Westminster's choirs have performed with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time, including Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, and Riccardo Muti. This important tradition will continue during the 2007-2008 academic year as three of Westminster's choirs perform with some of the world's greatest orchestras in New York and Philadelphia.

In October, the Westminster Symphonic Choir will open the Carnegie Hall season with a series of performances with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado. They will perform Beethoven's “Symphony No. 9” on October 3 and 4, and the women of the Westminster Choir will perform Mahler's "Symphony No. 3" on October 6. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is composed of leading members of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras and internationally renowned soloists.

On October 18, the Westminster Symphonic Choir will again perform at Carnegie Hall. This time they will join the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, to present Mahler's “Symphony No. 2” 'Resurrection.'" Of the "Big Five" orchestras in America, the Cleveland Orchestra is considered to be the most European.

In November and December, the Westminster Symphonic Choir will again perform Mahler's choral masterpiece - this time with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi. Performances will be November 30 and December 2 at NJPAC in Newark and December 1 at the Patriots Theater in the Trenton War Memorial.

The Westminster Choir and Westminster Kantorei will perform Bach's “St. Matthew Passion” with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur March 19 - 22 at Lincoln Center. Westminster has a long and productive relationship with the New York Philharmonic that includes more than 300 performances and countless recordings. Kurt Masur delivered the Commencement address in 1992, when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Rider.

The Westminster Symphonic Choir will conclude the season performing Mahler's “Symphony No. 8, 'Symphony of a Thousand'” with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Expected to be the highlight of the 2008 spring concert season in Philadelphia and New York, the performances will be April 30, May 1 and 2 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and May 6 at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The Westminster external affairs office expects to have tickets for some performances available for purchase by members of the Rider community. Watch Newswire and the Web site for details about these performances and special ticket offers. For more information, click on Choral Performances with Orchestra.

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