Saint Ignatius Loyola - Sacred Music In A Sacred Space

Season at a Glance

NANCIANNE PARRELLA, Organ
Associate Organist, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
With Jorge Ávila, violin; Victoria Drake, harp; and Arthur Fiacco, cello.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

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Web design and development:
Jonathan Cousins

Artists
(listed alphabetically)

Jorge Ávila, violin
Hailed as a strong violinist by The New York Times, Jorge Ávila has won attention as an outstanding young violinist through numerous appearances as a soloist, recitalist, concertmaster, and chamber musician. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Jorge received his resident status in the United States under the "extraordinary talent" category and became a US Citizen in 2003. He was also awarded first prize at the 2001 Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition. Jorge has appeared as concertmaster with numerous groups, including The Stamford Symphony,Westfield Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, St. Patrick's Cathedral Orchestra, Long Island Masterworks, Grace Church Orchestra, and Tanglewood Music Center, among many others. He was recently named concertmaster of the Colonial Symphony. Jorge recently performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with David Finckel, Wu Han and the Salem Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for the Arabesque, TBM, and Delos International labels and has also performed live on both television and radio. Recent highlights include recitals in NYC, Minneapolis, Costa Rica, and performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra. Jorge also appeared as Concertmaster for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, at the Mass held at Yankee Stadium.

Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Earlier this year baritone Jesse Blumberg made recital debuts in Paris with the Mirror Visions Ensemble and operatic debuts with the Boston Early Music Festival. He has recently performed at the operas of Minnesota, Utah, Pittsburgh, Delaware, and Annapolis. In concert, he has been a featured soloist with American Bach Soloists, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and at the Vail Valley Music Festival. He has toured with the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Waverly Consort, and given recitals for the Marilyn Horne Foundation. In 2008 he was awarded Third Prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau. Jesse participated in young artist programs at Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Ravinia Festival. Next season he makes his Boston Lyric Opera debut as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Five Boroughs Music Festival, a new concert series in New York City.

website

Matt Boehler, bass
Hailed by The Washington Post as "an extraordinarily charismatic performer," Mr. Boehler has been lauded for his dramatic ability and his "supple, clarion bass." This season finds Mr. Boehler returning to Minnesota Opera for Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming, as well as joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for their production of Shostakovich’s The Nose. This past season featured performances with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, Minnesota Opera, Opera New Jersey and New York Philharmonic. Past highlights include performances of The Mikado with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sweeney Todd with Wolf Trap Opera and the world premieres of two one-act operas, Bastianello and Lucrezia, with New York Festival of Song. A member of the Choir of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Mr. Boehler appears this season in their Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series in both Mozart’s Requiem and Pärt’s Miserere. He has been heard in Bach's Magnificat with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Beethoven’s Fidelio with Collegiate Chorale, Handel’s Messiah with Oratorio Society of New York and Bach’s St. John Passion with Musica Sacra. Mr. Boehler holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Viterbo University.

website

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

March 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir

Ory Brown, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Ory Brown has appeared as soloist with the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, American Symphony Orchestra, Little Orchestra Society of New York, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Hartford Symphony, New York Chamber Ensemble, Voices of Ascension, Kalamazoo Bach Festival, and Berkshire Choral Festival. She has sung a variety of operatic roles with Sarasota Opera, Nashville Opera, Oswego Opera, and the Caramoor Opera Festival, including the title role in Menotti’s The Medium, Dame Quickly in Falstaff, Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Grandmother in Janácek’s Jenufa, and Marcellina in Marriage of Figaro. Recent ventures include her New Year’s Eve performance with the Brooklyn Philharmonic on The Late Show with David Letterman, an appearance at the Cultural Olympiad in Salt Lake City, a performance of Oedipus Tex at Lincoln Center in “Peter Schickele meets P.D.Q. Bach”, Verdi’s Requiem and Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series and her debuts with the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Festival, the Center for Contemporary Opera, Dessoff Choirs, the South Dakota Symphony, and the S.E.M. Ensemble.

Performance(s):

February 16, 2010 at 8:00 PM - RESCHEDULED DUE TO SNOW ON FEBRUARY 10
AGOSTINO STEFFANI: Stabat Mater
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Cantata No. 12: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Cantata No. 4: Christ lag in Todesbanden

Vincent Carr, organ
Vincent Carr is the Associate Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. A graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University, he holds Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, respectively, in Organ Performance. At Yale, Mr. Carr studied organ literature with Martin Jean and improvisation with William Porter and Jeffrey Brillhart. While attending Indiana University, he studied organ literature with Larry Smith and improvisation and church music with John Schwandt and Marilyn Keiser. Mr. Carr has led an eclectic musical career with interests in chamber music, musical theater, composition, church music, jazz and global popular music. A prizewinner in several national competitions, he is in frequent demand as clinician, lecturer and performer. Mr. Carr serves as an adjunct faculty member at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University and maintains a busy schedule as a freelancer in the New York City area.

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

James David Christie, organ
James David Christie has been internationally acclaimed as one of the finest organists of his generation. He has performed throughout the world in solo concerts and with major symphony and period instrument orchestras under such conductors as Kurt Masur, Klaus Tennstedt, Gunthur Schuller, Edo de Waart, Arthur Fiedler, Colin Davis, Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Herreweghe, Roger Norrington, and Trevor Pinnock, among many others. James David Christie is the Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., and Professor of Organ at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Ohio. He has served as organist of the Boston Symphony from 1978. In August 2000 he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Organ at Boston University. Also in 2000 he was a visiting professor at the Paris Conservatory and the Academy of Music, Krakow, Poland. He received his degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the New England Conservatory with highest honors including election to Pi Kappa Lambda. At New England, he was awarded the prestigious Artist's Diploma and he was twice a winner of the Concerto Competition. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the New England School of Law in 1980 for his outstanding contributions to the musical life of the city of Boston.

Performance(s):

October 25, 2009 at 4:00 PM
JAMES DAVID CHRISTIE, Organ
Professor of Organ, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music

Victoria Drake, harp
Harpist Victoria Drake is a multi-faceted artist who stretches the boundaries of music for the harp. She has been concerto soloist with more than a dozen orchestras, many with return appearances, including Philharmonia Virtuosi, the Concordia Orchestra, the American Classical Orchestra, and the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra. She has a very active free-lance schedule and performs with many orchestras in the New York area including American Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orpheus, Berkshire Opera Company, Greenwich Symphony, the Oratorio Society of New York and the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series at St. Ignatius Loyola. She has also participated at the Aspen, Bard, Cabrillo, Cape May, Fontainebleau, and Vermont Mozart Festivals, Summer Music in Connecticut, and L’Association des Rencontres Culturelles d’Orbec in France. Ms. Drake has four solo recordings on the Well-Tempered Productions label: Harping on Bach, the critically acclaimed Scarlatti’s Harp, Spanish Gold, and the new From the Bach Notebook of harpist Victoria Drake: the complete cello suites transcribed. She is featured on the CD, Les Corps Glorieux, on the MSR Classics released by the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.

website

Hervé Duteil, organ
Hervé Duteil has studied organ performance and improvisation with Sophie-Véronique Choplin, Kent Tritle, Dorothy Papadakos, and Marie-Danièle Mercier. He has also performed in master-classes conducted by Marie-Claire Alain, David James Christie, Marie-Louise Langlais, and Olivier Latry. In addition, he has studied harmony, counterpoint, and fugue at the Juilliard School. First-prize winner, finalist, and jury member in various international organ competitions, Hervé Duteil held the position of Titular Organist at Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral and “Artist in Residence” at NYU’s Holy Trinity Chapel. Past and future concert venues include Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris), Saint Sulpice (Paris), and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (New York). Hervé Duteil earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics & Physics from The University of Paris, a Master in Computer Science from The University of Cambridge, and a Master in Business Administration with distinction from the Harvard Business School. He currently serves as a Managing Director in the Fixed Income division of an investment bank in New York as well as the President of the Board of FIDESCO U.S.A., an international relief Catholic non-governmental organization. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children and is a regular parishioner at Saint Ignatius Loyola.

Performance(s):

March 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir

Michèle Eaton, soprano
Soprano Michèle Eaton has received critical acclaim for her "sumptuous tone, keen dramatic sense and striking agility.” Highly respected for her mastery of many styles, she is best known for her performances of Baroque and contemporary music. Last season she sang the roles of Child Grendel and Shaper’s Apprentice in the New York premiere of the opera Grendel, directed by Julie Taymor and composed by Elliot Goldenthal. On the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, she has performed Handel's Solomon and Saul, Bach's Mass in B minor, Tavener's Lament of the Mother of God and Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610. She frequently tours and records with the acclaimed Renaissance vocal group Pomerium. With the Ensemble for Early Music she has appeared in staged productions of Sponsus, a medieval morality play. She has toured with Anonymous 4 singing Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, and she is a member of the Brooklyn-based ensemble BaroQue Across The River. In addition, she tours annually with Peter Schickele and tenor David Düsing in both chamber and orchestral performances of the music of the legendary P.D.Q. Bach.

Leslie Fagan, soprano
Leslie Fagan's exceptional artistry and talent continue to garner much attention on international stages. Having performed under the batons of such noted conductors as Hans Graf, Sir David Willcocks, Jukke Pekke Saraste, Kent Tritle and Daniel Lipton, Ms. Fagan has delighted audiences and critics alike at Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Bordeaux Opera House, Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall. In the 2008-2009 season Leslie had return engagements to both Lincoln Center, in Brahms' Requiem, and Carnegie Hall, in Handel's Messiah and Bach's B Minor Mass. Also included last season are performances of Carmina Burana, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony, and Mozart’s Requiem. On the opera stage, Ms. Fagan has sung the title role in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Sophie in Massenet's Werther, Musetta in Verdi's La Bohème and Nanetta in Verdi's Falstaff. At the Aldeburgh Festival in England Ms. Fagan performed the roles of Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

Arthur Fiacco, cello
Arthur Fiacco, cellist, has performed at the Caramoor, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Mostly Mozart and Lincoln Center Festivals and as soloists with Broadway legend Patti LuPone, the Mark Morris Dance Company and the brilliant performance artist Meredith Monk. Mr. Fiacco is a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He serves as principal cellist for the Musica Sacra Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Oratorio Society of New York and the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola. At St. Ignatius Loyola he premiered Paul Moravec’s Pulitzer nominated cello concerto Montserrat on the acclaimed Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series. Noted as a “distinguished chamber musician” of “impressive virtuosity” (Consort magazine), Mr. Fiacco’s recording of the late Mozart Symphonies in Hummel’s piano quartet transcription has garnered praise as “first rate” and “definitive” (The New York Times.) Mr. Fiacco plays a cello made by the Venetian master Carlos Tononi dated 1730.

Performance(s):

April 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
NANCIANNE PARRELLA, Organ
Associate Organist, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
With Jorge Ávila, violin; Victoria Drake, harp; and Arthur Fiacco, cello.

October 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM (Note start time!)
JOHN TAVENER: Requiem (U.S. Premiere)
VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Diptychon (U.S. Premiere)
JOHN TAVENER: The Veil of the Temple (excerpts)
SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (excerpts)

Steven Fox, tenor
Tenor Steven Fox has performed extensively in Europe and the United States. Recent solo engagements have included the premiere of Kotik's Spheres and Attractions with the S.E.M. Ensemble at the Ostrava Days Festival, Czech Republic, and at the Paula Cooper Gallery, New York; Mozart's Spatzenmesse at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna; Domenico Scarlatti's St. Cecilia Mass at the Prague Castle; and Mendelssohn’s Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen with the Vox Vocal Ensemble and George Steel. Mr. Fox has performed, toured and recorded with some of the country's finest vocal ensembles, including Pomerium, the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, and the Choir of St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue. He is known primarily as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Clarion Music Society and of the Russian period orchestra Musica Antiqua St. Petersburg. He has been Associate Conductor at New York City Opera for two recent productions: Handel's Agrippina and Purcell's King Arthur.

Matthew Garrett, tenor
The tenor Matthew Garrett is a 2005 graduate of the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center in New York City. The 2008-2009 season’s engagements included Paolino (Il Matrimonio Segreto) with Scottish Opera, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Eugene Opera and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) with the Ann Arbor Symphony, and as tenor soloist in: Messiah with the Virginia Symphony, Das Lied von der Erde with the Brooklyn Symphony, Handel’s La Resurrezione with the Grand Tour Orchestra, and Handel’s Solomon with the Berkshire Choral Festival. Mr. Garrett was recently a World Finalist in the Montreal International Musical Competition. Other awards include 2nd Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Competition, 2nd Prize in the Eastern Regional Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 2nd Prize in the Dupont Voice Competion at Opera at Florham, and encouragement prizes from Opera Index, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, and the Giulio Gari Foundation.

website

Performance(s):

October 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM (Note start time!)
JOHN TAVENER: Requiem (U.S. Premiere)
VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Diptychon (U.S. Premiere)
JOHN TAVENER: The Veil of the Temple (excerpts)
SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (excerpts)

Katie Geissinger, mezzo-soprano
Katie Geissinger performs a wide variety of classical and contemporary music and theater. For Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, she has sung solos in the Bach Magnificat and Mass in B Minor, the Monteverdi Vespers, and the Vivaldi Gloria, and she appeared as the witch in Honegger’s King David, Mary in Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, and Cyrus in Handel’s Belshazzar. Katie has also performed with the Waverly Consort, Ensemble for Early Music, Musica Sacra, the Washington Bach Consort, the Dessoff Choirs, and at BAM in Jonathan Miller’s staged production of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall in Bach’s Magnificat with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and as Honegger’s witch with the Oratorio Society of New York. Recent contemporary music performances include international festivals with Meredith Monk, the world tour of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s ground-breaking Einstein on the Beach, and Bang on a Can/Ridge Theater’s The Carbon Copy Building. This summer she will join the faculty of the Bang on a Can Summer Institute at MASSMoCA, singing repertoire including Steve Reich’s Music for Eighteen Musicians.

Steven Hrycelak, bass
Steven Hrycelak, bass, is equally at home as an operatic, concert, and ensemble performer. Recent operatic roles include Zuniga in Carmen with NJ Verismo Opera, and Seneca in L'incoronazione di Poppea with Opera Omnia, which The New York Times hailed as having "a graceful bearing and depth." He also spent two summers at Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis, singing roles in Gianni Schicchi and Le Nozze di Figaro. Mr. Hrycelak is an active freelancer in the NY area, having performed with organizations including the NY Choral Artists, the NY Virtuoso Singers, Early Music New York, and Equal Voices. He was a soloist at Trinity Church Wall Street in Handel's Messiah, which was broadcast live on WQXR radio, in Haydn's Heiligmesse, which was recorded for Hänssler Classic, and most recently in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass. He has also been a soloist with Musica Sacra, the NY Collegium, the Waverly Consort, CantaLyrica, and the Collegiate Chorale, with whom he made his Lincoln Center debut. Mr. Hrycelak has music degrees from Indiana University and Yale University, and is also an active coach/accompanist.

Melissa Kelley, soprano
Melissa Kelley is a lyric soprano with an extensive career in the southeastern United States and the New York area. She has had a busy teaching career as well, as a college voice teacher and master clinician. Ms. Kelley has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Clarion Music Society, Musica Sacra, Westchester Chorale, Canta Lyrica, the Louisville Orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic, the Louisville Commonwealth Chorale and Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, Chattanooga Opera, Opera of Central Kentucky, the Brandenburg Ensemble of Jacksonville, the Lexington Bach Ensemble, the Louisville Bach Society, the Pensacola Choral Society and the American Lyric Ensemble. She is also a member of the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York Virtuoso Singers and Voices of Ascension. Ms. Kelley made her Avery Fisher Hall debut in 2004 in John Tavener’s monumental all-night vigil, The Veil of the Temple, part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Her voice can be heard on a recent recording of Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs, and she is a featured soloist on the recently released CD recording of Thea Musgrave’s Advent: For the Time Being with actor Michael York.

Michael Kelly, tenor
New York native, Michael Kelly, has made a name for himself as a tenor for both American and European stages. Known for his smooth, elegant tone and highly musical interpretations of baroque and concert repertoire, he was recently heard as a Steans Institute fellow at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival. In April Michael took third prize and the 19th century award in Oratorio Society of New York’s Solo Competition. A 07/08 season member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich, Mr. Kelly sang the role of Aeneas in Cavalli’s La Didone, and toured Germany as Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte. The winner of the 2004 Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, Michael has a master’s degree from the prestigious Juilliard School.

website

Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane is recognized internationally for her stunning interpretations of repertoire ranging from the early baroque to that of today's composers. She has appeared at many of the most distinguished festivals and concert series worldwide, with conductors William Christie, Nicholas McGegan, Andrew Parrott, Howard Arman, Marc Minkowski, Helmut Rilling and Robert Shaw. Ms. Lane has performed in opera and concert with the Tanglewood Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, the New Getty Center, the Frick Collection, Opernhaus Halle, Opernhaus Dessau, Utah Opera, Salzburger Bachgesellschaft, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Orchestra della Toscana, and the New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Metropolitan Opera. She has joined San Francisco Opera for Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, Virgil Thompson's The Mother of Us All and Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, and Eugene Onegin and the Metropolitan Opera for Moses und Aron and Katyà Kabanovàv. Among her recent concert appearances are performances of Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana in Italy, and Handel and Haydn Society. She has also joined the Lexington Symphony for Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, San Francisco Symphony for Stravinsky's Les Noces with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting, Philharmonia Baroque for Handel's Arianna, Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival for Bach’s Mass in B minor, and the New York Collegium for a concert of Handel works.

website

Performance(s):

March 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir

Renée Anne Louprette, organ
Hailed by The New York Times as “a technically nimble and dynamic organist,” Renée Anne Louprette has established an international career as organ recitalist and choral conductor. For the past four years she has been the Associate Director of Music at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City, where she collaborates with Music Director Kent Tritle in the direction of the renowned music ministry program serving as liturgical organist, accompanist and conductor of both professional and amateur ensembles. Contributor to the artistic direction of the acclaimed Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series, she directs the N.P. Mander Organ Recital Series and performs regularly as conductor, recitalist and continuo player.
Ms. Louprette has collaborated with a number of New York City ensembles including the Clarion Music Society, American Symphony Orchestra, the Dessoff Choirs, Gotham City Orchestra, Oratorio Society of New York, Cantori New York, Orchestra of Our Time and Piffaro, appearing in Carnegie, Avery Fisher and Merkin Halls and the Miller Theatre of Columbia University. She has performed with l'Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under the direction of Richard Hickox, the Musica Nova and Antiphona ensembles of Toulouse and Orchestra New England. European accompanying engagements included performances in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and the festival Éclats de Voix in Auch, France.

Performance(s):

November 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM
RENÉE ANNE LOUPRETTE, Organ
Associate Director of Music, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola

Christophe Mantoux, organ
Christophe Mantoux is Titular Organist at Saint-Séverin church in Paris, and professor of organ at the Conservatoire National de Région (National Conservatoire) in Strasbourg. Born in 1961 in Paris, Christophe completed his organ studies with Gaston Litaize at the Conservatoire National de Région (National Conservatoire) of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. He later studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (National Superior Conservatoire) in Paris where he received First Prizes in Harmony and Counterpoint. In 1984, he won the "Grand Prix d'interprétation" (1st prize in interpretation) at the International Organ Competition in Chartres (Grand Prix de Chartres). He served as titular organist at Chartres Cathedral from 1986 to 1992. Christophe Mantoux performs concerts frequently in Europe, North America and South America. He is regularly invited to conduct masterclasses and workshops, particularly on French organ music. He has contributed articles to numerous organ journals, most recently to the American Organist (July 2008). He has made two recordings, the first included the works of Guilain and Marchand, and the second the works of Jehan Alain recorded on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at St Ouen de Rouen (Motette 13651) which won the coveted “Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros."

Performance(s):

February 24, 2010 at 7:30 PM
CHRISTOPHE MANTOUX, Organ
Titular Organist, Saint-Séverin, Paris France

Oliver Mercer, tenor
Tenor Oliver Mercer is quickly gaining repute in the concert and early music scenes in New York and abroad. Oliver is native to England but has spent most of his years in the U.S.A. He studied music at Portland State University, Trinity College Cambridge and received his Master’s Degree from Florida State University. His operatic roles include Albert Herring, Little Bat, Sesto, Don Ramiro, Fenton, and Ralph Rackstraw. Mercer has recently appeared as concert soloist with The Oregon Bach Festival and International Bachakademie with Helmuth Rilling, Portland Baroque Orchestra, The Saint Ignatius Loyola Sacred Music in a Sacred Space Series, The Choir of Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue, Clarion Music Society, The Tallahassee Symphony, The London Philharmonic in conjunction with the Glyndebourne Opera Jerwood Development Scheme and a tour to Japan and South Korea with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in performances of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion led by Mark Padmore. Upcoming solo engagements include concerts with Le Voix Baroque, Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue. Oliver is currently a member of the choir at Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue in New York.

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

Scott Murphree, tenor
Tenor Scott Murphree is a distinguished singer of the concert, recital and opera stage. Recent engagements have included his Utah Opera debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte; both Tamino and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Delaware; Bach Cantatas with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series. He joined Mostly Mozart to cover Alessandro in Il re pastore with Nicholas McGegan conducting, as well as covering Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte under the direction of Bernard Labadie. Other recent engagements have included Handel’s Messiah with the Oratorio Society of New York in Carnegie Hall; and the role of Nikola Tesla in Violet Fire, with performances at the National Theater, Belgrade, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Future engagements include Handel’s Messiah with Princeton Pro Musica, and with the National Chorale. Among his honors, he was given the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Award, and was selected as finalist for both the Joy in Singing Award and the PoulencPlus! Centennial Competition. He received his education at the University of North Texas, Yale University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

Nancianne Parrella, organ
Nancianne Parrella is Associate Organist of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, where she works closely with director Kent Tritle in the Church’s extensive liturgical music program and is featured frequently on the concert series, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space. In the spring of 2009, Nancianne Parrella was one of two organists with the New York Philharmonic for Lorin Maazel’s farewell concerts of the Britten War Requiem, and in July she performed on the prestigious Methuen Memorial Music Hall 2009 Organ Recital Series in Massachusetts. In the summer of 2008, the first Gettysburg Festival in Pennsylvania invited Nancianne Parrella to be Artistic Director of the Interlude Concerts, a chamber music series based on the popular intermezzo series she introduced to the Spoleto Festival USA in the 1970s. Last season she performed recitals in Fort Worth, Texas, and at the Princeton University Chapel. She was part of the American Guild of Organists’ celebration of the International Year of the Organ, both in New York City and as soloist with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Symphony Orchestra. Other notable recent performances have been with both Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society of New York conducted by Kent Tritle; with Voices of Ascension under Dennis Keene; with the Choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street; and with the women’s ensemble AMUSE. Please visit the "About Us" page to read Ms. Parrella's full biography.

Performance(s):

November 11, 2009 at 8:00 PM
HENRY PURCELL: Ode on St. Cecilia's Day (1692)
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Coronation Anthem No. 1: Zadok the Priest
HERBERT HOWELLS: Antiphon
HERBERT HOWELLS: Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing

April 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
NANCIANNE PARRELLA, Organ
Associate Organist, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
With Jorge Ávila, violin; Victoria Drake, harp; and Arthur Fiacco, cello.

Jamet Pittman, soprano
Jamet Pittman, a native of Washington, DC, began voice training at 17 and won 4th place at the I.C.U.A. national competition held at the Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, CA. She received a Masters of Music degree (Opera Concentration) from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America. Ms. Pittman, at age 23, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the Washington area (Northeast Region). In 1998, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner, with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. She has sung with the New York Choral Artists at Avery Fisher Hall with the NY Philharmonic led by Loren Maazel, Zubin Mehta, and Riccardo Muti. Ms. Pittman sang the title role in the Porgy and Bess Suite with the Washington Army Band and Chorus at the Gershwin Centennial Birthday Celebration and participated in the first American broadcast of Porgy and Bess with New York City Opera in a "Live from Lincoln Center" telecast.

Rachel Rosales, soprano
Soprano RACHEL ROSALES has achieved both popular and critical acclaim on international stages in opera, oratorio and solo recitals. A ubiquitous presence on the New York City scene, her recent appearances at Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues include the Orpheus Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Musica Sacra, the Oratorio Society of New York, the Lincoln Center Summer Festival and the Bard Music Festival. Miss Rosales has appeared with New York City Opera, Berkshire Opera, Opera Illinois, Arizona Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Berkshire Choral Festival, New York Collegium, National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Choral Society, the Symphony of the United Nations, and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, among numerous others. She was a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and took First Place in competitions sponsored by the San Francisco Opera Center, the Music Teachers National Association and the National Association of the Teachers of Singing. She currently serves as a member of the teaching faculties of Bennington College, Vassar College and Fordham University.

Performance(s):

March 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir

Matthew Shaw, countertenor
After having spent his early career as a lyric baritone, Matthew Shaw has had rapid success since his recent transition to the countertenor repertoire. During the 2008-2009 season he made his countertenor debut singing the role of Endimione in La Calisto at the Landestheater Linz, and his performance was hailed by the press as “beautiful-sounding,” “exquisite,” “virtuosic and intense.” He was named a winner in the 2009 Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition, in which he also won the special Richard Westenburg Award for Best 18th Century Stylistic Interpretation. In the 2009-2010 season, he will return to Europe to perform the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Theater Dortmund. Highlights of his past performances as a baritone include engagements with the Boston Early Music Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Opera Vivente, Central City Opera, Atlanta Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, National Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ravinia Festival, and Pittsburgh Opera.

Charles Perry Sprawls, bass-baritone
Bass-baritone Charles Perry Sprawls, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, has been enjoying a busy concert career since arriving in New York City in 1997. Recent performances include the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Raphael in Haydn's Die Schöpfung, the Szymanowski Stabat Mater, and Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series at St. Ignatius Loyola, the Mozart Requiem on the Great Performances series at St. Bartholomew’s Church, roles in Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus and Dallapiccola's Volo di notte with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra, and his Carnegie Hall debut in the Beethoven Mass in C with Oratorio Society of New York under Kent Tritle. He is a previous district winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. While in Atlanta, Mr. Sprawls performed as soloist in a number of performances with the late Robert Shaw, including the annual Christmas with Robert Shaw concerts and as part of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. In previous seasons Mr. Sprawls has performed on stage as a member of the associate chorus at both the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. Upcoming performances include the Bach Christmas Oratorio with Berkshire Bach Society and the premiere performance of Harold Farberman's Diamond Street at the historic Hudson Opera House.

Michael Steinberger, tenor
Tenor Michael Steinberger continues to garner attention and praise for his artistry and versatility. During the 08-09 season, Michael was featured in fine new works as well as concert classics, among them are Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater with Musica Sacra, Evangelist in Handel's Johannes Passion with Amor Artis, Mozart's Mass in C minor with the Fairfield Chorale and Westchester Choral Society, The Prodigal Son by Johannes Somary at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., several performances of Handel's Messiah and, as part of the city-wide festival Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, the first public performance of a recently discovered Bernstein work for voice and piano. Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with preeminent ensembles like the New York Philharmonic, New York Collegium, Vox Vocal Ensemble, Pomerium, New York Virtuoso Singers, Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, Anonymous 4 and Waverly Consort. A regular performer with Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, he has been featured on several occasions – most notably in Arvo Pärt’s haunting Stabat Mater and Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.

Peter Stewart, baritone
Peter Stewart has been a member of the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola for ten years. In that time, he has also been active touring with the Philip Glass Ensemble. He works with many other composers, having participated in premieres of Lee Hoiby, Jon Gibson, Roberto Sierra, Meredith Monk, Sir John Tavener, Hans Werner Henze, among many others. Peter has given many recitals at Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, and on a tour with Community Concerts. He performs early music regularly with Pomerium, the Waverly Consort, New York Collegium and the Connecticut Early Music Festival and Concert Royal. He has sung opera and oratorio performances with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, New Haven Symphony and the Mark Morris Dance Company. He is currently on the voice faculty of Montclair State University.

Brian Stucki, tenor
Quickly distinguishing himself with a voice that the Salt Lake Tribune declares is “heaven sent,” Brian Stucki’s recent performances included his return to the roles of Nadir in Les Pêcheur de Perles with Seattle Opera, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Pacific, and Ramiro in La cenerentola with the Opera Company of North Carolina. He also sang Handel’s Messiah with Handel and Haydn Society and Carmina Burana with the Milwaukee Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, and Acadiana Symphony in Louisiana before finishing the season with his first performances of Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Princeton Festival. In coming seasons, he returns to the role of Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Colorado and Arizona Opera and sings his first performances of Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Utah Opera. An accomplished oratorio soloist, Mr. Stucki’s performances on the concert stage include the Mozart Requiem with both the Waukegan Symphony and Bach Chorale Singers; Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Handel’s Utrecht Jubilate and Holst’s Psalm 86 with the Utah Symphony; Messiah and Bach’s Weinachts-Oratorium with the Brigham Young Early Music Ensemble.

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Performance(s):

March 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir

Kent Tritle, organ
Kent Tritle is one of America’s leading choral conductors. He is founder and Music Director of Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the acclaimed concert series entering its 21st season at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City; Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York and of Musica Sacra; Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music; and a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic. In more than 120 concerts presented by the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, Kent Tritle has conducted the Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola in a broad repertoire of sacred works, from Renaissance masses and oratorio masterworks to premieres by notable living composers. As Director of Music Ministries at St. Ignatius Loyola, Mr. Tritle oversees a program that annually produces more than 400 services with music. As organist of the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Tritle was recently the soloist in performances of Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony both at Avery Fisher Hall and in Vail, Colorado. As an organ recitalist he performs regularly in Europe and across the United States; recital venues have included the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, King’s College at Cambridge, and Westminster Abbey. He is featured on the DVD The Organistas and Creating the Stradivarius of Organs. At the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Kent Tritle was artistic consultant on the design and installation of the four-manual, 68-stop mechanical action organ, which was dedicated in 1993. This instrument again drew national attention in July 2007 in a program of organ concertos for the American Guild of Organists conducted by Mr. Tritle, with corresponding critical success. Mr. Tritle's full biography may be found on the "About Us" page of this website.

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Performance(s):

September 16, 2009 at 7:30 PM
KENT TRITLE, Organ
Director of Music, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
Organist, New York Philharmonic

Virginia Warnken, alto
Alto Virginia Warnken has performed regularly with renowned early music groups such as Vox Vocal Ensemble, Clarion Music Society, Musica Sacra, Trinity Wall Street Choir, Tiffany Consort, Elision, Trio Eos, and others. Virginia also has a profound passion for solo work, and has recently appeared at Carnegie Hall as the alto soloist in J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass with the Oratorio Society of New York, and previously as the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah. Ms. Warnken will return to Carnegie Hall next season to sing the Soprano II solos in Mozart's Great Mass in C minor. She has also appeared as a soloist and chorister in Merkin Hall, Miller Theater, St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Mary the Virgin, St. John the Divine, Trinity Wall Street, and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. Virginia is also an advocate for Contemporary Music, and has premiered works by many prominent composers, namely Steve Reich, John Zorn, Martin Bresnick, Caleb Burhans, and others.

Performance(s):

May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere

Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Soprano Jennifer Zetlan is swiftly garnering recognition for her beautiful voice and captivating stage presence. Since graduating from Juilliard in 2006, Ms. Zetlan has made debuts with Florida Grand Opera as Lisa in La sonnambula, with New York City Opera as Frasquita in Carmen, and with The Metropolitan Opera as Second French Actress in War and Peace. She recently performed the role of The Boxer’s Wife in Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation at Juilliard Opera Center under James Conlon, and made her Avery Fisher Hall debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony, conducted by Alan Gilbert. Ms. Zetlan made her New York recital debut under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s On Wings of Song series at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, which was later broadcast on WQXR. In the 2009–2010 season, Ms. Zetlan will debut with Nashville Opera as Madeline Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher and will sing the role of The Flier in the world premiere of Daron Hagen’s Amelia with Seattle Opera.

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