Westchester Oratorio Baroque Messiah

The Westchester Oratorio Society will present a fast-paced, period performance of Handel's Messiah with the acclaimed early music ensemble, REBEL Baroque, on Sunday afternoon November 21, 2010 at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco beginning at 4 PM.

Conductor-Artistic Director, Benjamin Niemczyk, expressed his excitement at collaborating again with REBEL (pronounced "Re-bel"), which he called one of the most respected early music ensembles in the United States and said he was looking forward to the brisk, Baroque pace of the performance (under three hours).  While challenging for the group's singers, Mr. Niemczyk hopes the tempo will be "a thrill for the audience." 

Called "sophisticated and beguiling" by the NY Times, the internationally renowned REBEL is based in Peekskill, NY.  In past years REBEL has performed the Messiah annually at Trinity Church in Manhattan under the direction of Owen Burdick in an event simulcast on WQXR.

First performed on Dublin in 1742, Handel's Messiah remained popular through to the Romantic period of music, which saw performances of the work become more and more grandiose.  At the Crystal Palace in London 19^th Century audiences saw as many as 4,000 singers on stage with orchestras numbering in the hundreds. As band music became popular modern brass instruments found there way into the scores.  The oratorio society's 65 voice chorus with the 21 members of the REBEL ensemble will be more in keeping with the scope of the earlier charity performances which became popular shortly after the composer's death.  

Soloists for the performance will be Soprano Nell Snaidas, known for her Baroque interpretations which have been called "vocally ravishing" by the NY Times; Alto Hai-Ting Chinn, who has performed with opera companies throughout the United States and Europe and as a soloist with groups including Orpheus, St. Luke's and REBEL; Tenor Daniel Neer, a diverse artist accomplished in theater, chamber and concert music, and opera who has performed in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.; and Bass Ray Diaz, a graduate of the SUNY-Purchase Conservatory of Music, who has performed with opera companies throughout the U.S. and won several prestigious awards.

Founded in 1997, the Westchester Oratorio Society continues to fulfill its mission of presenting extraordinary musical programming to local audiences in northern Westchester. In addition, the group has further distinguished itself through appearances including with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Cathedral of St. Johns the Devine.  The chorus rehearses Tuesday evenings in Katonah and is comprised of competent volunteer singers from Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam counties, and elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area.

Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco is located at 605 Millwood Rd, Mt Kisco, NY‎.   Tickets for the performance are just $25 and may be purchased at the group's website via PayPal, www.Westchesteroratorio.org. For more information e-mail wosinforrmation@gmail.com or call (914) 763-9389.