The concert will be performed by Voices of Ascension on Thursday, February 27th, 8pm at Fifth Avenue & 10th Street.
Universally recognized as one of the highest achievements of Western Art, The Mass in B Minor represents the culmination of Bach’s life as a composer of sacred choral music. This one work contains such a phenomenal wealth of great music that it stands virtually in a class of its own. One page after another reveals some of the greatest moments in all music: the exhilarating outburst of “Et resurrexit,” the poignant “Crucifixus,” the triumphant, cosmic “Sanctus,” the moving “Agnus Dei” for contralto, and the final “Dona nobis pacem,” a chorus of universal scope.
Soloists: Dominique Labelle, soprano; Silvie Jensen, mezzo-soprano; Nils Neubert, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone.
Tickets can be purchased online at Voices of Ascension or call the box office at (212) 358-7060.
About the Soloists:
Throughout her career, Soprano Dominique Labelle, has fearlessly plumbed the technical and emotional depths of music, turning in performances of “almost alarming ferocity” (San Francisco Chronicle), possessed of “conviction but without exhibitionism” (De Telegraf), that have “the audience hanging on every note” (Boston Globe). Her legendary musicianship and passionate commitment to music-making have led to close and enduring collaborations with a number of the world’s most respected conductors and composers, most recently Nicholas McGegan, Ivan Fischer, Jos van Veldhoven, and the Pulitzer Prize winning composer Yehudi Wyner. She also treasures her long association with the late Robert Shaw.
“Marvelous,” “elegant,” “beautiful”- so has the New York Times described mezzo-soprano Silvie Jensen. Critics have also called her voice “exquisite, floating and expressive, a joy to hear.” A vocalist of great versatility, Silvie Jensen enjoys a wide-ranging career that includes early and contemporary music, opera and musical theater, and improvised and experimental music. In recent seasons, Ms. Jensen has appeared at Lyric Opera of Chicago in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg and Parsifal, with American Chamber Opera in Chicago as Carmen; with One World Symphony as Olga in Eugene Onegin, and has premiered new operas with Riverside Opera, Stonington Opera House, at the Ostrava Days Festival, and at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival.
Tenor Nils Neubert performs regularly in opera, concert, and recital, both in the U.S. and abroad. Recent and upcoming projects include appearances with Trinity Wall Street, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Berkshire Choral Festival, Musica Sacra, TENET, Musical Oratory Foundation, Musica Angelia Baroque Orchestra, 4×4 Baroque Music Festival, Schubert & Co., Brooklyn Art Song Society, Russian Chamber Art Society, and the Beethoven Institute and Amnesty International at Mannes. Mr. Neubert holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Columbia University, and is a doctoral candidate at the CUNY graduate center.
Bass-baritone Dashon Burton is a native of Bronx, NY. Praised for his “enormous, thrilling voice seemingly capable…[of] raising the dead;” and “nobility and rich tone,” (New York Times) he is active in a wide range of repertoire and feels privileged to have worked with artists and ensembles all across the U.S. as well as in Cameroon, Canada, Italy and Germany. Prominent collaborations include Pierre Boulez, Masaaki Suzuki and Steven Smith. He began his studies at Case Western Reserve University and graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Upon graduation, he was invited to join Cantus, a professional men’s classical vocal ensemble based in Minneapolis. After completing his tenure with Cantus in 2009, Dashon completed his Master of Music at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music where he studied with Professor James Taylor.