The Winchester Orchestra and the West Valley College Concert Chorale present Handel's Messiah and Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor.
Join the assembled musical forces of orchestra, chorus, and soloists for a wonderful evening of favorites! Under the direction of Scott Seaton, Winchester's new Music Director, we will present two great Baroque masterpieces.
Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor was originally written for organ. Leopold Stokowski, the famous maestro of the Philadelphia Orchestra, transcribed this and many other Bach works for orchestra. Stokowski was an organist before becoming a conductor, and held a deep love of Bach. Through these orchestrations, he was able to bring Bach's work to a new audience, including presenting the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor in the 1940 Fantasia.
Handel's Messiah, undoubtedly the most famous oratorio ever written, consists of 3 parts. We will present Part I plus the famous "Hallelujah Chorus". This masterpiece was astonishingly written in three weeks. Handel is said to have emerged at some point and proclaimed: "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself!"
Scott Seaton, Music Director and Conductor
Soloists
DieuLinh Nguyen, soprano
Alfie Halpern, alto
AJ Rodriguez, tenor
Daniel Rios, baritone
West Valley College Concert Chorale
Lou De La Rosa, Chorusmaster