The Brick Presbyterian Church Presents John Stainer’s Oratorio The Crucifixion in Annual Good Friday Tradition

NEW YORK, NY- The Brick Presbyterian Church continues its 2025–26 Worship & Arts series with a Good Friday worship service featuring John Stainer’s oratorio The Crucifixion. The performance, with a full chamber orchestra will be Friday April 3rd, starting at 12:15 PM at The Brick Presbyterian Church, 1140 Park Avenue, Manhattan.

For more than 100 years, Brick Church has performed John Stainer’s The Crucifixion on Good Friday. This year’s 102nd performance will feature soloists Sean Fallen and Nathaniel Sullivan, along with organist Alistair Reid. Stainer’s music tells the story of Jesus’ sacrifice and humanity’s redemption with dramatic solos, choruses, and hymns sung by the entire congregation. Its enduring popularity testifies to Stainer’s skill in painting the text, most famously in his sublime unaccompanied setting of “God So Loved The World.”

Tickets are free and admissions are open to the public. For more information, please visit this page.

MEET THE SOLOISTS

Sean Fallen,Tenor: Sean Fallen is an active opera and oratorio soloist at many venues in New York City, and has performed throughout the U.S. and on three continents. Recent operatic roles include Alfredo in La Traviata, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Cassio in Othello, Nemorino in The Elixir of Love, Ariel in the world premiere of The Rape of the Lock, Goatherd in the world premiere of My Undying Love, and Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He has been the featured tenor soloist numerous times at Carnegie Hall, most recently as the tenor soloist in Boulanger’s Psalm 130, and also in Handel Messiah, Bach Magnificat, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, and Kurt Weill’s The Road to Promise. The Messiah is a specialty of his, and he has literally sung it from coast to coast, ranging from Carnegie and Avery Fischer Hall in NYC, to the American Bach Soloists in CA. Other opera roles Sean has performed include Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lippo in Street Scene, and Pong in Turandot.

Nathaniel Sullivan, Baritone: An "alert and highly musical baritone" (Opera News), Nathaniel Sullivan infuses his work with "impressive strength and precision" (Schmopera), as well as “great eloquence” and "allegiance to both music and words" (ConcertoNet). This season, Nathaniel will perform the role of Jochanaan in Salome with West Bay Opera, the role of The Mark in the world premiere of Constance: A Confession with Experiments in Opera, and solo appearances in Bach's Mass in B Minor with Abendmusik and in the premieres of two oratorios at Carnegie Hall. Recent performance highlights include the role of Jokanaan in Heartbeat Opera's acclaimed production of Salome, for which Nathaniel was regarded as "somber and appropriately a bit deranged" (New York Times), "mellifluous" (Classical Voice North America), and "a magnificent actor" (Bachtrack); The King in the North American premiere of George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence at Tanglewood; Jesus in the St. John Passion with Abendmusik; and solo recital appearances with the Yellow Barn summer festival (Vermont), Chamber Music Quad Cities (Iowa), the Riverview Chamber Series (New York), and Piano Lunaire (Toronto). Nathaniel was one of seven winners of the 2023 Astral Artists National Competition and has been awarded the Grace B. Jackson Prize for exceptional service at Tanglewood, Third Place in the Washington International Competition, Third Place in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition, Third Place in the Orpheus Vocal Competition, and First Place in the NATS National Musical Theatre Competition.

ABOUT WORSHIP & ARTS

Brick Church’s concert series, Worship & Arts, welcomes all to experience the joyous, uplifting power of the performing arts. Worship & Arts offers concerts and special worship services throughout the year, featuring Brick’s superb Chancel Choir, recitals on the church’s magnificent Casavant organ, as well as performances by extraordinary guest artists and ensembles from New York City’s vibrant artistic scene. Now in its second season, the program has grown to become an important part of the Brick congregation’s offerings, and a valued part of the New York City arts community. To view the entire 2025–26 season, please visit this page.

At Brick Church, we believe that music, dance, and drama can comfort, inspire, challenge, and bring us closer to the divine, showing us God’s glory reflected in all beautiful things. Join us and share in the warmth, excellence, and energy of the performing arts at Brick!

ABOUT THE BRICK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Brick Church is a lively and growing congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.) that has been meeting to worship God and serve the New York community since 1767. We welcome all people to our worship services, Sundays at 11 am followed by a coffee hour, and all seasonal weekday services. Brick Church sponsors thriving preschool programs that feed the hungry, as well as community outreach to the Upper East side neighborhood and beyond.

Our congregation, members and visitors have worshipped in three locations in New York City. The first church was on Beekman Street across from today’s City Hall. The church moved to Fifth Avenue and 37th Street in 1858, and remained there until 1940, when we built its present sanctuary at Park Avenue and 91st Street and opened a privately-funded preschool.

Every year since 1945, the Christmas trees on Park Avenue have been lit on the first Sunday in December, during a ceremony on the church steps. Church members, neighborhood residents, and visitors from near and far gather to sing carols and honor those who have died in all of our country's wars.