With two choirs, 4 soloists, and one painter, St. James Cathedral’s model of Handel’s Messiah will attraction to the eyes in addition to the ears. The efficiency takes place on December 15, with the Choir of St. James Cathedral and the Chapel Choir of Trinity School, College of Toronto, together with the 14-member Orchestra of St. James underneath conductor Thomas W. D. Bell.

Along with the greater than 50 members of the 2 choirs, the soloists embody: soprano Anna Kwiatkowska; mezzo-soprano Christina Stelmacovich; tenor Jacob Abrahamse and bass-baritone Dion Mazerolle.

Artist Hope Flynn will probably be portray stay throughout the efficiency, impressed by the oratorio as it’s sung. The work will probably be auctioned with a reserve value of $200.

Soloists

One will paint, 4 will sing, and one will conduct the efficiency.

Artist Hope Flynn

Artist, muralist and illustrator Hope Flynn graduated from OCAD College with a Bachelor of Effective Arts diploma specializing in Drawing and Portray in 2018. She is the recipient of a number of grants and awards that acknowledge her work, with a particular curiosity in portray animals (impressed by an expensive departed canine), murals and public artwork, and stay portray. Her work seems in lots of non-public collections throughout the globe.

Samples of her work:

Soprano Anna Kwiatkowska

A violist in addition to an operatic soprano, Anna is a local of Poland, and graduated from the Music Academy in Lodz. There, she earned a MMus in viola, voice, and performing efficiency. She went on to proceed her research on the College of California in Los Angeles, CA (UCLA, College of Opera Efficiency). Her efficiency repertoire contains a wide range of roles, reminiscent of Tytania in Britten’s Midsummer Evening’s Dream (UCLA), Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Seviglia, Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Sandrina in La Cecchina by Piccini (Musiakademie Rheinsberg). Alongside her work as a soloist, she has a longstanding curiosity in choral singing. Along with worldwide appearances, she has appeared with Opera Atelier, Gryphon Trio, Tafelmusik Choir, Toronto Chamber Choir and St. James Cathedral Choir.

Mezzo-Soprano Christina Stelmacovich

Toronto native Christina Stelmacovich has introduced house prizes from a number of worldwide vocal competitions, and has carried out in North America, Mexico and Europe. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Metropolis of Birmingham Choir and the Renaissance Singers of England, The Elora Singers, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Tafelmusik Baroque Choir and Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Voices of Calgary, the Grand Philharmonic Choir of Kitchener and the New World Orchestra of Mexico Metropolis. She is presently additionally a member of the Elora Singers, and when not performing works because the Supervisor of the Elora Pageant and Singers.

Tenor Jacob Abrahamse

Jacob Abrahamse made his operatic debut by creating the starring function of the Holy Baby within the Dora-award-winning premiere of R. Murray Schafer’s opera, The Kids’s Campaign. He joins the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Singer this season in an internationally acknowledged programme. His 2023/24 performing season contains Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata with BrottOpera, and because the tenor soloist within the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s presentation of Bach’s Mass in B Minor at Koerner Corridor. He’ll be performing in a second Messiah with the TSO in a profit live performance for the United Means, and because the tenor soloist in two variations of Mozart’s Requiem, one with the Toronto Seashore Chorale and Orchestra, and one other with the Mississauga Chamber Singers and Orchestra.

Bass-Baritone Dion Mazerol

Acadian baritone Dion Mazerolle is a former member of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. He just lately made his debut as Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, created by the Barbe & Doucet design crew on the Teatri di Piacenza in Italy, and likewise as le Roi de Trèfle in Prokofiev’s opera L’Amour
des trois oranges with Opera Nationwide de Lorraine in Nancy, France. Upcoming roles in 2024 embody Osman in Rameau’s Les Indes Galante, with Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain/Pageant Classica, Carmina Burana with the Guelph Chamber Choir, Haydn’s Creation with Galileo Orchestre and Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse (Boismortier) with Ensemble Caprice, amongst others.

Conductor Thomas Bell

Church musician, composer, and trainer Thomas Bell started his music training as a boy chorister at Salisbury Cathedral, England. Together with singing within the choir, he performed piano, violin and flute. He went on to review the flute at Durham College, and he subsequently taught music in Oxford and London. He additionally started to direct skilled choral and instrumental ensembles, specializing in early music. He immigrated to Toronto, the place he’s been based mostly for some three many years. He directed the award-winning 150-voice Mississauga Kids’s Choir for 16 years, and toured with them throughout Canada and overseas. He’s presently Director of Music and Organist at Trinity School, College of Toronto, and at St. James Cathedral, Toronto.

St. James Cathedral Music

The venerable downtown cathedral affords weekly recitals on their restored 5,100 pipe organ, and on Could 11, search for a efficiency of Bach Magnificat to assist out the St. James meals financial institution. The live performance takes as its inspiration one of many traces from Magnificat: He hath stuffed the hungry with good issues. The efficiency may also characteristic settings of the Magnificat by Polish composer Maciej Zielinski.

Extra data and tickets to their December 15 efficiency of Handel’s Messiah [HERE].

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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.

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