Concert at Saint Thomas Announces its 2018-2019 Season

Organist and Director of Music Daniel Hyde’s third season sees the much-anticipated inauguration of the magnificent new Miller-Scott Organ, which will be officially dedicated by Mr. Hyde with a solo recital on October 5th, followed by a performance with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys and Orchestra of St. Luke’s on October 18th

Returning holiday favorites in December include Handel’s Messiah with New York Baroque Incorporated, Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, and Messiaen’s mystical La Nativité du Seigneur with the new organ taking center stage

The renowned Choir of King’s College, Cambridge will perform at Saint Thomas in April, and the Lenten season will feature Bach’s St. John Passion and two Passion Symphonies by Dupré and Malingreau 

Concerts at Saint Thomas announces its 2018-19 season, the third with Organist and Director of Music, Daniel Hyde. The season welcomes the inauguration of the new Miller-Scott Organ, one of the most significant instruments of its type in the country, which will be showcased in both solo and ensemble performances throughout the year.

The season opens on October 5, with a solo organ recital by Director of Music, Daniel Hyde, introducing this important new instrument with a virtuosic program exploring the organ’s full capabilities and qualities. The organ is featured on five additional recitals given throughout the 2018-19 season.

On October 18, the acclaimed Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys joins forces with Orchestra of St. Luke’s and organist Benjamin Sheen for the Miller-Scott Organ’s orchestral debut in two milestones of the concerto repertoire, Poulenc’s Concerto en Sol mineur and Barber’s Toccata Festiva, as well as Parry’s iconic setting of Milton’s Blest Pair of Sirens, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms (in celebration of Bernstein’s centennial year), and Janácek’s Otcenáš.

Handel’s timeless Messiah returns to mark the Christmas season on December 4 and 6 as the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys and New York Baroque Incorporated present what The New York Times calls “one of the most prominent and special [Messiahs] of the city.” On December 13, the Boys of the Saint Thomas Choir join with harpist Sara Cutler for a modern Christmas tradition, Benjamin Britten’s haunting A Ceremony of Carols, along with other holiday works.

On December 22 the newly inaugurated Miller-Scott Organ returns to center stage with a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur, a 1935 cycle of nine mystical and experimental meditations on the birth of Christ and the Christmas story by one of the twentieth century’s most distinctive and devout composers, and one of the most significant contributors to the organ repertoire since Bach.

On April 1 the renowned Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, will return to perform at Saint Thomas. The Times of London said about the group: “I would happily sit in King’s College Chapel listening to [them] sing for the rest of my days,” and for this performance, the men and boys of King’s College will be performing under the baton of Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, for the last time, on his farewell tour before retirement. Concerts at Saint Thomas is honored to salute and thank Stephen for 37 years of singular music making.

The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys reflect upon the Lenten season with three concerts in April. On April 11, they will be joined by New York Baroque Incorporated in a performance of Bach’s monumental St. John Passion. On April 15 and 16, two organ-centered Musical Meditations will begin Holy Week with two great works for Passiontide, Marcel Dupré’s Symphonie-Passion, Op. 23 (played by Benjamin Sheen), and Paul de Maleingreau’s Symphonie de la Passion, Op. 20 (played by Daniel Hyde). Both works, drawing heavily on Gregorian plainchant, are powerful musical depictions of the life of Christ and the Passion, and will show the full expressive capabilities of the new Miller-Scott Organ.

Closing out the season on May 9 with Now is the Month of Maying, at a special early start time, New York Baroque Incorporated will present Vivaldi’s "Spring" from The Four Seasons, Handel’s Organ Concerto in B flat, Albinoni’s famed Adagio for Strings, and Bach’s fifth Brandenburg Concerto. This concert will showcase Saint Thomas’ recently acquired new harpsichord, celebrating these beloved pillars of the early music repertoire. 

Listing Info

OCTOBER 5, 2018 | FRIDAY at 7:00 PM
THE IRENE D. AND WILLIAM R. MILLER CHANCEL ORGAN IN MEMORY OF JOHN SCOTT DEDICATION RECITAL
Grand Organ Series I
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

Daniel Hyde, organ

Additional Organ Recitals:
December 22, 2018, | Grand Organ Series II: Daniel Hyde
January 19, 2019 | Grand Organ Series III: Benjamin Sheen
February 16, 2019 | Grand Organ Series IV: Katelyn Emerson
March 23, 2019 | Grand Organ Series V: Chelsea Chen
May 18, 2019, | Grand Organ Series VI: Ken Cowan

OCTOBER 18, 2018 | THURSDAY at 7:30 PM
PERRY, JANÁCEK, BERNSTEIN, POULENC, AND BARBER
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Benjamin Sheen, organ
Sara Cutler, harp
Hyesang Park, soprano
Daniel Hyde, conductor

DECEMBER 4 & 6, 2018 | TUESDAY & THURSDAY at 7:30 PM
HANDEL: MESSIAH
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys
New York Baroque Incorporated
Elizabeth Weisberg, soprano
Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Alexander Dobson, bass
Daniel Hyde, conductor

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | THURSDAY at 5:30 PM
BRITTEN: A CEREMONY OF CAROLS
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

The Boys of the Saint Thomas Choir
Sara Cutler, harp
Daniel Hyde, conductor

DECEMBER 22, 2018 | SATURDAY at 3:00 PM
MESSIAEN: LA NATIVITÉ DU SEIGNEUR
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

Daniel Hyde, organ

APRIL 1, 2019 | MONDAY at 7:30 PM
THE CHOIR OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music

APRIL 11, 2019 | THURSDAY at 7:30 PM
BACH: ST. JOHN PASSION
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys
New York Baroque Incorporated
Dann Coakwell, evangelist
Sarah Brailey, soprano
Jay Carter, alto
Mark Bleeke, tenor
Andrew Padgett, bass
Daniel Hyde, conductor

APRIL 15, 2019 | MONDAY at 6:45 PM
MUSICAL MEDITATIONS: DUPRÉ
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

Benjamin Sheen, organ

APRIL 16, 2019 | MONDAY at 6:45 PM
MUSICAL MEDITATIONS: MALEINGREAU
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

Daniel Hyde, organ

MAY 9, 2019 | THURSDAY at 6:00 PM
NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING
Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street

New York Baroque Incorporated
Wen Yang, artistic director
Daniel Hyde, conductor

Ticket Information

All concerts take place at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue at One West 53rd Street.

Tickets may be purchased at www.saintthomaschurch.org, by calling the Concerts Office at (212) 664-9360, by email at concerts@saintthomaschurch.org or in person at the Concerts Office at One West 53rd Street at Fifth Avenue (enter through the Parish House).