MUSIC

The Houston Symphony’s hallmark holiday experience, Handel’s Messiah in Candlelight, returns to Jones Hall on December 17, 18, 19.

Back by popular demand after its first use in 2009, special lighting with electric candles will create an old-world setting similar to what Handel’s audiences experienced in the 1700s. Rising young conductor Matthew Halls will make his Houston Symphony debut leading the Houston Symphony Chorus, soprano Katherine Whyte and debuting vocalists Jay Carter, countertenor, Thomas Cooley, tenor, and Jeremy Galyon, bass-baritone.

This transcendent, three-part work weaves through the scriptural passages of the Bible and is most often recognized for its joyous “Hallelujah” refrain. The Houston Symphony has a long history of performing this work dating back to 1942 and has established a tradition of performing it every holiday season in Jones Hall for the past twenty years.

About Matthew Halls
Matthew Halls has established himself as one of today’s leading young conductors. A former Artistic Director of The King’s Consort, he has conducted in prominent venues around the world. Having initially established his reputation as a keyboard player, Halls has worked extensively with many of Europe’s foremost early music groups and opera houses. Beyond that, Halls is known for his passion for the Germanic repertoire, particularly Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and Schubert and, as a conductor of choral music, he has conducted an eclectic cross-section of the repertoire. Halls is now firmly established as a conductor of international repute, having made significant debuts with several orchestras.

His debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra early in the 2008-2009 season led to an immediate re-invitation to conduct the final concert of the Edinburgh International Festival this year. In May 2009, Matthew Halls conducted the inaugural performance of the exciting new group, Retrospect Ensemble, of which he is artistic director.

An active harpsichordist, he performs Bach recitals across the United Kingdom, including the Goldberg Variations, and as far as Israel, Ottawa, Quebec City and Moscow. Educated at Oxford University, Halls subsequently joined their teaching faculty for five years. Passionately committed to education and working with young musicians, the development of Retrospect Ensemble’s Young Artist Programme has been a priority for him. Matthew is also a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra and regularly teaches on summer schools and courses such as the Jerusalem Early Music Workshop and the Dartington International Summer School.

About Katherine Whyte
Soprano Katherine Whyte has performed on opera and concert stages across her native Canada and the United States. She began the 2010 – 2011 season as “the Countess” in Le nozze di Figaro for her debut with Opera Hamilton. She will join John Nelson for Brahms’ Requiem at Wheaton College and will make her Avery Fisher Hall debut in performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale.

In the 2009–2010 season, she made three impressive debuts: “Gilda” in Rigoletto with English National Opera, “Euridice” in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice alongside David Daniels with the Atlanta Opera and “Iphis” in Handel’s Jephtha with l’Opéra National de Bordeaux. In concert, Whyte’s debut was with the Houston Symphony in performances of Mozart’s Requiem with Hans Graf and sang Orff’s Carmina Burana with the South Dakota Symphony.

The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in solo recital at Weill Hall in January 2008. She returned to Carnegie Hall to sing with the Academy Program of Carnegie Hall, Juilliard and the Weill Music Institute in April under James Conlon.

Whyte is a recent graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center, where she performed the role of “Betty” in the world premiere performance of Lowell Liebermann’s Miss Lonelyhearts. Whyte holds both the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto. She completed additional studies at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies and The Stean’s Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival.

About Jay Carter
American countertenor Jay Carter is quickly gaining recognition as one of the nation’s finest, lauded for his luminous tone and stylish interpretations especially in the music of Bach, Bernstein, Handel, Purcell and Vivaldi. Equally at home in the modern recital repertoire, he has gained acclaim for programs of modern classics typically outside the standard countertenor repertory by composers such as Quilter, Brahms, Britten, and Hahn.

Carter made his Carnegie Hall debut in Messiah with Musica Sacra/Kent Tritle and also sang the North American Premiere of Tavener’s Lament for Jerusalem with the Choral Arts Society of Washington/Norman Scribner. In the 2010-2011 season, Carter will appear with the Columbus Symphony in Messiah, the Louisville Bach Society in Joshua, and the Choir of St. Thomas Church, NY in Bach's B minor Mass.

Carter is a featured soloist on recordings of Bach’s Magnificat in D, Mendelssohn’s Magnificat with the Yale Schola Cantorum, on Le Stagioni: Italian Virtuoso Madrigals with Gravitacion, and on Handel and Caldara Cantatas with the Kingsbury Ensemble.

About Thomas Cooley
American tenor Thomas Cooley is establishing a worldwide reputation as a singer of versatility, expressiveness, and virtuosity. Comfortable on both the concert stage and in the opera house, his repertoire ranges across more than four centuries.

Season highlights in 2010-2011 include Mendelssohn's Lobgesang with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Beethoven Missa Solemnis with the Atlanta Symphony and Cathedral Choral Society and Berlioz Requiem at Carnegie Hall. Cooley will also perform in Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Alabama Symphony along with the title role in Handel's Jephtha and the Saint-Seans Requiem in New York under the baton of Kent Tritle.

Cooley lived in Munich for ten years, four as a member of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, singing featured roles in operas by Mozart and Rossini. 

Cooley’s recent recordings include Handel’s Samson with Göttingen Handel Festival Orchestra; Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus with Deutsche Grammophon; Mozart’s Requiem with Windsbacher Knabenchor and Mozart's Mass in C Minor with Handel & Haydn Society.

About Jeremy Galyon
Applauded for his "robust and charismatic performances" according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Jeremy Galyon continues to impress audiences and critics alike. An Adler Fellow since 2006, he made his San Francisco Opera debut as “Count Horn” in A Masked Ball. Other recent company appearances include “The Magistrate” in The Barber of Seville, and the “Sergeant of the archers” in Manon Lescaut. 

This season’s highlights include Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony under Bernard Labadie and “Naroumov” in The Queen of Spades and “Count Cebrano” in Rigoletto while at the Metropolitan Opera. The 2008-2009 season marked another milestone in Galyon’s career: his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as “Alessio” in Bellini’s La sonnambula, a collaboration that is extended this season when he sings in three productions - as “Police Inspector” in Der Rosenkavalier, “Guccio” in Gianni Schicchi and as part of the ensemble in Shostakovich’s The Nose.

Galyon spent four years as a resident artist with Binghamton's Tri-Cities Opera, where he performed an array of roles including “Figaro” in The Marriage of Figaro, “Sparafucile” in Rigoletto, “Colline” in La Bohème, and “Dulcamara” in The Elixir of Love. Galyon is also a former young artist with Glimmerglass Opera.

A native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Galyon was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the DiPanni Bel Canto Competition. He holds an Opera Index Encouragement Award.

About the Houston Symphony Chorus
The Houston Symphony Chorus is an all-volunteer chorus founded in 1946 by former Houston Symphony cellist Al Urbach. The Chorus is made up of vocalists from all parts of the Houston metropolitan area and is an important instrument in the Symphony family.

This month, the Chorus celebrates two important milestones: its 1000th concert and its 900th performance with the Houston Symphony. The Chorus has independently performed in regular concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria (Mexico City), in a BBC Proms concert (London), and in a capella concerts here in Houston.

Its members rehearse at the University of Houston’s Moore’s School of Music every Tuesday evening, motivated by the challenge and joy of performing great music and the opportunity to work with the Houston Symphony. For audition information, contact the Chorus manager at (713) 444-9221 or chorus@sbcglobal.net.  

About the Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony has played a central role in Houston’s cultural and civic life since 1913. Each year, the Houston Symphony performs more than 170 concerts for approximately 350,000 people, featuring an innovative and broad spectrum of classical, popular, education and community-based symphonic programming. For tickets and more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org  or call 713-224-7575.