Messiah Performances to Include Four of
The Finest Young Voices in the Country
Soloists Chosen from the Prestigious Curtis Institute of Music

For the first time, the soloists performing with the Master Chorale of South Florida’s in Handel’s Messiah will be a matched quartet from the Curtis Institute of Music. One of the most prestigious music conservatories in the world, the Curtis Institute accepts only about 160 students per year. All are provided with merit-based, full-tuition scholarships to ensure that admission is based solely on artistic merit.

The idea came from Maestro James Judd, who will be conducting these performances.

“I had heard concerts by ‘Curtis on Tour’ that included singers as soloists, and the quality was amazing. I then thought how wonderful it would be to have fresh, young, balanced voices for the Messiah quartet,” Judd explains.

“In addition to giving the audience an excellent music experience, I feel it is great for us to play a role at the start of important young careers. I love encouraging the best new talent whenever possible. Curtis has the most amazing reputation for quality, so we are in for a treat,” he says.

James Judd
Judd knows singers. As opera conductor, he has appeared with the English National Opera conducting productions of Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, and Le Nozze di Figaro; and at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival in Rossini’s La Cenerentola.  After serving as music director of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for 14 years and artistic director of Florida Grand Opera for three years, he became music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Orchestre National de Lille, France. His millennium concert with Kiri Te Kanawa as soloist, broadcast worldwide, was the first to usher in the new century.

A graduate of London’s Trinity College of Music, Judd came to international attention as the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra under Lorin Maazel. Four years later, he returned to Europe as associate music director of the European Community Youth Orchestra.

In his career, Judd has led most major orchestras of the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. He regularly conducts all major British ensembles, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the English Chamber Orchestra.

About the soloists
The four soloists who will sing Messiah were chosen by Mikael Eliasen, Curtis’s Chair of Vocal Studies and Artistic Director of the Curtis Opera Theatre and opera and voice coach. They are Sarah Shafer, soprano; J’nai Bridges, mezzo; Joshua Stewart, tenor; and Thomas Shivone, baritone.

Sarah Shafer
Since entering the Curtis Institute in 2006, soprano Sarah Shafer has appeared in numerous Curtis Opera Theatre productions, including Impressions of Pelléas, Le nozze di Figaro, La rondine, The Audition, L’Ormindo, Don Giovanni, Ainadamar and L’elisir d’amore. She performs regularly on the Curtis Student Recital Series and is a frequent soloist at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church.
A 19-year-old native of State College, Pennsylvania, Ms. Shafer has won multiple vocal awards nationwide. She is also a pianist and has appeared as a piano soloist with two regional orchestras as the winner of young artist concerto competitions.

J’nai Bridges
J’nai Bridges, a 22-year-old mezzo-soprano from Lakewood, Washington, is the 2009 National Opera Association Legacy Award winner, first prize–winner of the 2008 National Vocal Arts Competition for Emerging Artists, and a recipient of the College Success Foundation Scholarship from the state of Washington. She earned her BA in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music before entering the Curtis Institute in 2009. She has performed in Così fan tutte, Semele, The Beggar’s Opera, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, as a soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria and made the U.S. premiere of Xenakis’s Oresteia. As a member of Chorale Le Chateau (New York City), she sang at the Kennedy Center for the Presidential Inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2009.

Joshua Stewart
Tenor Joshua Stewart, 22, is a native of New Orleans.  At the Curtis Opera Theatre, he has performed in Wozzeck, Don Giovanni, Iolanta, Ainadamar, L’elisir d’amore, Le nozze di Figaro, Postcard from Morocco, La rondine, The Audition, L’Ormindo, Albert Herring, Dido and Aeneas, Trouble in Tahiti and The Magic Flute.
            Mr. Stewart performed as a soloist at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for the 2007 Liberty Medal presentation and in 2008, at a presidential primary debate between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
           
Thomas Shivone
Bass-baritone Thomas Shivone, 19, from Fort Worth, Texas, began studying voice at 13 and was a soloist in and he was a soloist in Fauré’s Requiem with the Junior Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth in 2005. He was featured on NPR’s From the Top in 2007.
            For the Curtis Opera Theatre, he has performed in The Medium, Don Giovanni, Iolanta, Le nozze di Figaro, L’elisir d’amore. With other companies, he has sung Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Barrabas, Meet Me at Luigi’s and The Gondoliers.

Concert Information
Audiences will have three opportunities to hear Messiah: Friday, December 4, at 8:00 p.m. at Miami’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral; Saturday, December 5, at 8:00 p.m. at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton; and Sunday, December 6, at 2:30 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets to the Friday, December 4 performance at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral are available at $30 each in advance, $35 at the door through www.MasterChoraleofSouthFlorida.org.

The performance on Saturday, December 5 at Spanish River Church is a co-production with the Boca Raton Symphonia. Reserved seats at $53, $42 and $30 can be purchased through www.bocasymphonia.org or by calling 561-376-3848.

The December 6 matinee is a co-production with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts as part of their all new Classical Series. Individual tickets ranging from $75 to $15 will go on sale October 8 through the Broward Center Box Office, www.browardcenter.org, or 954-462-0222. The concert will be followed by a reception for Maestro Judd and the soloists on the Mezzanine Level. Reservations at $60 each can be made through the Broward Center box office.
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The Master Chorale of South Florida is South Florida's premier classical choral ensemble. The talented singers volunteer their time for the satisfaction of performing the most challenging choral repertoire at the highest artistic level in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

The Master Chorale of South Florida was formed to ensure that world-class concerts of major choral-orchestral works remain a part of South Florida's cultural fabric. Through innovative programming, artistic passion, and superb performances of the greatest music ever written, the Master Chorale of South Florida strives to foster feelings of joy and excitement in the hearts of audiences.

Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, by Funding Arts Broward, Inc (FAB!) and with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Contact:  Nancy Gates-Lee at 954-770-2805
Photos of the soloists and Maestro Judd, and complete biographies, available on request