National Symphony Orchestra presents ‘Messiah’

The University of Maryland Concert Choir led by chorus director Edward Maclary is featured in the National Symphony Orchestra’s performances of Handel’s “Messiah.” This annual musical treat will be presented on four consecutive days to accommodate the crowds who regard this event among their “musts” of the season. Those wishing to help the less fortunate in the community may leave cans of food in the lobby for the Capital Area Food Bank.

The NSO will be led by Italian conductor and harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini whose Baroque ensemble, Concerto Italiano, has been awarded many prestigious prizes. The four guest soloists are recognized throughout the world for their glorious voices. Soprano Klara Ek of Sweden made her NSO debut last season under Helmut Riiling to rave reviews and is critically acclaimed for her recording of Handel’s “Berenice.”

Russian mezzo-soprano Alisa Kolosova, a member of the Atelier Lyrique at the Opera National de Paris, has won numerous awards and appears frequently on the concert stage.

American tenor Michele Angelini has performed at the Metropolitan Opera among others and in roles as diverse as the title role in Handel’s “Judas Maccabeus” and Henrick in Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” while Spanish baritone Joan Martin-Royo, who has performed operatic roles throughout Europe, is making his U.S. debut on this occasion.

“The conductor and the soloists are all professionals at the top of their craft, so this is the perfect opportunity for my students to share the stage with such outstanding artists,” Maclary said. “It’s a joy to work with a new set of students each year and watch them discover the beauty of this work together. I’ve conducted many performances of ‘Messiah’ and always appreciate being witness to another young person learning this great masterpiece for the first time.”

As director of choral activities at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus, Maclary conducts the U.Md. Chamber Singers and University Chorale. His graduate conducting program admits four or five students from among 40 or more applicants annually from this and foreign countries. The loss of fine singers from among those who graduate each year gives him some trepidation until he can audition the fall newcomers and discover if the right voices have walked in the door. Last year, he fretted about finding a bass who could hit the low Ds and Es in a scheduled Ginastera work before he learned that a newcomer in his conductor program was also a superb singer with all the desired qualities.

This has been a busy season for Maclary and his choral groups. Rehearsals of Robert Schumann’s oratorio “Paradise and the Peri” for the university’s Schumann Festival in October preceded those for Handel’s “Messiah.” After the holiday break, they will begin work on the spring showcase. a celebration of women with the U.Md. women’s chorus and invited high school choirs. Additionally, they will prepare for the spring concert built around music by Durufle, Saint-Saens and Poulenc in anticipation of the Chamber Singers’ summer tour to France. There they will perform in Paris, Orleans, Nantes and the cathedral at Chartres and compete in the international Florilege Vocal de Tours.

“Our singers want the Kennedy Center audience to enjoy a superb technical performance and sense their joy in presenting it,” Maclary said. “Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is a significant part of the holiday experience for many people. Some go to hear it in lieu of attending church, while others celebrate for the sheer joy of the music, irrespective of religion.”