The reviews are in with a resounding cheer for The Choral Society’s “Hallelujah” concert, December 18/19 at the Music Academy of the West’s splendid recital theater, Hahn Hall. Not only were the chorus of singers and soloists “in fine voice”, but they and the orchestra managed to keep the audience in rapturous attention throughout the concert, despite everyone respectfully observing COVID restrictions by performing while fully masked. Only when April Amante (mezzo-soprano), Ben Brecher (tenor), Ralph Cato (bass) and Tracy Van Fleet (soprano) stepped downstage for their solos, did they remove their masks. Otherwise, the musicians, singers, and the entire audience wore masks throughout the concert, ensuring that everyone could be confident they were not risking their health to be there.
This policy will be in effect as long as the County Health Department guidelines demand it.
Masks not withstanding, the singers were thrilled to be onstage again after a two-year hiatus.
Assistant to the Conductor and Section Leader Steven Thomson opened the concert by leading the audience and chorus in a rousing “O Come All Ye Faithful”. This was followed by The Choral Society’s Conductor and Artistic Director Jo Anne Wasserman taking the orchestra and chorus through a stirring “Personent Hodie”. Then it was time for the “main event” of the program – Handel’s great choral masterpiece, “The Messiah.”
Please enjoy these images from the artistry of photographers David Bazemore and Zach Mendez. If you were not among the enthusiastic audience, these photos will provide you with a feel for what you missed. And, if you were among the fortunate concert-goers, you can revel in the memories these images will bring to mind. See if you can spot Opera Santa Barbara’s General and Artistic Director Kostis Protopapas in the bass section or singer/songwriter Will Breman of NBC’s The Voice fame.
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.