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Press Releases
Kent Tritle's 2024-25 Season: 'All Shall Rise' World Premiere, “SurRound II,” 'St. Matthew Passion,' Beethoven 9, and More
- Musica Sacra: Schnittke, Górecki, Saariaho; Carnegie Hall holiday program of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven; “SurRound II” at St. John the Divine
- Oratorio Society of New York: Carmina Burana, Messiah, world premiere of Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell All Shall Rise
- Cathedral of St. John the Divine: Matthew Passion, Beethoven’s Ninth, and the inaugural recital marking the return of the Great Organ
- Featured appearances in Confluence, a new PBS streaming series, and the All-Star Orchestra series’ sixth season
Kent Tritle conducting Musica Sacra in “SurRound” at St. John the Divine, photo by Brian Hatton
Kent Tritle begins his 2024-25 concert season on October 16, leading Musica Sacra in a program of music by Alfred Schnittke, Henryk Górecki, and Kaija Saariaho at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, and concludes it on May 5 with the Oratorio Society of New York, conducting the world premiere performance of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio All Shall Rise at Carnegie Hall. In between, the highlights of his schedule include Musica Sacra’s Carnegie Hall holiday program of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven with guest soloists Susanna Phillips and Simone Dinnerstein, and the return of Musica Sacra’s “SurRound” 360° concert after a sold-out 2023 debut; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Cathedral Choirs of St. John the Divine, and the inaugural recital of a series celebrating the return of the Cathedral’s Great Organ after a six-year silence for repairs; and Carmina Burana and Messiah with the Oratorio Society of New York. (Full programs follow below.)
Appearances on public television series: Confluence and All-Star Orchestra
Kent is also featured in two public television series this year. Confluence, a new three-episode series on the PBS streaming service, explores the enduring connections between three of the most essential aspects of the human experience: art, science, and creativity. Featuring a range of stories told by artists including Joshua Bell, the artist Nick Cave, and Roomful of Teeth, the series culminates with an episode, Everything New is Old Again, in which Kent is featured in a segment about the pipe organ. This episode will debut on July 26 on the streaming service; broadcast on PBS stations across the US will begin shortly thereafter. www.pbs.org/show/confluence/
Season six of the All-Star Orchestra, an American Public Television series of concerts performed by an ensemble made up of principal players of major U.S. orchestras led by Gerard Schwarz, opens with “A Symphonic Organ Spectacular” that features Saint-Saëns’ “Organ Symphony” with Kent as soloist. Nationwide broadcast begins in October 2024. www.allstarorchestra.org
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 – ICCM collaboration, Carnegie Hall holiday program, “SurRound II,” New York Philharmonic Messiah
Kent’s 18th season as Music Director of Musica Sacra begins with a collaboration with the ICCM (International Centre for Contemporary Music): “The Seasons,” part of ICCM’s Coming of Age festival of 20th- and 21st-century works that have matured into contemporary classics. Headlining the concert is Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir (1984-5) – one of the 20th century’s most challenging, and masterful, choral works, a setting of The Book of Lamentations by the Armenian mystic and poet Grigor Narekatsi (951-1003). This performance will mark the work’s 40th anniversary year. Joining it on the program are Henryk Górecki’s Lobgesang (2000) for chorus and glockenspiel and Kaija Saariaho’s Tag des Jahrs (2002), a setting of poetry by Friedrich Hölderlin for chorus and electronics. ICCM is an international center for performance, production, and promotion of contemporary music with offices in London and New York. (October 16, 2024, at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola)
This year, Musica Sacra’s annual holiday season concert at Carnegie Hall will feature two stellar guest artists and three classic favorites: Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with pianist Simone Dinnerstein; Mozart’s solo motet Exsultate, Jubilate featuring soprano Susanna Phillips; and selections from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, as well as Christmas motets by Poulenc, Lauridsen, Bassi, and Biebl (full program below). (December 18, 2024, at Carnegie Hall)
Returning after a sold-out debut in October 2023 is Musica Sacra’s “SurRound II,” an immersive concert in 360° in the candlelit Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The audience, seated in the Great Choir stalls and floor, will experience a program of medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary works as Kent leads the singers throughout the cathedral. The program includes Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere and John Tavener’s Lament of the Mother of God as well as music by Adolphus Hailstork, Sarah McDonald, William Dawson, Perotin, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Heinrich Schütz, and Morton Lauridsen. (April 1, 2025, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
About the 2023 SurRound event, Classics Today said, “As the chorus moved we got to hear individual voices, inner harmonies, and, in a way, the manner in which great choral music works. By placing the chorus above, behind, and mixed in with the choir stalls for different works, the never ending panoply of tone and color put us in the middle of the creative process. A remarkable evening.”
After critically-acclaimed collaborations with the New York Philharmonic in 2023 (St. Matthew Passion) and May 2024 (Mozart Requiem), Musica Sacra will join the orchestra for its annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, this year led by Ton Koopman (December 11-14, 2024, at David Geffen Hall). Musica Sacra also returns to the New York City Ballet for that company’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (May 27 – June 1, 2025, at David Koch Theater).
ORATORIO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK – World premiere of Moravec/Campbell All Shall Rise, Carmina Burana, and Messiah
To launch his 20th season as its music director, Kent leads the Oratorio Society of New York in the first event of its Carnegie Hall season, a program highlighted by Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in the composer’s own two-piano and percussion orchestration, with pianists Amir Farid and Blair McMillen, along with Libby Larsen’s Invitation to Music, selections from Brahms’s Liebeslieder, and Oliver Caplan’s Cloud Anthem. The concert’s vocal soloists are Eva Martinez, John Riesen, and John Brancy, and the Cathedral Choristers of St. John the Divine join for the Orff. (November 11, 2024, at Carnegie Hall)
The Oratorio Society’s 150th performance of Handel’s Messiah features soloists Nola Richardson, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Joshua Blue, and Joseph Parrish, Cohen and Parrish making their OSNY debuts. (December 23, 2024, at Carnegie Hall)
Culminating the Oratorio Society season is a concert featuring the world premiere of All Shall Rise, an oratorio exploring the history of voting rights in the U.S., by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell – the third work OSNY has commissioned from the duo, following Sanctuary Road (2018) and A Nation of Others (2022) – along with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang.” The concert’s soloists are Susanna Phillips, Lucia Bradford, Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, and Steven Eddy. (May 5, 2025, at Carnegie Hall)
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE – St. Matthew Passion, Beethoven’s Ninth, and the return of the Great Organ
The Cathedral’s annual “Joy of Christmas” concert has Kent and Bryan Zaros leading the Cathedral Choirs and Orchestra in a program including Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata, works by Kerensa Briggs, Henri Büsser, and John Rutter, and Christmas carols sung by all. (December 14, 2024, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
To celebrate 40 years of the Cathedral’s New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, Kent will lead a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with soloists Kathryn Lewek, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Paul Appleby, and William Guanbo Su, and the Cathedral Choirs and Orchestra. (December 31, 2024, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
The Great Organ of St. John the Divine has been silent since it was damaged by fire in 2019. Now repaired and ready for action (pun intended), it will be celebrated by a series of recitals, which Kent will inaugurate with a program that will showcase the instrument’s vast tonal and dynamic spectrum: works by J. S. Bach, Rachel Laurin, Messiaen, Franck, Crumb, and Widor (full program below). This concert is free and open to the public, as are two subsequent recitals by Daniel Ficarri and David Briggs. (February 4, 2025, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
The spring brings a performance of J. S. Bach’s mighty St. Matthew Passion in which Kent spotlights the musical architecture of Bach’s masterwork with creative placement of the Cathedral’s choirs – the Choir, Chorale (volunteer ensemble) and Choristers (boys and girls) in the space. The soloists are Paul Appleby (Evangelist), Joseph Parrish (Christus), Eva Martinez, Mary Beth Nelson, Joshua Blue, and Harrison Hinsche. (March 8, 2025, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
Amherst Early Music Festival 2024
Kent returned to the Amherst Early Music Festival this summer to lead its Choral Workshop in repertoire including two pieces by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611): Motet and Missa O Quam Gloriosum as well as Agostino Steffani (1654–1728): Stabat Mater for choir and strings. The soloists for the performance were Emily Eagen, Tracy Cowart, Phillip Cheah, Mark Hanke, Stephen Biegner and Peter Stewart.
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 features recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels. Recent releases include the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio A Nation of Others with the Oratorio Society of New York; the Grammy-nominated Naxos recording of the Moravec/Campbell Sanctuary Road also with the Oratorio Society; Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in David Briggs's organ-choral version, and Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra. Other releases include the 2013 recording of Juraj Filas’ Requiem, Oratio Spei dedicated to the victims of 9/11, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Kühn Choir; Messages to Myself, an acclaimed recording with Musica Sacra of five new works; and recordings – including Cool of the Day, an a cappella program of music ranging from Gregorian chant, Palestrina, and spirituals to Strauss’s Deutsche Motette, and Ginastera’s The Lamentations of Jeremiah with Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir – with the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Kent Tritle is renowned as a master clinician, giving workshops on conducting and repertoire; he leads annual choral workshops at the Amherst Early Music Festival, and recent years have included 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.
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.”
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Kent Tritle on Instagram: www.instagram.com/kenttritle/
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KENT TRITLE 2024-25 SEASON
Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 3:30 pm
The Smithfield Church, Amenia, NY
KENT TRITLE, organ
Arthur Fiacco, cello
Music of Bach, Brahms, and Mendelssohn performed on a historic Johnson & Johnson organ, 1893
Benefit for the Oratorio Society of New York
Saturday, September 21, 2024, at 3 pm
Marbletown Reformed Church, Stone Ridge, NY
KENT TRITLE, organ
Arthur Fiacco, cello
Music of Bach, Brahms, and Mendelssohn performed on a historic J.W. Steere & Son organ, 1896
Benefit for Musica Sacra
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 7:30pm
Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
KAIJA SAARIAHO Tag des Jahrs (The Seasons) (2001) for chamber chorus & electronics
HENRYK GÓRECKI Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) (2000) for chorus a cappella & glockenspiel
ALFRED SCHNITTKE Concerto for Choir (1984-5) for mixed chorus a cappella
Presented in collaboration with ICCM
Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 4:00 pm
The Town Hall, New York, NY
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Kent Tritle, James Bagwell, and Christopher Shepard, guest conductors
Will Liverman, baritone
JOHANNES BRAHMS Requiem
Monday, November 11, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
Eva Martinez, soprano
John Riesen, tenor
John Brancy, baritone
Choristers of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Bryan Zaros, director
LIBBY LARSEN Invitation to Music
OLIVER CAPLAN Cloud Anthem
JOHANNES BRAHMS Liebeslieder, Op. 52 (selections)
CARL ORFF Carmina Burana (orchestration for two pianos and percussion)
December 11-14, 2024
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Ton Koopman, conductor
Maya Kherani, soprano
Maarten Engeltjes, countertenor
Kieran White, tenor
Klaus Mertens, bass-baritone
Musica Sacra, Kent Tritle, director
G. F. HANDEL Messiah
Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
Saturday, December 14, 2024, at 4:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY (page pending update)
“THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS”
CATHEDRAL CHOIRS AND ORCHESTRA OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
Kent Tritle & Bryan Zaros, conductors
DANIEL PINKHAM Christmas Cantata
KERENSA BRIGGS “A tender shoot”
Traditional “Go, tell it on the mountain,” arrangement by Ken Burton
HENRI BÜSSER “Sleep of the Infant Jesus”
JOHN RUTTER Gloria
Christmas carols sung by all
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 7:30 pm
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
FRANCIS POULENC Hodie Christus natus est
MORTON LAURIDSEN O magnum mysterium
J. S. BACH Christmas Oratorio selections:
“Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage”
“Bricht an, o schönes Morgenlicht”
“Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein”
FRANZ BIEBL Ave Maria
W. A. MOZART Exsultate, Jubilate
JAMES BASSI Quem pastores laudavere
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy
Monday, December 23, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
Nola Richardson, soprano
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor
Joshua Blue, tenor
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone
G. F. HANDEL Messiah
Monday, December 31, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY (page pending update)
“NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERT FOR PEACE”
CATHEDRAL CHOIRS AND ORCHESTRA OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
Kent Tritle, conductor
Kathryn Lewek, soprano
Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
William Guanbo Su, bass-baritone
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9
January 2, 3, 4, 7, 2025
David Geffen Hall, New York, NY
Kevin John Edusei, conductor
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-Soprano
SAMY MOUSSA Elysium
HECTOR BERLIOZ Les Nuits d’été
RICHARD STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra*
*Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic
Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY (page pending update)
KENT TRITLE, organ
J. S. BACH Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
OLIVIER MESSIAEN Apparition de l’église éternelle
RACHEL LAURIN Berceuse à Pierre
CÉSAR FRANCK Pièce héroïque
GEORGE CRUMB Pastoral Drone
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Symphonie VI, Op. 42, No. 2
Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY (page pending update)
CATHEDRAL CHOIRS OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
Kent Tritle, conductor
Paul Appleby, Evangelist
Joseph Parrish, Christus
Eva Martinez, soprano
Mary Beth Nelson, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Harrison Hinsche, baritone
J. S. BACH St. Matthew Passion
Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
“SurRound II” is an immersive concert in 360° in the candlelit Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The audience, seated in the Great Choir stalls and floor, will experience a program of medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary works as the singers move throughout the cathedral. Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere and John Tavener’s Lament of the Mother of God as well as music by Adolphus Hailstork, Sarah McDonald, William Dawson, Perotin, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Heinrich Schütz, and Morton Lauridsen.
Monday, May 5, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Kent Tritle, conductor
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, tenor
Steven Eddy, baritone
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang”
PAUL MORAVEC/MARK CAMPBELL All Shall Rise (world premiere)
May 27 – June 1, 2025
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Musica Sacra, Kent Tritle, director, is featured in performances of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
July 23, 2024
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
