Courtesy of Richmond Symphony
With the holidays right around the corner, Richmond Symphony offers a selection of concerts for those looking to celebrate the season with an evening of music. Music Director Mark Russell Smith will lead Handel’s Messiah at two separate locations, Second Baptist Church and St. Michael’s Catholic Church, on Dec. 5 and Dec. 8, respectively.
A holiday tradition in Richmond, Let it Snow brings together the Richmond Symphony, the Richmond Symphony Chorus and the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir for a festive evening of holiday music suitable for the entire family on December 6 at the Landmark Theater. Ticket prices reflect regular adult admission. Discounts for children and seniors are available for many performances. For more information please call the Symphony Box Office at (804) 788-1212 or visit our website at http://www.richmondsymphony.com.
Handel’s Messiah – Dec. 5 & 8
Music Director Mark Russell Smith leads the orchestra and Richmond Symphony Chorus, along with guest soloists, through Handel’s Messiah: An Oratorio. Richmond’s most anticipated performance of the Messiah features soprano Awet Andemicael, countertenor David Walker, tenor William Ferguson and baritone Philip Cutlip.
Fri Dec 5
8 PM – Second Baptist Church (River Rd. & Gaskins) Single tickets range from $25 - $35
Mon Dec 8
8 PM – St. Michael’s Catholic Church (Springfield Rd.) Single tickets for all sections are $30
Tickets are $25-$35 (discounts for seniors, children and students) and are available through the Symphony Box Office – (804) 788-1212 or online at http://www.richmondsymphony.com. Ample well-lit parking is free at all locations.
Genworth Financial Symphony Pops – Let it Snow! – Dec. 6
The sounds of the holidays fill the Landmark Theater as Associate Conductor Erin R. Freeman, the Richmond Symphony Chorus and the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir join the Richmond Symphony in an interactive and uplifting concert including such musical favorites as “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Sleighride” and “White Christmas.” Concert date is Dec. 6, at 8pm at the Landmark Theater. Tickets $35-$60 (discounts for seniors, children and students). For more information, call the Symphony Box Office at 262-8003 or visit http://www.richmondsymphony.com.
Genworth Financial is the series sponsor.
Hunton & Williams is the concert sponsor.
Richmond Times-Dispatch and NBC-12 are the media sponsors.
About RSO
Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The Symphony has been a member of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Orchestra Program since its inception in 1999. As a non-profit corporation, the Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
Guest Artist Bios
Awet Andemicael, soprano
Following recent performances of Handel’s Messiah with Handel & Haydn Society, the Boston Herald praised soprano Awet Andemicael’s ethereal artistry, noting that “her voice is light, airy, lyric and full of musical energy,” and further exclaimed that “Andemicael is a singer to watch.”
An adept concert singer, she has sung acclaimed performances of Messiah with the Handel and Haydn Society, Jacksonville Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall as well as Haydn’s Creation also at the Festival Lyrique-en-Mer. She has sung numerous concerts in the Los Angeles area including performances of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Mozart’s Sparrow Mass and Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen. Concert appearances in Massachusetts include performances with the Harvard Baroque Orchestra, Harvard Bach Society Orchestra, Harvard University Choir and Youth Pro Musica ensembles.
Ms. Andemicael has been the San Diego District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Second Prize Winner of the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall. She has also won the Lee Schaenen Foundation Scholarship Award, the Friedrich Schorr Memorial Performance Prize, the Pasadena Opera Guild Awards and the Bel Canto Scholarship Foundation First Place Scholarship. In addition, she has received grants from the BEEM and FéBland Foundations of Southern California. She holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of California at Irvine.
David Walker, countertenor
David Walker is one of the foremost countertenors of his generation. He enjoys an international career, and sings leading roles at the most prestigious opera companies in the world including the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, the English National Opera, L’Opera National du Rhin in Stasbourg, among others as well as many US companies including St. Louis Opera Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. Mr. Walker sings a vast repertoire ranging from such composers as Monteverdi, Handel, Cavalli, and Purcell to Phillip Glass, Tippett, Legetti, and Britten. Of particular note is his association with Jonathan Dove’s opera Flight, which has sung in Boston, St. Louis, and Adeliade, Australia (for which he was nominated for the prestigious Robert Helpman Award). In the spring of 2006, Mr. Walker earned tremendous acclaim singing the role of John Merrick in Laurent Petitgirard’s The Elephant Man.
William Ferguson, tenor
Acclaimed for his versatility in both opera and concert, William Ferguson is acknowledged as one of today’s most promising young artists. The Richmond, Virginia native holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Among his credits are Caliban in Sante Fe Opera’s production of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest, Beppe in I Pagliacci with The Metropolitan Opera (under the baton of James Levine), and the title role in Candide with The New York City Opera.
A passionate concert and recital performer, Mr. Ferguson has appeared with The American Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (England), Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s; as well as the local symphony orchestras of Bellingham, Richmond, Wheeling, and Winston-Salem. His repertoire ranges from that of the baroque masters to the difficult cycles of Schubert, Schumann, Janáček, and Rorem.
Mr. Ferguson has been the recipient of several awards and honors including First Place in the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition. In 2003 he was awarded the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital Award granting him a New York recital debut in Alice Tully Hall.
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Mr. Cutlip has appeared with nearly every major North American orchestra. Engagements in his 2008-09 season include singing Count in Utah Opera’s Le nozze di Figaro, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de perles with Opera Columbus, Haydn’s The Creation with Phoenix Symphony, Messiah with Nashville Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Choral Art Society of Portland (ME), Mozart’s Requiem with Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Fauré’s Requiem with Charlotte Symphony, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Oregon Symphony, and an appearance with Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to sing selected Bach cantatas. He has performed such works as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Handel and Haydn Society under Grant Llewellyn, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, and Handel’s Belshazzar at the Göttingen Festival in Germany.
