Rehearsasls
Weekly rehearsals held Tuesdays, 7:30 - 10:00 P.M. beginning the first Tuesday in September
Katonah United Methodist Church located at the intersection of Bedford/Woodsbridge Road and Edgemont in Katonah, NY
westchesteroratorio@gmail.com
Address
PO Box 6
South Salem, NY 10590
For more information, please call 914-763-9389
Singing with WOS
The Westchester Oratorio Society, under the direction of its exciting young conductor Ben Niemczyk, enlists competent volunteer singers from Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam counties as well as the New York metropolitan area.
Voices in all categories are welcome, including those of high school and college age. A brief vocal placement is required - come try us out! The chorus, numbering 60+ singers, performs masterworks from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries with professional orchestra and professional soloists.
Benjamin Niemczyk, Conductor
Benjamin Niemczyk, Conductor
At work both in front of and behind the camera, Benjamin Niemczyk is an artist of uncommon range. Balancing his time between photography, graphic design, singing and conducting, he gave his debut as conductor of the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago Symphony in a staged performance of Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals in 2000. Since that time, he has sung in the most admired concert halls of Chicago and New York.
Having studied under contemporary music gurus Cliff Colnot and Harold Rosenbaum, he gave his Town Hall conducting debut in 2004, his European debut in the south of France in 2004 and continues to participate in concert performances at such venues as Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall as well as on national television and in feature films. He can be heard on numerous commercial recordings, particularly those of early music. He is a founding member of C4 (Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, www.c4ensemble.org), the nation’s largest new music choral ensemble.
He is a strong advocate of the production and performance of new music and in 2010 appears on multiple CD recordings as conductor of new music by Baroque great Anthony Newman. In addition to WOS, Mr. Niemczyk also conducts The Chrysalis Consort and the brand-new RTOW Orchestra, both based in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Chrysalis specializes in chamber music from all eras but particularly modern and contemporary music. RTOW Orchestra is a community ensemble comprised of business professionals who love music but never pursued careers in it.
In addition to his musical interests, Mr. Niemczyk is an accomplished photographer and graphic designer, having created advertising materials for companies including Hal Leonard, G. Schirmer and Lyric Opera of Chicago and numerous small arts organizations. His design business, BDN Design (www.myspace.com/bdndesign), specializes in advertising materials and art photography, particularly of and for the NYC area. Also a videographer, he has filmed many classical presentations, particularly of keyboard virtuoso Anthony Newman.
Mr. Niemczyk holds two degrees in composition from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and the DePaul University School of Music. He resides in Brooklyn, NYC.
Westchester Oratorio Society
Westchester Oratorio Society Video
WOS was founded in 1997 when a few individuals in South Salem joined with their neighbor, the noted choral conductor, Harold Rosenbaum, in order to form a choral group that would create a high quality musical experience for audiences and singers in Northern Westchester and surrounding areas. Since its inception, WOS has made a significant contribution to the musical fabric of the county, performing early music, choral masterworks of the 18th to 20th centuries and contemporary works accompanied by professional soloists and orchestras.
In 2007 Benjamin Niemczyk was appointed conductor and artistic director, only the second in WOS’ history. That year he conducted the Oratorio Society in a Westchester premiere of James Bassi’s Wexford Carol. He comes from a background strong in both contemporary and classical music and has made it his mission to preserve the music of the past while supporting that of the present.
In ‘08-’09 Niemczyk led WOS and REBEL Baroque Orchestra in a performance of Händel’s Dixit Dominus as well as works by Berlioz, Tavener and Mendelssohn. In 2010 he will present works by Schubert, Bach, Brahms and Händel. Voted “Best Amateur Chorus in Westchester” by Westchester Magazine, the Westchester Oratorio Society has also distinguished itself in guest appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Performing Arts Center at Purchase, as well as in performances with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (in a production of Olivier Messiaen’s opera, St. Francis of Assisi, lauded by the New York Times), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and at Carnegie Hall performing Verdi’s haunting Requiem.
In addition to providing major concert experiences for singers and audiences, the Society offers musical opportunities to the community. Its popular Summer Sings series, which is open to singers at all levels, involves reading sessions of choral masterworks under the direction of top-notch conductors. The Society’s Chamber Choir provides choral music on a smaller scale to local organizations and institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes. The Society also affords the opportunity for young people, from middle school to college age, to participate. It encourages their individual membership in the chorus and involves youth choral groups in many of its concerts. Students are welcome.
WOS Board of Directors 2010-2011
Irene Muller, Co-President
Joe Spallina, Co-President
Virginia Steinberg, Vice-President
Marvel Griepp, Treasurer
Terry Harder
Sylvie Lednicer
Vicki Lucas
Dean Travalino
Joy Travalino
Westchester Oratorio Performances
under Harold Rosenbaum
Saturday, May 19, 2007
– Dido and Aeneus and Bach ChorusesPresbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
Bach Cantata Movements
Chorus # 61 Nun Heiden Heiland (movement 1)
Chorus # 4 Christ Lag in Todesbanden (Sinfonia, verse 1, verse 7)
Duet # 78 Jesu, der du meine Seele (Jolle Greenleaf & Robert Isaacs)
Chorus # 147 Herz und Mund and Tat und Leben (movement 10)
Chorus # 68 Also hat Gott die Welt Geliebt (movement 5)
Purcell Dido and Aeneas
Jolle Greenleaf, Soprano
Nell Snaidas, Soprano
Richard Lippold, Baritone
Robert Isaacs, Countertenor
The Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Congregation Sons of IsraelBriarcliff Manor, NY
Händel Judas Maccabaeus
Hayley insky, Soprano
John Bernard, Tenor
Philip Horst, Baritone
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection,Mount Kisco, NY Sunday
May 21, 2006, 3 pm
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church,
Yonkers, NY
Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil, Opus 37
Elsa Larsson, Alto
Michael Cole, Tenor
Eric Burkhardt, Bass
The Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Saturday, December 2, 2005
Rye Presbyterian Church, Rye, NYHändel Messiah
Tony Arnold, Soprano
Jeffrey Mandelbaum, Countertenor
Robert Dingman, Tenor
s Alexander Hurd, Baritone
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Mozart Requiem in D minor (Levin )
Edie Rosenbaum, Soprano
Suzanne La Croix, Mezzo-Soprano
Neil Farrell, Tenor
Kurt-Owen Richards, Baritone
Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Sunday, January 9, 2005
– Two Seasonal MasterpiecesMary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,
Bedford, NY
Vivaldi Gloria
Britten Saint Nicholas
Richard Osgood, Tenor br /> The Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall,Verdi Requiem
The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Robert Spano, Music Director Gale Limansky, Soprano
Gerard Powers, Tenor
John Relyea, Bass-Baritone
The Canticum Novum Singers
The New York Virtuoso Singers
The University of Buffalo Choir
Westchester Oratorio Society
The Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Händel Esther
Cynthia Richards Wallace, Soprano /> Jeffrey Mandelbaum, Countertenor
Branden James, Tenor
Mark Rehnstrom, Baritone
The Canticum Novum Youth Choir
Accompanied by The Strathmere Ensemble
Sunday, May 4, 2003
Rye Presbyterian Church, Rye, NYBach The Passion According to Saint John
Douglas Keith, Tenorr
Jeffrey Mandelbaum, Countertenor
Chris Thompson, Baritone
David Arnold, Bass
Virginia Green, Soprano
James Archie Worley, Tenor
Edie Rosenbaum, Soprano
Jeff McCasland, Tenor
Canticum Novum Youth Choir
The Strathmere Ensemble
Saturday, January 11, 2003
, – Franz Schubert: Finished and UnfinishedMary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,
Bedford, NY
Schubert Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished)
Schubert Mass in A Flat major
Tamara Hardesty, Soprano br /> Johnny Maldonado, Counter-Tenor
James Archie Worley, Tenor
Mark Rehnstrom, Baritone
Sunday, May 5, 2002
Rye Presbyterian Church, Rye, NYJ.S. Bach St Matthew Passion
Neil Farrell, Tenor
Terrance Barber, Countertenor
Richard Lippold, Bass
Lawrence Long, Baritone
Mukund Marathe, Tenor
Judith Pannill, Soprano
The Westchester Boys Girls Choirs,
David Graf, Director
The South Salem Presbyterian Church Youth Choir
Saturday, December 1, 2001
– The Untamed Beethoven
John Jay High School, Cross River, NY
Beethoven Overture: The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43
Beethoven Fantasia in C/Choral Fantasy,
Adam Neiman, pianist
Beethoven Mass in C Major, Op. 86
Carolyne Scimone Rowan,
Soprano Edie Rosenbaum,
Soprano Mary-Lou Vetere,
Alto Yegeshe Manucharyan,
Tenor Drew Martin,
Tenor Chris Thompson, Bass
Sunday, June 10, 2001
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Theodorakis Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra
Zuill Bailey, cello
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Marianna Rigaki, Soprano
Angelica Cathariou, Mezzo-Soprano
Dorji Ciren, Tenor
Ricardo Herrera, Bass-Baritone
With participating choruses,
Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Saturday, May 5, 2001
– Heaven Is Here
John Jay High School, Cross River, NY
Barber Adagio for Strings
Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs
Britten The Company of Heaven
Edie Rosenbaum, Soprano
Douglas Purcell, Tenor
David Arnold, Baritone
George S. Irving, Narrator
The John Jay Chorale
Saturday, January 27, 2001
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Mozart Konzertante Sinfonie in Eb Major
Mitsuru bota, violin
Louise Schulman, viola
Mozart Mass in C minor
Marlene Soprano
Shannah Timms, Soprano
Rodne Brown, Tenor
Christopher Mooney, Bass
Saturday, May 20, 2000
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Haydn The Creation
Jamie Baer, Soprano David Vanderwal, Tenor
Lawrence Long, Baritone
Saturday, May 13, 2000
BBrooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NYMessiaen Scenes from St. Francis of Assisi
Act II, Scene 4: The Journeying Angel*
Act II, Scene 5: The Angel-Musician*
Act III, Scene 8: Death and New Life
*first performances in North America
Robert Spano, Conductor
Heidi Grant Murphy, The Angel
David Wilson-Johnson, St. Francis
John Aler, Brother Masseo Randall Scarlata,
Brother Leo Michael Lockley, Brother Elias†
Lawrence Long, Brother Bernard†
Frank Barr, Brother Sylvester†
Kent Smith, Brother Rufus†
†Members of the Westchester Oratorio Society
Saturday, January 29, 2000
– “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord,”Four Magnificats
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,
Bedford, NY
Buxtehude Magnificat
Pärt Magnificat
Berio Magnificat
Bach Magnificat
Catherine prano
Mary Ellen Callahan, Soprano
Karen Krueger, Mezzo-Soprano
James Archie Worley, Tenor
Paul Rowe, Baritone
The Fox Lane High School Chamber Choir,
Bernard LaDue, Conductor
October 30, 1999
– Halloween PopsThe Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center,
SUNY Purchase
Grieg Hall of the Mountain King (from Peer Gynt)
Weber Ruler of the Spirits
Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre
Mendelssohn Witches’ Night (Come with Torches Brightly Flashing) (from Die Erste Walpurgisnacht),
featuring Westchester Oratorio Society
Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain
Sondheim Sweeney Todd Suite
Gounod Funeral March of the Marionettes Hermann Psycho
Berlioz March to the Scaffold (from Symphonie Fantastique)
Westchester Symphony Orchestra, Anthony Aibel, Conductor
Friday, May 21, 1999
– The Final MozartMary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,
Bedford, NY
Mozart Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618
Mozart Symphony #41, K. 551 (Jupiter)
Mozart Requiem, K. 626
Edie Rosenbaum, Soprano
Dianna Heldman, Mezzo-Soprano
Thomas Roche, Tenor
David Arnold, Bass
Saturday, March 27, 1999
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Händel Messiah (Easter Portion)
Jennifer Davis Jones, Soprano Melissa Thorburn, Mezzo-Soprano
Marc Molomot, Tenor
David Shapero, Bass
Saturday, November 21, 1998
TThe Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center,SUNY Purchase
Saint-Saëns Danse Bacchanale (from Samson et Dalila)
Orff Carmina Burana
Westchester Symphony Orchestra, br /> Anthony Aibel, Conductor
Risa Harmon, Soprano
Leon Williams, Baritone
Neil Farrell, Tenor
Westchester Oratorio Society
Saturday, May 9, 1998
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Opus 45
with Orchestra
Judith Pannill, Soprano
Kent Smith, Baritone
Saturday, January 10, 1998 (Debut)
Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School,Bedford, NY
Mendelssohn Elijah,
Oratorio on Words of the Old Testament, Op. 70
Beverly Myers, Soprano br /> Jossie Perez, Mezzo-Soprano
Alexander Blitstein, Boy Soprano
Patrick Romano, Tenor
David Arnold, Baritone
Edie Rosenbaum, Mura Kievman, Sopranos*
Nancy Wertsch, Charlotte Surkin, Altos*
Douglas Purcell, Steven Raiford, Tenors*
Frank Barr, Richard Lissemore, Basses* *Solo Octet
Westchester Oratorio Performances
under Benjamin Niemczyk
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Presbyterian Church of Mount KiscoG.F. Handel Messiah
REBEL Baroque Orchestra
Nell Snaidas, Soprano
Hai-Ting Chinn, Alto
Daniel Neer, Tenor
Ray Diaz, Bass
Sunday, May 23, 2010
– The Light of SpringPresbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
Brahms Lass dich nur nichts
Bach Motet Lobet den Herrn
Schubert Mass No. 5 in A-Flat
Bradley Brookshire, Organ
Michelle Serrano-Moeritz, Soprano
Elise Quagliata, Alto
Oliver Mercer, Tenor
Matthew Singer, Bass
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
– Autumn TonesPresbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
Bach Jesu of Man’s Desiring
Anthony Newman Requiem
Beethoven Mass in C, Op 86
Anthony Newman, Organ
Zoe Vandermeer, Soprano
Elizabeth Thorne, Alto
Daniel Neer, Tenor
Ray Diaz, Baritone
Saturday, May 2, 2009
– Shakespeare in the SpringPresbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
Tavener Song for Athene
Berlioz Tristia
Bruckner Mass No. 1 in D minor
James Kennerley, Organ
Roseanne Ackerley, Soprano
Katherine Korsak, Alto
Christopher Ellmann, Tenor
Masami Morimoto, Baritone
Steven Skybell, Narrator
Sunday, November 23, 2008
– Fall FirstsPresbyterian Church of Mount Kisco
Fauré Requiem
Mendelssohn Kyrie
Mendelssohn Christus
David Johnson, Organ
Jennifer Pomeroy, Soprano
Masami Morimoto, Bass
Christopher Ellmann, Tenor
Sunday, May 4, 2008
– Barocco con Fuoco!South Salem Presbyterian Church, South Salem, NY
Brahms Marienlieder I-VII
Vivaldi L’Estro Armonico, Op. 3, No. 8
Händel Dixit Dominus
REBEL Baroque Orchestra
Jörg-Michael Schwarz & Karen Marmer, Directors
Tiffany Consort Nicholas White, Director
Jolie Greenleaf, Soprano
Kate Mulvihill, Soprano
Kirsten Sollek, Alto
Oliver Brewer, Tenor
Joe Chappel, Bass
Sunday, December 9, 2007
– A Holiday ConcertScarborough Presbyterian Church, Scarborough, NY
Bruckner Virga Jesse Floruit
Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine
Brandt Shema Doug Brandt Mi Chamacha
Bassi Wexford Carol
David Love (Though I Speak...)
Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio
Christopher Baum, Classical Guitar
Haley Kobilinsky, Soprano
Elizabeth Thorne, Mezzo-Soprano
Dianne Chase, Alto
Christopher Ellmann, Tenor
Daniel Singer, Baritone
Soloist Auditions
Singers who wish to audition as a soloist please contact the conductor directly
westchesteroratorio@gmail.com