Philadelphia Orchestra Plays Handel’s Beloved Messiah

The festivities kick-off with a performance of Handel’s Messiah, an audience favorite since the composer’s time, which returns for its 48th annual outing by the Orchestra (December 14). The Glorious Sound of Christmas, first introduced as a best-selling album in 1962, continues to delight today on compact disc and as a trio of exciting concerts (December 18-20). The holiday season culminates with the Orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve Concert featuring soprano Heidi Stober and baritone Hugh Russell in a program of Viennese music (December 31). Tickets for selected holiday concerts start at $10.

Handel’s Messiah

The Philadelphia Orchestra opens its holiday concerts with a time-honored tradition: a performance of Handel’s Messiah (December 14). The work, which was a favorite of the composer, has delighted audiences for over two centuries. American conductor Julian Wachner makes his Philadelphia Orchestra debut leading the Orchestra’s 48th consecutive annual performance of the beloved oratorio. Joining him are four rising star soloists all making their Philadelphia Orchestra debuts: soprano Sarah Coburn, mezzo-soprano Laura Vlasak Nolen; tenor William Hite, and baritone David Kravitz. The soloists are joined by the Philadelphia Singers Chorale.

Born in Hollywood, California, conductor Julian Wachner has served as music director of the Bach-Academie de Montreal (2003-2007), the Providence Singers (1996-2006), the Back Bay Chorale (1996-2002), and the Boston Bach Ensemble (1995-2002). He has also appeared with Glimmerglass Opera, the Toronto Operetta Company, the Montreal Symphony, the Music Academy of the West, the Boston Pops, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, among others.

The Glorious Sound of Christmas With the Glorious Sound of Christmas, The Philadelphia Orchestra lends its lush sound to festive orchestral classics and selections from its best-selling Christmas album of the same name (December 18-20). Since the album’s release in 1962, millions of listeners worldwide have celebrated the holidays with the sounds of the Fabulous Philadelphians. This year’s program focuses on works featured on the original legendary recording and its follow-up, Joy to the World. Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Danail Rachev leads these performances.

Danail Rachev made his debut as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s assistant conductor in October 2008. He comes to Philadelphia from the Dallas Symphony, where he had been assistant conductor since the 2005-06 season, leading classical concerts, pops programs, and family concerts, as well as school and outreach programs. From 2002 to 2005 he served as conductor of the Juilliard PreCollege Symphony, and in the 2002-03 season he was the first ever conducting fellow of the New World Symphony, where he worked with Michael Tilson Thomas. Mr. Rachev’s other positions have included cover conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony, guest conductor of Baltimore’s Opera Vivente, assistant conductor of the Columbia Orchestra, and assistant conductor of the Baltimore Opera Company. In his native Bulgaria, he has worked with several ensembles including the Russe State Opera, where he led performances of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

New Year’s Eve Concert From waltzes and polkas to iconic opera overtures, The Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve Concert rings in 2009 with Viennese flair under the baton of Associate Conductor Rossen Milanov. Soprano Heidi Stober, making her Philadelphia Orchestra debut, and baritone Hugh Russell join the Orchestra for arias from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Lehar’s The Merry Widow. The program also includes favorite waltzes including Strauss’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” and “Roses from the South.”

Rossen Milanov is associate conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, he serves as music director of New Jersey’s Symphony in C (formerly the Haddonfield Symphony); music director of the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria; and chief conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony.

During the 2008-09 season—in addition to conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra in subscription, family, educational, community, and holiday concerts—Mr. Milanov debuts with the Swedish Royal Opera, the New Jersey Symphony, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Singapore Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony. He also makes return engagements with the Seattle Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra of Mexico. -- www.philorch.org