The Westminster Symphonic Choir to Present Rossini Mass on March 8
The Westminster Symphonic Choir will present Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle Wednesday, March 8 at 8 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the Westminster Choir College of Rider University campus in Princeton.
The work, which Rossini called the “last mortal sin of my old age,” is considered one of the composer’s greatest, although it is neither small nor particularly solemn. The work will be performed in its original setting for choir, two pianos, and organ, rather than the more commonly heard orchestral arrangement. Soloists will be drawn from the ensemble.
Composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, the 180-voice Westminster Symphonic Choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally known conductor of the last 75 years. Recognized as one of the world’s leading choral ensembles, the choir has sung over 300 performances with the New York Philharmonic alone.
he ensemble’s 2005-2006 season has included performances of Mozart’s Mass in C, “Coronation” with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Lorin Maazel, and Mozart’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony conducted by Bernard Labadie.
The ensemble’s 2004-2005 season included performances of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Dresden Philharmonic conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Järvi. With the New York Philharmonic the ensemble also performed Handel’s Messiah conducted by Alan Gilbert; Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloë, conducted by Lorin Maazel; and Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust, conducted by Charles Dutoit.
Interim conductor of the Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir, Timothy Brown is also director of the internationally-renowned Clare College Choir. A British citizen, Mr. Brown enjoyed his initial musical training as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and later as an alto choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge, under Sir David Willcocks, and as a lay clerk at New College, Oxford. After some years as a schoolteacher, he succeeded John Rutter as director of music at Clare College of Cambridge University in 1979, where he is also academic director of studies in music.
As a conductor, Mr. Brown has had wide-ranging experience. For many years he conducted a community chorus in Cambridge, as well as the Cambridge Philharmonic Choral and Orchestral Society. In 1986 he re-founded the Cambridge University Chamber Choir, which he directed in annual performances of all the major Bach and Handel oratorios. He founded the professional London-based chamber choir English Voices, with whom he has explored a wide range of repertoire, including The Silent Land by Giles Swayne for 40 voices and cello, which the ensemble premiered. He has directed a project for the RIAS Chamber Choir in Berlin, and more recently with RAM, the National Male Voice Choir of Estonia. As a chorus master he has worked frequently with René Jacobs in operatic productions in Berlin and Ghent, and in 2007 he will be the chorus master for Rossini's Tancredi.
Timothy Brown has a keen interest in contemporary music, and he has commissioned new music for various choirs that he has directed, including works by Christopher Brown, Andrew Carter, Nico Muhly, Tarik O’Regan, John Rutter and Giles Swayne.
Westminster Choir College is located at Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors/students. For tickets or to receive Westminster’s 2005-2006 season catalog, call the box office at 609 921-2663.
