Music Director Lawrence Kohl invites you to welcome the holiday season by attending a concert of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” where you are lifted up by a cloud of harmonious voices. Enjoy world-class soloists Soprano Raven McMillon, Contralto Sara Couden, Tenor Ricky Garcia, Bass Soloist Matt Boehler and the PCO Chorus November 30, 3:00 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. For information and tickets go to https://PacificChamberOrchestra.org/tickets.
"What sets PCO's version apart is its vivid, dramatic approach--where soloists step forward like actors, expressing each facet of Handel's story with clarity, emotion, and heart," says Kohl. PCO offers a compelling narrative arc of all of Part I beginning with the tenor's "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted."
Next PCO moves to key selections from parts II and III such as the jaunty "All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray" and the powerful "The Trumpet Shall Sound," culminating in the final Amen chorus. The program features a unique quartet version of "Their Sound is Gone Out to All Lands" with all four soloists singing together, concluding with a joyful reprisal of the Hallelujah Chorus where everyone can sing Hallelujah to ring in the holiday season.
This year the soloists bring extraordinary vocal artistry to the stage. Soprano Raven McMillon, a rising star praised by Opera News for her “shimmering, agile soprano,” makes a radiant debut with PCO. Contralto Sara Couden, celebrated for her “unusually rich and resonant” voice, is a returning favorite whose performances have been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “drove the audience into such convulsions of delight that applause burst out before the aria was even over.”
Tenor Ricky Garcia returns with the lyrical warmth and emotional honesty that have made him a beloved soloist in the region’s choral-symphonic world. Bass Matt Boehler, heralded by The New York Times as “a bass with an attitude and the goods to back it up,” brings a commanding presence and vocal depth to his role.
Families, friends and neighbors come together to experience this timeless work in an intimate, community-centered setting--proof that great music can inspire and unite.
Join PCO Sunday, November 30 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore 94550. Tickets and information are available at https://PacificChamberOrchestra.org/tickets.