All material found in the Press Releases section is provided by parties entirely independent of Musical America, which is not responsible for content.
Press Releases
Kent Tritle's 2025-26 Season: Tallis 'Spem in Alium,' Handel 'Alexander's Feast,' Brahms 'A German Requiem,' Oquin 'On the Words of Walt Whitman'
- Musica Sacra: “SurRound: Spem in Alium”; Carnegie Hall holiday program of Messiah excerpts, Bach, and more; world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s On the Words of Walt Whitman
- Oratorio Society of New York: Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor; Handel’s Messiah and Alexander’s Feast; French Romantics
- Cathedral Choirs of St. John the Divine: Brahms’s A German Requiem; Beethoven’s Ninth on New Year’s Eve
- Soloists include Kathryn Lewek, Susanna Phillips, Lauren Snouffer, Jennifer Zetlan, Joshua Blue, Joseph Parrish
Kent Tritle at Carnegie Hall December 2024, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine April 2025, photos by Brian Hatton
Kent Tritle’s 2025-26 season begins with a Musica Sacra program centered on the Renaissance masterpiece Spem in Alium, a motet for 40 solo voices by Thomas Tallis. The season goes on to feature some of the great works of the choral literature as well as a world premiere: Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, Handel’s Messiah and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Brahms’s A German Requiem with the Cathedral Choirs of St. John the Divine. With Musica Sacra, in addition to the SurRound program performed in 360 degrees at St. John the Divine, he leads a Carnegie Hall holiday program featuring works of Handel, Bach, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Helena Paish, and the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s On the Words of Walt Whitman for soloists, chorus, orchestra, and organ sharing a program with Caroline Shaw’s Ent’racte. Full season details and programs follow below.
Soloists for Kent’s programs this season will include sopranos Jessica Faselt (Beethoven), Kathryn Lewek (Messiah and Musica Sacra holiday concert), Susanna Phillips (Brahms and Oquin), Lauren Snouffer (Alexander’s Feast), and Jennifer Zetlan (Mozart); mezzo-sopranos Samantha Hankey (Mozart) and Lucia Bradford (Beethoven); countertenor Cody Bowers (Messiah); tenors Joshua Blue (Beethoven), Richard Pittsinger (Alexander’s Feast), Alex Richardson (Mozart), and Aaron Sheehan (Messiah); baritones John Michael Moore (Oquin) and Sidney Outlaw (Alexander’s Feast); bass-baritones Joseph Parrish (Mozart, Brahms) and Michael Sumuel (Beethoven); and bass Adam Lau (Messiah).
Kent Tritle also performs his annual recital on the Great Organ of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, featuring works of Ruth Norman, Jean Demessieux, Vincent Persichetti, Larry King, Undine Smith Moore and David Hurd alongside J.S. Bach and Felix Mendelssohn.
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
“SurRound” – Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 7:30 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
“SurRound” is an immersive concert in 360° in which Kent Tritle leads the singers of Musica Sacra throughout the candlelit Cathedral of St. John the Divine and around the audience. The third rendering of this popular event features one of choral music’s masterpieces, Thomas Tallis’s Spem in Alium, a motet written for 40 solo voice parts, both in its original Latin version (written c. 1570) as well as Tritle’s transcription of the oldest extant version in English, Sing and Glorify (c. 1610). Enhancing the two iterations of this great work is Alessandro Striggio’s Ecce Beatam Lucem, another 16th century work scored for 40 independent voices, as well as music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arvo Pärt, Frank Martin, Nancy Wertsch, Valentin Silvestrov, Caroline Shaw, and Jean Ritchie. The full program follows below.
“Classics for Christmas” – Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at 7:30 pm at Carnegie Hall
Musica Sacra’s annual holiday season concert at Carnegie Hall will feature excerpts from Handel’s Messiah along with a Handel harp concerto, choral selections from Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Rachmaninoff’s Vespers, and choral and orchestral works by Corelli, Poulenc, Helena Paish, and Randall Thompson. Joining the chorus as soloist in “Rejoice greatly” from Messiah and Adolphe Adam’s Cantique de Noël is soprano Kathryn Lewek; guest Mariko Anraku is the soloist in the harp concerto. The full program follows below.
“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
Corigliano and Mozart – Monday, November 10, 2025, at 7:00 pm at Carnegie Hall
John Corigliano’s Fern Hill for mezzo-soprano soloist, chorus, and orchestra, sets Dylan Thomas’s 1959 poem of the same name. Written in 1961, the composer’s 1999 revision is heard here on a program with Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor (1782-82). The concert’s soloists are soprano Jennifer Zetlan, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, tenor Alex Richardson, and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish.
Handel’s Messiah – Monday, December 22, 2025, at 7:00 pm at Carnegie Hall
The Oratorio Society of New York’s 151st performance of Messiah features soprano Kathryn Lewek (renowned for her Metropolitan Opera turns as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute), countertenor Cody Bowers, tenor Aaron Sheehan, and bass Adam Lau.
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
“Joy of Christmas” – Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 4:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Organ Concerto in B-flat, featuring soloist Daniel Ficarri, are the highlights of the Cathedral’s annual holiday concert, which also features Christmas selections by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Emily Hazrati, and Alison Willis, as well as Christmas carols sung by all. The full program follows below.
“New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace” – Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at 7:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1984, the New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace ends one year and welcomes the new with music and a spirit of hope. This year it is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performed by the Cathedral Choir and Orchestra of St. John the Divine, with soloists soprano Jessica Faselt, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, tenor Joshua Blue, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel. Harry Smith is the event’s longtime host.
“Beethoven, Brahms, and Carlos Simon” – 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, A German Requiem, featuring soprano Susanna Phillips and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, is the culmination of this program that begins with Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 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.
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 earlier this year 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, Ruth Norman, Vincent Persichetti, Larry King, Undine Smith Moore, and David Hurd. The full program follows below.
New York Philharmonic
As the organist of the New York Philharmonic, Kent will join the orchestra in 2025-26 in performances of Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Handel’s Messiah, and 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.”
Kent Tritle on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kenttritle
Kent Tritle on Instagram: www.instagram.com/kenttritle/
Join Kent Tritle’s e-newsletter list.
KENT TRITLE 2025-26 SEASON
Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
“SURROUND”
Kent Tritle, conductor
THOMAS TALLIS Sing and Glorify (for 40 solo voices, ed. K. Tritle)
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Mass for Double Choir: Kyrie
ARVO PÄRT Da pacem Domine
FRANK MARTIN Mass for Double Choir: Agnus Dei
ALESSANDRO STRIGGIO Ecce Beatam Lucem (for 40 solo voices)
NANCY WERTSCH Eternae Deus
VALENTIN SILVESTROV Prayer for Ukraine
CAROLINE SHAW and the swallow
TRADITIONAL “I’m gonna sing ‘til the spirit” (arr. Moses Hogan)
THOMAS TALLIS Spem in Alium (for 40 solo voices)
JEAN RITCHIE “Now is the cool of the day”
Monday, November 10, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
Kent Tritle, conductor
Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano
Alex Richardson, tenor
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone
JOHN CORIGLIANO Fern Hill
W.A. MOZART Great Mass in C minor, K. 427
November 26, 28, 29, 2025
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
Stéphane Denève, conductor
Program to include:
OTTORINO RESPIGHI Pines of Rome
Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
December 10-13, 2025
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
Jane Glover, conductor
G.F. HANDEL Messiah
Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 4:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Choirs and Orchestra of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Bryan Zaros and Kent Tritle, conductors
Daniel Ficarri and Jon Runion, organ
Linda Lee Jones, soprano
Alison Cheeseman, mezzo-soprano
Kirsten Sollek, contralto
Eric Sorrels, tenor
Peter Stewart, baritone
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Christmas Overture
G.F. HANDEL Organ Concerto in B-flat, Op. 4, No. 2
Daniel Ficarri, organ
EMILY HAZRATI “Coventry Carol”
J.S. BACH Magnificat, BWV 243
ALISON WILLIS “There is no rose”
Christmas carols sung by all
Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Carnegie Hall
“CLASSICS FOR CHRISTMAS”
Kent Tritle, conductor
Michael Sheetz, conductor*
Kathryn Lewek, soprano
Mariko Anraku, harp
J.S. BACH “Gloria in excelsis” from Mass in B Minor
RANDALL THOMPSON Alleluia
ALESSANDRO CORELLI Concerto Grosso No. 8 in G Minor
G.F. HANDEL Excerpts from Messiah:
Pastoral Symphony
“Glory to God”
“Rejoice greatly”
FRANCIS POULENC O Magnum Mysterium
HELENA PAISH “While Mary Slept”
G.F. HANDEL Concerto for Harp in B-flat Major, Op. 4, No. 6
ADOLPHE ADAM Cantique de Noël*
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF “Bogoroditse Dyevo” from Vespers
G.F. HANDEL “Worthy is the Lamb” from Messiah
Monday, December 22, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
Kent Tritle, conductor
Kathryn Lewek, soprano
Cody Bowers, countertenor
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Adam Lau, bass
G.F. HANDEL Messiah
Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
“NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERT FOR PEACE”
Cathedral Choir and Orchestra of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Kent Tritle, conductor
Jessica Faselt, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
Harry Smith, host
L.V. BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9
Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 5:00 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Kent Tritle, conductor
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
JEANNE DEMESSIEUX Te Deum Laudamus, Toccata
J.S. BACH Aus tiefer Not, BWV 686
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Sonata III in A Major, Op. 65, No. 3, “Con moto maestoso”
RUTH NORMAN Entering the Silence
VINCENT PERSICHETTI Do not go gentle (after a poem of Dylan Thomas), Op. 132
LARRY KING Resurrection
UNDINE SMITH MOORE There is a fountain
DAVID HURD Te Deum Laudamus, sélections
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
L.V. BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
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 Michael 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.
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
July 22, 2025
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
