Works of Wonder: A Ralston College Concert of Mozart and Vivaldi - Thursday, February 20th at 5:30PM

Event
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Location
Regina Coeli, Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, 222 E Harris Street, Savannah
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“Works of Wonder” is a public concert to take place at the Regina Coeli Hall in the crypt of the Cathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist.

The performance will include two cantatas by Antonio Vivaldi, Nisi Dominus and Beatus Vir; both works are settings of the psalms–composed in praise of the “wondrous works” of creation–for soprano and alto soloists, strings, organ and chorus. The concert will also feature Mozart's masterpiece motet for soprano and strings, Exsultate, jubilate.

The concert will be conducted by Fr Robert Mehlhart, OP, President of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. Architect of the Regina Coeli Hall, Professor Christian Sottile, will speak ahead of the performance about his vision for the Regina Coeli Hall, a space he designed for fellowship, music, and worship in the beauty of holiness.

Building on our successful collaboration with Fr Mehlhart in previous years, including Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Allegri’s Miserere Mei, this performance will offer the Savannah listening public another exciting opportunity to be immersed in the rich musical and spiritual heritage of the Baroque and Classical eras.

About the Conductor

Fr. Robert Mehlhart OP is Preside of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. As such, he serves as rector of the Vatican’s University of Music, located in the Pontifical Abbey of St Jerome-in-the-City. The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (PIMS) trains church musicians and teachers of sacred music, rendering a service to the Church throughout the world. It offers a wide range of courses and degrees and currently has around 200 students from 42 nations.

In 2012, he was appointed Director of Music at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, where he directs the professional choir and orchestra in both weekly liturgical celebrations as well broadcast and concert performances. The acclaimed Vokalkapelle was founded around 1482 as the choir to the Bavarian Royal Court and has one of the richest musical traditions in Europe.

Educated at Regensburg, Vienna, and Oxford, his career has seen him associated with the Rosary Basilica of Vienna, Blackfriars Oxford, and the Arnold Schoenbergchor in Vienna.

Fr. Robert has appeared in many international Festivals, including the Salzburger Festspiele and Styriarte, where he had the opportunity to work with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He has recorded on Sony Classical International and broadcasts regularly on Radio Vatican.

About the Soprano

Praised by critics for “an outstanding level of vocal agility” and “an effortless yet vibrant theatricality,” soprano Kristi Bryson has performed with leading ensembles including the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, I Fagiolini, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Symphony Nova Scotia.

Kristi recently performed Schubert’s Mass in B-flat Major with the Vokalkapelle of the Theatinerkirche in Germany, a solo recital for the University of Public Service in Hungary and was broadcast on CBC radio in a rendition of Sir Roger Scruton’s Lorca Songs. Other recent performance highlights include Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate with Chameleon Ensemble, and a UK recital tour with Douglas Hollick of Haydn's English Canzonettas.

Kristi is currently preparing for the release of her first solo song album with Toccata Next featuring a newly-commissioned song cycle for her voice by composer Oliver Markson.

Kristi trained at the Royal College of Music in the UK (MMus in vocal performance). She is featured as soloist on the University of King’s College Chapel Choir’s albums, in Allegri’s Miserere and Mozart’s Mass in D Major & G Major, and appears on the Opus nominated ATMA Classique album LUX.

About the Mezzo-Soprano

With her “rich, smooth mezzo soprano”, Kim Leeds engages audiences in her exploration of life’s essence through music. As a soloist, she has appeared with Grammy-winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire, Grammy-nominated True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Gramophone award-winning ensemble Blue Heron, Tafelmusik Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Choir, Les Délices, Cantata Collective, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Chicago Master Singers, Handel Society of Dartmouth, Bach Society of St. Louis, and the Oregon Bach Festival.

Over the years, Ms. Leeds has garnered multiple accolades, including winning the Tafelmusik Vocal Competition in 2016, attending the Carmel Bach Festival as a Virginia Best Adams Fellow in 2017, working with Philippe Herreweghe as a Britten-Pears Young Artist in 2019, and being in 2022 a semi-finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition.

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