Dear Friends of the Mendelssohn Choir:
I’m delighted to announce our 2008-09 concert season. As you will soon see, we look forward to an exceptional year and a fitting musical celebration of a century of song!
We start the weekend of Oct. 17 with the premiere of a Derek Bermel commission celebrating Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. Known for combining facets of world music, funk and jazz into traditionally classical performing forces, Bermel is setting an original libretto by Wendy Walters. The conductor will be Leonard Slatkin, in his first appearance as principal guest conductor of the PSO. Bringing new music into the world is always exciting, and the fact that the Pittsburgh Symphony specifically requested that the work include us is a real honor.
In December we will once again usher in the holiday season with Handel's Messiah and the Highmark PSO Holiday Pops concerts.
On the weekend of Jan. 16, 2009 we will perform On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams, the PSO’s composer of the year. This deeply moving piece was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as a response to 9/11, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. I am particularly excited that John Adams, one of America’s most admired and respected composers, will be conducting this work himself.
We will re-visit of our old friend, Orff's Carmina Burana, the weekend of Feb. 20. This will be our introduction to the PSO’s new maestro, Manfred Honeck. I look forward to his taking this beloved masterwork to higher and higher levels of expression!
One of the most thrilling opportunities for our centennial year is an invitation to perform on the Library of Congress Concert Series. We will be traveling to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 27, and for this very special occasion we will be commissioning a work from Andrew Rindfleisch. The rest of the program? 2009 marks not only our 100th birthday, but significant anniversaries of the following composers: Mendelssohn, Haydn, Handel, Victor Herbert and James MacMillan. I hope to include a sampling from each of them. And there’s even more-- we plan to produce a live recording of the event!
We then gear up for a fabulous April, when the PSO is sponsoring a Rachmaninoff festival. We will sing his little known Spring cantata on the festival’s opening weekend (April 3), conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. We then close the festival on April 15 in St. Paul cathedral, singing the magnificent Rachmaninoff Vespers. I greatly look forward to conducting this striking a cappella masterpiece.
We end the season with the magnificent Mahler Symphony No. 2, The Resurrection under Maestro Honeck the weekend of June 12. This is a choral finale like no other, a fabulous close to a fabulous season.
Wow! Two premieres, a major 21st century work, the Rachmaninoff Vespers, Mahler 2, revisiting old friends Orff and Handel, a national capital tour, a recording, and embarking on relationships with two new PSO maestros—I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate our 100th anniversary.
Can’t wait!
Betsy