Trinity Wall Street keeps New World Messiah tradition alive
In what has become its annual holiday tradition, Trinity Wall Street once again presents Handel’s Messiah, on December 12 and 13. Two hundred and forty years after the beloved oratorio was first presented at the church, the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra will be led by new principal conductor Julian Wachner. One of the oldest, largest, and most vibrant of all Episcopal parishes, Trinity Wall Street is located in the heart of New York’s financial district, where it has created a dynamic home for great music.
The Messiah was first presented at Trinity Church in 1770, in what was, despite claims to the contrary, only the second performance of Handel’s work in the New World. Trinity was also involved in the American premiere of Messiah; it was given just eight months earlier and only blocks away, at “Burns Coffee House,” 9 Broadway, as a fundraiser for a former employee of Trinity Church.
Trinity Wall Street opened its 2010-11 season with an exciting new appointment, when noted conductor, composer, and keyboardist Julian Wachner took over as director of Trinity’s Music and Arts program. Serving as principal conductor of the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, he also oversees all liturgical, professional, and community Music and Arts programming at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel. For Wachner’s season-opening debut, he led an account of Handel’s oratorio Israel in Egypt that the New York Times praised as “superbly performed.”
The Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra offer a full season of concerts ranging from large-scale oratorios to intimate evenings of a cappella singing and chamber music. Further concerts this season include the Trinity Choir in European contemporary works (Feb 3); the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (April 14); and the Trinity Choir in music from contemporary American composer Elena Ruehr (May 19). Trinity Wall Street, located at Broadway and Wall Street, also presents the popular Concerts at One recital series; held on Thursdays at 1pm, this features an array of soloists and ensembles, and is free and open to the public.
All concerts at Trinity Wall Street are professionally filmed and broadcast live at www.trinitywallstreet.org.
December 12(m) & 13, 2010
New York City
Trinity Choir & Trinity Baroque Orchestra / Julian Wachner
G. F. Handel: Messiah
Trinity Wall Street
Tickets may be purchased at www.trinitywallstreet.org/tickets or at the Trinity Church gift shop, located on Broadway at Wall Street.
www.trinitywallstreet.org