Holiday Music

The New Choral Society, under the direction of Dr. John T. King, opens it's 19th Season with two performances featuring Camille Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio and G.F. Händel's Messiah, Part I. These holiday favorites are paired for identical concerts on Friday, November 30 at 8 PM and Sunday, December 2 at 3 PM. Both performances take place in the acoustically acclaimed sanctuary of Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, 6 Greenacres Avenue in Scarsdale, NY. Tickets are available in three categories: Preferred Seating - $25; General Admission - $20 and a discounted ticket for Seniors (65+) and Students - $15. Tickets may be purchased on the group's website at www.newchoralsocity.org or by phone at 914-725-1678.

This concert features both new and returning soloists including Katherine Whyte, soprano, Sandra Piques Eddy, mezzo-soprano, Matthew Plenk, tenor and Jonathan Beyer, baritone. The New Choral Society is a proud member of Chorus America and ArtsWestchester. For more information visit www.newchoralsociety.org or call the New Choral Society office at 914-725.1678.

At 6:00 pm on December 2, tenor Vinson Cole and pianist Brett Terry will perform at the Scarsdale Congregational Church at 1 Heathcote Road in Scarsdale. Mr. Cole is internationally acclaimed, and will perform at the Kennedy Center later in December. A reception follows the concert and all are welcome. For tickets, $20 each, please call 723-2111, or go to www.scc-ucc.org/music/concert-series.html.

The Hoff-Barthelson Music School is pleased to announce that internationally acclaimed bassoonist Kim Laskowski will be its guest soloist for the Festival Orchestra Winter Concert, Sunday, December 9, 2011, at 7 pm. The concert will be held at the Community Unitarian Church at 468 Rosedale Avenue, White Plains. Jun Nakabayashi, Music Director for the Festival Orchestra, will conduct.

The Hoff-Barthelson Music School Festival Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra reserved for high school students at the highest level of technical ability and musical artistry. The New York State Council on the Arts says that "it ranks among the top community music school orchestras in the country." The ensemble presents five full orchestra concerts annually and performs with guest soloists drawn among the finest professional musicians performing today.

The program for the winter concert will include Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin in the orchestral arrangement; von Weber's Bassoon Concerto in F Major, J. 127, Opus 75 with Ms. Laskowski; and Haydn's Symphony No.99 in E-Flat Major, Hob.1:99.

Tickets to the Festival Orchestra Winter Concert may be reserved in advance or purchased at the door. $13 general, $11 seniors, and free for Hoff-Barthelson students. 914-723-1169, hb@hbms.org, www.hbms.org