Trotta “Gloria” to be MidAmerica Productions’ 100th New York Premiere | March 31, 2 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MidAmerica Productions to Present 100^th New York Premiere

Composer Michael John Trotta to Conduct His Gloria, Marking His Third Carnegie Hall Appearance Since 2014

 

NEW YORK, NY, February 13, 2019 – On Sunday, March 31 at 2 pm, composer Michael John Trotta will ascend the podium at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall to conduct his own music for the third time. As on the two previous occasions, the performance will be presented by MidAmerica Productions, as part of its 36^th annual concert season, continuing its commitment to the music of living composers. This will be MidAmerica’s 100^th New York premiere. 

“This is the first of seven New York premieres we’ll have this season,” says Peter Tiboris, Founder and General Music Director of MidAmerica Productions. “We’ve had the distinct pleasure of presenting Dr. Trotta twice before, most recently the world premiere of his Seven Last Words. After 92 world premieres, 21 U.S. premieres and 99 New York premieres, our audiences have come to expect something new at many MidAmerica events.” 

Trotta will lead a chorus of more than 140 voices and the New England Symphonic Ensemble in his Gloria for choir, organ, brass and percussion. "I am delighted to return to Carnegie with MidAmerica Productions,” states Dr. Trotta. “It will be an exciting program featuring two Glorias, one by John Rutter from the 20^th century, and my work, from the 21^st.” The Rutter Gloria will be conducted by Ray Adams, Director of the Indian River Choral Union, one of the choirs participating in the performance. 

Dr. Trotta describes his Gloria as “a 14-minute work in three movements that uses a tapestry of sonorous harmonies that are triumphant, reflective and energetic to encompass both the history and the relevance of one of the oldest texts in the Christian tradition.” Commissioned by a consortium of ten choirs for the 2018-2019 season, Gloria was given its world premiere in December 2018 by the Chancel Choir of the University Christian Church of Fort Worth, Texas, one of the commissioning ensembles.

The chorus will consist of members of the following groups: 

• Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School Chamber Choir, Scotch Plains, NJ (Jan Allen, Director)
• Indian River Choral Union, Vero Beach, FL (Ray Adams, Director)
• Oak Park High School Chamber Choir, Oak Park, CA (Heidi Cissell, Director)
• Indian River Charter High School Concert Choir, Vero Beach, FL (Gary Miller, Director)
• Central Bucks East High School, Doylestown, PA (Christopher Villante, Director)
• Sanctuary Choir of First Baptist Church, Marion, NC (Ruth Wakefield, Director)
• Brewer High School Varsity Mixed Ensemble, Fort Worth, TX (Mark Wynn, Director) 

 

Sharing the Playbill 

The March 31 concert will also include a performance of the Fauré Requiem, featuring soloists Megan Nielson, soprano and Suchan Kim, baritone. Sterling S. Poulson will lead a choir drawn from the following ensembles: 

• Dock Mennonite Academy Touring Choir, Lansdale, PA (Emily Grimes, Director)
• Choral Arts Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (Sterling S. Poulson, Director) 

The concert will conclude with a performance of Morten Lauridsen’s contemporary classic, Lux Aeterna, conducted by Geoffrey Paul Boers with a chorus of more than 140 drawn from the following three ensembles, all from Washington State: 

• Symphony Tacoma Voices, Tacoma, WA (Geoffrey Paul Boers, Director)
• ChoralSounds Northwest, Lake Forest Park, WA (Ryan Ellis, Director)
• The Liberty Choirs, Renton, WA (Robin Wood, Director) 

 

Purchase Tickets 

Concerts in the Isaac Stern Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman Stage are $150, $100, and $50. Tickets may be obtained by contacting CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57^th Street and 7^th Avenue in New York, NY, or by going online to www.carnegiehall.org). For more information, contact molly.waymire@piptix.com 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

Michael John Trotta, Composer/Conductor 

Fueled by a passion to share new music that engages conductors, ensembles, and audiences alike, Michael John Trotta (b.1978) is fast becoming one of the most “exciting and prominent new composers of choral music.” Drawing on his experience as a conductor and clinician, he brings artistry and excellence within reach for thousands of musicians each year. 

From Carnegie Hall to classrooms all over the world, Trotta’s unique blend of engaging and artistic music creates opportunities to experience new music and empowers individuals to realize their artistic potential. His engaging style fuses tradition and innovation to create moments of beauty that “effectively carry out a dialogue between the [music] and the modern listener.” (Choral Journal) 

Prior to his work as a full-time composer, his experience as an educator at the elementary, middle school, high school, and university levels – as well as a church music director – infuses his works with “an intimate knowledge of the human voice” and a “rare sensitivity to the capabilities of a choral ensemble.” This, combined with his degrees in music education and a doctorate in choral conducting, have grounded his style in tradition, which blends with his modern sensibilities to “inform the thoughts and aspirations of the people and the time” (Choral Scholar) and to create “tender harmonies and a palette of glowing vocal and instrumental colors.” (Gramophone) 

Driven by a desire to support hard-working directors who work to bring out the best in their ensembles, Trotta has developed keynotes that connect conductors to the educational and artistic goals that drew them to the profession in the first place. “Your Perfect Choir,” “Developing Artistry,” and “Empowering Ensembles” create experiences that connect people to the power of music and its ability transcend barriers and teach us more about each other and ourselves. 

An ardent advocate for under-resourced and overworked arts organizations, Trotta has pioneered the development of the consortium model of commissioning. As a result, the opportunity to premiere a major work for choir and orchestra is now within reach for more choirs than ever before. The inaugural consortium work, Seven Last Words, was heralded as a “modern classic” at its Carnegie Hall premiere. Passionate about removing barriers to new music and artistic excellence, Trotta conceived the “Win a Free Commission” initiative, which allows any choir the opportunity to have a work written for them at no cost to the ensemble.

Recently, Dr. Trotta has had world premieres commissioned for conventions at Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), in addition to being invited to conduct premieres of commissioned major works at Carnegie Hall, and at St. Paul’s Papal Basilica in Rome. 

His works are published through JW Pepper, Carl Fischer, ECS Publishing, MorningStar Music, Hal Leonard, Choristers Guild, BriLee Music, Shawnee Press, Alliance Music, GIA, Kjos, Colla Voce, and Walton Music. 

When he is not traveling for guest conducting and composer residencies, Dr. Trotta spends his time at the beach in Bay Head, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife Rachel. www.mjtrotta.com

 

About MidAmerica Productions 

Maestro Peter Tiboris created and conducted his first concert in New York on January 7, 1984, at Lincoln Center, featuring The American Symphony Orchestra, soloists, and three choruses, the Louisiana Chorale of Acadiana, Camerata Singers of Baton Rouge, and Collegiate Chorale of New York. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Mr. Tiboris had just started his own successful production company, MidAmerica Productions, which would become the foremost independent producer of choral concerts in Carnegie Hall.  

During its 36 years, MidAmerica Productions has brought together conductors, soloists, and choral and instrumental ensembles from the U.S. and abroad to appear at New York’s top venues, including Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Weill Recital Hall, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; and Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at Lincoln Center. In addition to presenting instrumental and classic choral works, MidAmerica Productions has championed the works of contemporary composers with approximately 92 World Premieres, 21 United States Premieres and 100 New York Premieres. 

Additionally, MidAmerica Productions has presented concerts in numerous U.S. cities and in countries throughout the world, including Greece, England, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, France and Russia.

 

### 

 

Media Contact: 

Daniel Guss

Director of Public Relations and Publications, MidAmerica Productions

212-239-0205 x 204

dguss@midamerica-music.com