By Merle Exit
Are you a music fan?
If so, you can celebrate your holiday season at the Annual Holiday Concert of the Oratorio Society of Queens as Maestro David Close and the 125-member chorus perform excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah” with chorus, soloists, and OSQ’s orchestra, The Orchestral Arts Ensemble of Queens.
The first portion of the concert program includes selections from Handel’s “Messiah,” while the second half includes “Gloria” by Randol Bass.
The program also features some holiday songs, including Hanukkah-themed “Ocho Kandelikas” and “The Lamp Kept Burnin’ On,” featuring Cantor Jerry Korobow, as well as Christmas tunes “The Many Moods of Christmas,” “Noel, Nouvelet,” “O Holy Night” and “Joy to the World.”
Close, the artistic director and conductor of OSQ, said he wanted to include two Hanukkah songs that are not as common.
“I decided on ‘Ocho Kandelikas,’ a Ladino song about the eight candles of Hanukkah, and rearranged it for both orchestra and chorus,: he said. “‘The Lamp Kept Burnin’ On’ was more recently composed by Linda Tsurukoa, whose husband is Japanese. After converting to Judaism, he became a rabbi in Great Neck. The piece itself is in the style of an African-American spiritual.”
Featured soloists include Jennifer Gliere (soprano), Byron Singleton (tenor), Vaughn Fritts (bass-baritone) and Korobow.
The concert is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m. at the Queensborough Center for the Performing Arts in Queensborough College, located at 222-05 56th Ave.
Tickets are available for $35, $30 for seniors (ages 62 and older) and students with ID, and $10 for children 12 and under who are accompanied by an adult.
Tickets on the day of the concert will be available for $40 at the box office.
For additional information, please call the Oratorio Society of Queens at 718-279-3006 or visit www.QueensOratorio.org
