Noya.

“We are inviting the audience to join the orchestra, Chorus Pro Musica, and our soloists (Patrice Tiedemann, soprano; Emily Harmon, alto; Neal Ferreira, tenor; Paul La Rosa, bass) in the final movement creating a communal and exhilarating conclusion to our centenary season,” said Noya. “This piece, with its timeless message of brotherhood and joy, is the perfect finale to a season that honors our past and looks forward to our future.”

Founded in 1924 by the late educator, conductor, and composer Joseph Wagner, the Boston Civic Symphony is one of Boston’s most respected musical organizations. At the time of its founding, Wagner was director of music in Boston public schools and had formed an all-high school orchestra of Boston students. Those musicians became the nucleus of the Boston Civic Symphony that performed during the 1924-25 season.

Over the past century, Civic has distinguished itself from other community classical music groups by building on Wagner’s model of engaging exceptionally skilled student musicians alongside classically trained amateur performers. Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gil Shaham are among the notable soloists who performed with Civic during their time as undergrads in Boston.

Literally dozens of Civic alumni have gone on to professional careers after playing with the orchestra. They include longtime Boston Symphony Orchestra flutist James Pappoutsakis and cellist Mickey Katz, as well as Bryce Leafman who is currently the assistant principal timpanist for the San Francisco Symphony.

Francisco Noya is a prominent figure in the Boston and New England music scene, where he has earned a reputation as a versatile interpreter of symphonic and operatic literature. Noya began his professional career in his native Venezuela, as conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Valencia, one of the original ensembles of “El Sistema.” After earning advanced degrees in composition and conducting from Boston University, Noya was appointed to serve as assistant conductor of the Caracas Philharmonic and assistant to the music director of the Teatro Teresa Carreño, one of the most prestigious theaters in Latin America. In addition to serving as music director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Albany, New York for ten seasons, Noya has appeared as guest conductor of the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Baltimore, Nashville, San Antonio, and Omaha Symphony Orchestras, among others. He was named music director of Boston Civic Symphony in 2017 and has been a member of the Conducting faculty at Berklee College of Music for nearly 24 years.

Founded in 1949, Chorus pro Musica has built a superb reputation as one of the great choruses of New England. Known for innovative programming and high-quality performances, under Music Director Jamie Kirsch, Chorus pro Musica consists of more than 100 highly talented volunteer musicians selected by audition. Repertoire consists of choral music from the Renaissance to the present, with emphasis on new and rarely performed choral music, as well as major works in collaboration with other music organizations.

Soprano Patrice Tiedemann has appeared as a soloist with Boston Civic Symphony, as well as the Boston Pops, Boston Lyric Opera and Rhode Island Philharmonic, among others. a graduate of Rhode Island College and received her master’s degree in vocal performance from Indiana University, she also serves as the Artistic Director of Seaglass Theater Company, producing creatively staged performances of classic vocal repertoire for the Southern New England area.

A native of New England, mezzo-soprano Emily Harmon received both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Boston University’s voice program. She has performed with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera, at the Glimmerglass Festival, and MassOpera.

Neal Ferreira is a nationally recognized lyric tenor known for his cultivated vocalism and eloquent expression. He recently appeared with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and with Emmanuel Music as Macheath in Benjamin Britten’s version of The Beggar’s Opera. The tenor made his Carnegie Hall debut in the spring of 2022 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Ein Soldat in Wozzeck, under the baton of Maestro Andris Nelsons. He is on the voice faculty at Berklee College of Music.

American baritone Paul La Rosa has recently appeared as Lionel in The Maid of Orleans with Opera Company of Middlebury and singing the Wolf /Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods with Annapolis Opera. Other recent credits include Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas with Angel’s Share, Pablo Picasso in the world premiere of The Weeping Woman with Opera Collective/Mass MoCA, and Cascada in The Merry Widow and Jud Fry in Oklahoma! with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mr. LaRosa is Co-Director of the Williams Opera Workshop at Williams College where he is an Artist Associate teaching voice.

Boston Civic Symphony with Chorus pro Musica performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Sunday April 27th at 3pm at Jordan Hall in Boston. Tickets and information can be found at bostoncivicsymphony.org.