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Press Releases
Kent Tritle Spring 2026: Organ Recital at St. John the Divine, 'A German Requiem,' 'Alexander's Feast,' World Premiere 'On the Words of Walt Whitman'
Kent Tritle’s Spring 2026: A Recital on the Great Organ of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Brahms A German Requiem, the World Premiere of Wayne Oquin’s On the Words of Walt Whitman, and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast
Soloists include Susanna Phillips, Lauren Snouffer, Richard Pittsinger, John Moore, Sidney Outlaw, and Joseph Parrish
Kent Tritle leading Musica Sacra in “SurRound” in October 2025, photo by Brian Hatton
To begin his spring concert season, acclaimed choral conductor and organist Kent Tritle showcases both these roles in the first three days of February 2026 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: he conducts the Oratorio Society of New York in a program of French Romantic sacred music, including works by Fauré, Gounod, and Lili Boulanger, and he performs a recital on the cathedral’s Great Organ (re-inaugurated last year after a six-year renovation): music by Jeanne Demessieux, Larry King, and David Hurd alongside Bach, Mendelssohn, and Widor (the complete programs follow below).
Kent is the music director of three of New York’s esteemed choruses, and this spring he conducts them in programs featuring great choral works and a brand new one. He leads the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine in Brahms’s A German Requiem (Ein Deutsches Requiem) on a program with Carlos Simon’s An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave on March 7; Musica Sacra in the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s On the Words of Walt Whitman, on a program with other works by Oquin and Caroline Shaw on March 11; and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast with Oratorio Society of New York on May 11.
Soloists are sopranos Susanna Phillips (Brahms and Oquin), Lauren Snouffer (Alexander’s Feast); tenor Richard Pittsinger (Alexander’s Feast); and baritones John Moore (Oquin), Sidney Outlaw (Alexander’s Feast), and Joseph Parrish (Brahms).
One of America’s leading choral conductors as well as an acclaimed organ virtuoso, Kent Tritle is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; Music Director of both Musica Sacra, New York’s elite professional chorus, and Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed avocational ensemble; and organist of the New York Philharmonic.
MUSICA SACRA
“Oquin and Shaw” with the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s On the Words of Walt Whitman – Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 7:00 pm at St. Bartholomew’s Church
The world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s new work On the Words of Walt Whitman – setting both iconic poems as well as new discoveries from the Walt Whitman Archive – for soloists, chorus, chamber orchestra, and organ, featuring soprano Susanna Phillips and baritone John Moore, centers this program, which also features Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte for string orchestra and selections by Oquin for a cappella chorus: O Magnum Mysterium, Alleluia, and Sure on this shining night. This concert, at St. Bartholomew’s Church, will be recorded for future commercial release.
ORATORIO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
Music of the French Romantic Period – Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 5:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Free concert
This program of sacred French music accompanied by organ draws on nearly a century of liturgical expression from the late Romantic period to early modernism, featuring music by Louis Vierne, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, Lili Boulanger, and Jules Massenet. The full program follows below.
50th Anniversary of the Concert of the Century – Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 7:00 pm at Carnegie Hall
This special event marking the 50th anniversary of Carnegie Hall’s “Concert of the Century,” which itself celebrated the 85th anniversary of the hall’s founding, is a star-studded event, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the NYO-USA orchestra and a host of guests including the OSNY, which performed at Carnegie Hall’s 1891 opening.
Handel’s Alexander’s Feast – Monday, May 11, 2026, at 8:00 pm at Carnegie Hall
Kent Tritle leads a rare performance of Handel’s oratorio Alexander’s Feast, composed in 1736. The OSNY last performed this ode to the power of music in 1878, and it has only been presented in its entirety at Carnegie Hall once before, in 1959. Based on a poem by John Dryden, the work celebrates the feast held by Alexander the Great in honor of his conquest of Persia and culminates in a final chorus that exalts Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. The concert’s soloists are soprano Lauren Snouffer, tenor Richard Pittsinger, and baritone Sidney Outlaw.
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
“Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem” – Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 7:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
A performance of Brahms’s uniquely humanist mass for the dead, Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), featuring soprano Susanna Phillips and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, is the culmination of this program that begins with the second movement of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3 (Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto), and Carlos Simon’s An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave, a work for string orchestra that was written to honor the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown.
Kent leads the members of his music team at St. John the Divine in the Cathedral’s Holy Week services March 29 to April 5 – see the schedule below.
ORGAN SEASON
Kent Tritle Organ Recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 7:30 pm
With the Great Organ of St. John the Divine back in business (re-inaugurated in 2025 after a six-year silence), Kent’s annual recital puts the instrument through its paces with a program of Bach, Mendelssohn, and works by Jeanne Demessieux, David Hurd, Larry King, and Charles-Marie Widor. The full program follows below.
New York Philharmonic
As the organist of the New York Philharmonic, Kent will join the orchestra in March in performances of Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
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 avocational chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York’s elite professional chorus. In addition, Kent is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School, serving its Vocal Arts Department. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, he is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
Kent Tritle’s discography of more than two dozen releases includes recordings on the Telarc, Naxos and MSR Classics labels. His most recent recordings were made live at Carnegie Hall, with works by Moravec/Campbell including the Grammy-nominated performance of Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York. With Musica Sacra he has most recently recorded Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson and Lauds by Laurence Bunin. He recorded Juraj Filas’ Requiem, Oratio Spei, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Kühn Choir, and a host of recordings ranging from Gregorian chant to Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir with the Choir of St Ignatius Loyola. His discography also includes highly acclaimed organ recordings on the Gothic and Epiphany labels.
Kent Tritle is renowned as a master clinician, giving workshops on conducting and repertoire; recent years have included annual choral workshops at the Amherst Early Music Festival, workshops at Berkshire Choral International, Summer@Eastman and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. As Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music from 2008 to 2022, Kent established the school’s first doctoral program in choral conducting. A Juilliard School faculty member since 1996, he currently directs a graduate practicum on oratorio in collaboration with the school’s Vocal Arts Department.
As an organist, Kent has performed recitals at such historic venues as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Zurich Tonhalle, and Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, King’s College (Cambridge), Westminster Abbey, and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Kent Tritle founded the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at New York’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, and led it to great acclaim from 1989 to 2011. From 1996 to 2004, he was Music Director of New York’s The Dessoff Choirs. Kent hosted “The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle” on New York’s WQXR, a weekly program devoted to the vibrant world of choral music, from 2010 to 2014. Among his recent honors are the 2020 Chorus America Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award from Career Bridges and the 2016 President’s Medal for Distinguished Service from the Manhattan School of Music. Kent is on the advisory boards of the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective (C4) and the Clarion Music Society, and was the 2016 honoree at Clarion’s annual gala. He was recently featured in the WIRED video series “Masterminds,” an installment titled, “What Conductors Are Really Doing.” In 2024, Kent was featured in two public television series: Confluence, about art, science, and creativity, in a segment about the pipe organ, and the All-Star Orchestra as the soloist in Saint-Saëns’ “Organ Symphony.”
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KENT TRITLE SPRING 2026 SEASON
Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 5:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Kent Tritle, conductor
Jon Runion, organ
LOUIS VIERNE Kyrie
GABRIEL FAURÉ Sanctus
CHARLES GOUNOD Agnus Dei
LILI BOULANGER Psaume 24
JULES MASSENET La Terre Promise: Finale
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
J.S. BACH Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Sonata III in A Major, Op. 65, No. 3
DAVID HURD Te Deum Laudamus, Toccata
LARRY KING Resurrection
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Symphonie No.5 in F Minor, Op. 42, No. 1, movements I and IV
JEANNE DEMESSIEUX Te Deum, Op. 11
Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
CATHEDRAL CHOIRS AND ORCHESTRA OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
Kent Tritle, conductor
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Joseph Parrish, baritone
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 3, mvt. 2 (Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto)
CARLOS SIMON An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave
JOHANNES BRAHMS Ein Deutsches Requiem
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 7:00 pm
St. Bartholomew’s Church
“OQUIN AND SHAW”
Kent Tritle, conductor
Susanna Phillips, soprano
John Moore, baritone
CAROLINE SHAW Entr’acte for string orchestra
WAYNE OQUIN O Magnum Mysterium
Alleluia
Sure on this shining night
On the Words of Walt Whitman for soprano, baritone, chorus, chamber
orchestra and organ (World premiere)
March 27-29, 2026
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, conductor
Program to include:
EDWARD ELGAR Enigma Variations
Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES AT THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
Check the Cathedral calendar for livestream details.
Palm Sunday, March 29, 10:30 am
Cathedral Choirs
Music of Daniel Ficarri and David Hurd and Kent Tritle’s setting of the Passion of St Matthew
Palm Sunday Evensong, March 29, 4 pm
Cathedral Choir
Music of Anthony Piccolo, Herbert Howells, and Daniel Ficarri
Maundy Thursday, April 2, 7:30 pm
Cathedral Choir and Chorale
Music of Maurice Duruflé, Ola Gjeilo, and Paul Halley
Good Friday, April 3, 12 pm
Cathedral Choir
Kent Tritle’s setting of the Passion of St John
Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 4, 7:30 pm
Cathedral Choir and Chorale
Music of Randall Thompson and Johannes Brahms
Easter Day, Sunday, April 5, 10:30 am
Cathedral Choirs and Brass
Music of Craig Phillips, Johannes Brahms, and Randall Thompson
Easter Day Evensong, Sunday, April 5, 4 pm
Cathedral Choir and Brass
Music of Daniel Ficarri and John Tavener
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONCERT OF THE CENTURY
NYO-USA All-Stars
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
Emanuel Ax, piano
Evgeny Kissin, piano
Lang Lang, piano
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Oratorio Society of New York,
Kent Tritle, music director
Additional artists to be announced
Monday, May 11, 2026, at 8:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
Kent Tritle, conductor
Lauren Snouffer, soprano
Richard Pittsinger, tenor
Sidney Outlaw, baritone
G.F. HANDEL Alexander’s Feast
January 26, 2026
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