Camerata Chicago to Herald Holiday Season with Double Helping of Handel Nov. 20-22 

Conductor Drostan Hall to pair Baroque composer’s ‘Messiah’ and ‘Zadok the Priest’ at concerts in Oak Park Nov. 20, Wheaton Nov. 21, and Hinsdale Nov. 22

Soloists are countertenor Key’mon Murrah, mezzo-soprano Camille Robles,
tenor Daniel Luis Espinal, and bass-baritone Laureano Quant

CHICAGO, October 26, 2026 — Heralding the holiday season, conductor Drostan Hall and his Camerata Chicago chamber orchestra and chorus will perform highlights from George Frideric Handel’s English-language oratorio “Messiah,” HWV 56, alongside the composer’s “Zadok the Priest” at concerts November 20-22 in Oak Park, Wheaton, and Hinsdale, Illinois. 

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. November 20 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park; 3 p.m. November 21 at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 North Main Street, Wheaton: and 3 p.m. November 22 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.

The concert features Part I of Handel’s “Messiah” — traditionally known as the Christmas section — followed by the jubilant “Hallelujah” chorus from Part II, sung first by the chorus and repeated as an audience sing-along. 

The program opens with Handel’s celebratory “Zadok the Priest,” HWV 258, for orchestra and chorus, an anthem written for the coronation of England’s King George II. The text is derived from the biblical account of the anointing of King Solomon by Zadok and the public’s rejoicing. 

The piece begins with a long suspenseful build-up leading to the chorus’s glorious entry.

Music director Hall sees a spiritual connection between these works. “’Zadok’ is about the anointment of an earthly king, recognized by God and the Church,” he says. “‘Messiah’ is about the arrival of the heavenly king.”

“Messiah” soloists 

Soloists are countertenor Key’mon Murrah, who will sing the soprano part, mezzo-soprano Camille Robles, tenor Daniel Luis Espinal, and bass-baritone Laureano Quant.

Murrah was lauded by Opera News for the “resplendent, voluptuous tone throughout his enormous range and phrasing with the feel of fine silk” and continues to garner international acclaim for his “vocal acrobatics” and “mature artistry.” 

In the 2026-27 season, he makes his début at Opernhaus Zürich in the role of Mago Cristiano in Handel’s “Rinaldo” under Philippe Jaroussky and Belize in Eötvös’ “Angels in America” at Theater Winterthur under Oscar Jockel. He tours Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques and appears in a concert of Haydn and Martines with Ars Lyrica Houston.

Robles, who hails from Puerto Rico, was selected to be part of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble 2025/26 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In November 2024, she was a Puerto Rico District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, where she was awarded the Culturarte Prize, the Propuesta Clásica Foundation Prize, and the Audience Favorite Prize sponsored by Teatro de la Ópera de Puerto Rico.

Espinal is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member. The Cuban-Dominican tenor from Sarasota, Florida, received a 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant and was a national winner of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2024–25 season he sang the role of Jacquino in Beethoven's “Fidelio,” his Lyric Opera debut, and Curzio in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Espinal continued his studies at Yale University, where he received a Master of Musical Arts degree.

A native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Quant holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University. Highlights of his repertoire include Sargeant Belcore in Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love,” Guglielmo in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” and Figaro in Saverio Mercadante’s “I due Figaro,” among other operatic roles.

Guest concertmaster for the 2026-2027 season is Chicago violinist Eric Gratz.

Tickets and information

Single tickets are $50 adults, $40 seniors 65 and over, $10 students, $2 children 14 and under. VIP tickets are $75.

Using online code CCPR provides a 15% discount.

Group discounts are available. All venues are general seating with special front sections for VIP ticket holders. Tickets and information are available at CamerataChicago.org and by phone 312-799-0916. Email: andiamo@cameratachicago.org.

Camerata Chicago

Founded in 2003 by British-born violinist Drostan Hall, the 40-piece modern-instrument ensemble Camerata Chicago is recognized as one of America’s finest chamber orchestras.

Grammy Award-winning American soprano Sylvia McNair, who appeared as soloist with the orchestra, says, “In my opinion, Camerata Chicago is Chicago's second orchestra, behind only the CSO.”

Hailed as “one of the top five chamber orchestras in America" by Shmuel Ashkenasi, first violinist of the former Vermeer Quartet, Camerata Chicago also won praise from international conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, who served as the ensemble’s international advisor: "I was very impressed indeed with the very high quality of the playing.”

In 2013, Camerata Chicago undertook a European tour with Chicago cellist Wendy Warner, a protégé of Mstislav Rostropovich, as soloist. Other artists with whom the ensemble has collaborated include, among others, pianist Evan Ozel, bronze medalist of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, soprano Michelle Arezaga, and cellist-composer Joshua Roman. The ensemble had a particularly close relationship with the internationally acclaimed Vermeer Quartet, which was active until 2007.

Camerata Chicago makes regular guest appearances on the Artist Series at Wheaton College and recently collaborated with the Joffrey Ballet Academy. The ensemble has performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and Chicago Cultural Center, among other high-profile Chicago venues.

“Camerata Chicago is firmly planted in the classical music mainstream, keeping alive the truly great, melodic orchestral works,” Hall says. “Our hallmark is music that’s tonal and melodic, performed with historically grounded interpretations.”

The chamber orchestra’s discography includes albums on the Centaur, DMD Classics, and Cedille Records labels.
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