Heaven & Nature Sing - Christmas Concert - Dec 11

John Tiranno, tenor
Elisa Singer, soprano
Kristin Gornstein, mezzo-soprano
Heather Petrie, contralto
Daniel Beckwith, organ
Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola
Parish Community Choir and Children’s Choirs
K. Scott Warren, music director

The New York Times calls these concerts "part of the essence of Christmas in New York," and our sellout audiences year after year agree! 

The Vivaldi Gloria is the centerpiece of this year's concerts, accompanied by well-known seasonal favorites and festive carols for everyone to join in singing.

This program is approximately 85 minutes long with no intermission.

All performance dates, artists and programs subject to change. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

ARTISTS

Tenor John Tiranno has had his singing called “ardent and mellifluous” by The New York Times. 2016 engagements include Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (Oratorio Society of NY), Haydn's Creation (Masterwork Chorus), and concerts at both the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (New York Opera Society) and in NYC (Music on Madison Concert Series). Notable past performances include Berlioz's Requiem (La Jolla Symphony & Chorus), Richard Strauss' Deutsche Motette (Musica Sacra), Saint-Saëns Requiem (Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra), Mozart’s Missa in C (at Auditório Ibirapuera in São Paolo, Brazil), creating the role Trouble in Gisle Kverndokk's Max and Moritz (New York Opera Society), Bach's B minor Mass and the U.S. premiere of Juraj Filas’ Oratio Spei – Requiem (Sacred Music in a Sacred Space), Handel’s Messiah (Dayton Philharmonic), Paul Moravec’s The Blizzard Voices (Oratorio Society of New York), and recitals at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Tiranno resides in New York City. More info can be found at www.johntiranno.com.

Soprano Elisa Singer enjoys a versatile career, ranging from opera to contemporary, early and sacred music. She has sung with the Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera Cleveland, New York Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic. Elisa made her New York debut as soloist for the world premiere of Jorge Martin’s Out of the cradle, endlessly rocking, with Cantori New York. She has also appeared as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Monmouth Civic Chorus. Roles of note include Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, La Fee in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Fire in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, title role in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina, title role in Donizetti’s Rita, and Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Elisa is also an active collaborative artist, working with ensembles such as Musica Sacra, Orpheon Chorale, and Little Orchestra Society. She has appeared with Essential Voices USA The Composer Speaks series.

Described as, "elegant" and "rich-voiced" by the New York Times, American mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein brings her vibrant stage presence and supple voice to a diverse repertoire ranging from Handel to improvisational modern and electronic music. Praised as having "...a brilliant upper register that would be the envy of any soprano, with a chocolatey mezzo richness..." (Voce di Meche), Kristin frequently performs both opera and concert repertoire. Most recently, Kristin returned to Loft Opera in Brooklyn to debut the title role in The Rape of Lucretia, by Benjamin Britten, which was received with critical acclaim. In the 2014/15 season, Kristin joined the Tanglewood Music Festival as a Vocal Fellow. Highlights from the summer include the world premiere of a commission for female voice and 4 percussionists by Steven Mackey, titled Madrigal, as well as selected scenes from Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar as Federico Lorca with the TMC orchestra. Earlier in the season she debuted the role of Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Loft Opera, and performed as Dulcinée in Massenet’s Don Quichotte, Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Mrs. Slender in Salieri’s Falstaff, as well as the Alto soloist in Handel's Messiah, and the Soprano II solos in Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.

Hailed as “a true contralto, with a big, deep, resonant projection that can fill a hall,” Heather Petrie is becoming a familiar voice throughout the Northeast. Last season she performed with the newly re-formed New York City Opera in several performances of Tosca; with the New York City Ballet's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream; and was also a featured Young Artist with Voices of Ascension.  She had the pleasure of performing outside of Manhattan as a soloist with many groups in Westchester and CT, and toured Russia and England with Clarion Music Society. This spring she will make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in their production of Fidelio. Heather performs frequently with the choir of St Ignatius Loyola, Musica Sacra, NY Philharmonic, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, Essential Voices USA, and Voices of Ascension, and has also performed numerous times with CT Lyric Opera and the CT Virtuosi Orchestra.  At Symphony Space, she has given concert performances of Suor Angelica (La Zia Principessa) and Hänsel and Gretel (The Witch).  Other opera roles include Annina in  der Rosenkavalier, Mary in der Fliegende Holländer, Larina in Eugene Onegin, Baba in The Medium, Miss Todd in the Old Maid and the Thief, Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has also been a member of the opera chorus at both Bard Summerscape, and the Princeton Festival.

Daniel Beckwith is Principal Organist at St. Ignatius Loyola and Assistant Organist at Temple Emanu-El, both in New York City. Former church positions include the posts of Assistant Organist at several New York City Landmark houses of worship: The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Bartholomew’s Church, and The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Mr. Beckwith has conducted in many of the major opera houses throughout North America and Europe. With a repertoire that spans the 17th through the 20th centuries, he has been hailed as one of the most exciting conductors of his generation. Mr. Beckwith’s Metropolitan Opera debut was with Don Giovanni in 1995. On the strength of these performances, he was engaged for several important debuts conducting the works of Handel, both nationally (Serse, Seattle Opera) and internationally (Rinaldo, Grand Theâtre du Genève; Theodora, Glyndebourne Festival). A frequent partner with soprano Renée Fleming, they have performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, Spain’s Santander Festival and television appearances on Good Morning America, The View and Martha Stewart Living.

Hailed by the New York Times as “a finely polished, stylistically nimble ensemble,” the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola is comprised of New York’s finest professional choral singers. The Choir’s “tremendous expressive and dynamic range” and “remarkable vocal discipline and finesse” (the New York Times) is featured in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series, now in its 27th season. Each member is a soloist in his or her own right in a variety of genres including early music, opera, oratorio and contemporary repertoire. The core group of 19 members sings a demanding schedule of weekly parish worship services in a wide range of repertoire, with particular emphasis on new works, the sacred Renaissance repertoire, and Gregorian chant. The Choir may be heard on recordings for the MSR Classics and AMDG labels. In March 2006, the Choir was invited as the headline chorus at the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association convention in St. Louis, Missourri. In April 2009, the Choir performed in the opening festival of radio station WNYC’s new Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, on a concert bill with René Pape, John Zorn, Ute Lemper, and Nico Muhly.  The Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, lauded by the New York Times for their “lean, taut and fiery playing,” participates in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series and enhances a number of parish worship services throughout the year. Members are drawn from among New York City’s most talented and stylistically versatile freelance musicians and have often been heard in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the orchestras of the New York City Opera and New York City Ballet, and various period-instrument orchestras.

Since 2011, St. Ignatius Loyola Director of Music Ministries K. Scott Warren has led a dynamic music team consisting of over 150 individuals, professional and volunteer, in providing music at approximately 400 liturgies annually. He is the principal conductor of the 19-voice professional Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, which sings a demanding schedule of services throughout the year, with repertoire spanning Gregorian chant to 21st-century masterpieces. The choir, along with the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, form the backbone of the parish’s critically acclaimed concert series, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, whose recent performances have been lauded by the New York Times as “stirring...positively thrilling” and “broad, wide-ranging, and powerful.” In addition to the vast choral spectrum presented at St. Ignatius, Mr. Warren presides over the four manual, 91-rank N. P. Mander Organ, the largest mechanical action organ in the New York metro area, and an instrument of international stature.

GENERAL CONCERT AND TICKET INFORMATION

• DOORS OPEN at 2:15 PM for a 3 PM concert start time.


• LATE SEATING is at the discretion of the House Management. Latecomers may be asked to remain in the back of the church until there is a break in the program, so as not to disturb the performance or other audience members.


• WILL CALL is available when the doors open at 2:15 PM inside the main doors of the church.


• CHILDREN seated on an adult's lap do not need a ticket. Children seated in a chair or pew need a ticket. 


• We no longer offer tickets for sale or any ticket pickup at the Parish House Reception desk.


• Audio and/or video recording and flash photography are not permitted during performances.

ACCESSIBILITY

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is wheelchair/walker accessible via the ramp entrance on 84th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues).


• The restrooms are NOT easily accessible by wheelchair. The most easily accessible restrooms are in the Parish House (980 Park Avenue). There are two steps down from the street level into the Parish House and there is a restroom on that ground floor.


• For reserved seating concerts, there is available seating for wheelchairs and companions. Please look for the Wheelchair and Wheelchair Companion tickets when purchasing. For general seating concerts, follow the directions of the ushers. Please call ahead (212-288-2520) to discuss any special seating requirements.

PARKING

• Street parking can be difficult to find, but there are a number of parking garages nearby. There are garages on 83rd Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) and 84th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), as well as near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

RESTAURANTS

• There are a number of fine and casual eating establishments located nearby on Madison Avenue (one block west of the church), Lexington Avenue (one block east of the church), Third Avenue (two blocks east of the church) and Second Avenue (three blocks east of the church).

 DIRECTIONS

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is easily reached via the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines (86th Street station), or buses on Madison, Lexington and Fifth Avenues, and on 86th Street.