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Internationally Known Vocalists Perform Handel

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Sunday, December 11th, 2 pm, CrossPointe Fellowship Church, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, FL. The Handel’s ”Messiah“ that you know and love with its wonderful choruses and exceptional arias is the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra’s Holiday offering, launching its 24th concert season.

AMICCO is incredibly excited to share this remarkably popular musical masterpiece with you. You may hear about ”Messiah“ sing-a-longs or performances of ”Messiah“ excerpts but a performance of all of the great and memorable moments in the entire oratorio are rare in concert repertory. AMICCO is proud to present Handel’s most famous and beloved oratorio, the oratorio that celebrates the birth, the life and the gift of Christ.

The thrilling power of the work is established immediately by the opening orchestral ”Sinfony“ and the stunning tenor recitative and aria, ”Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” and ”Ev’ry valley shall be exalted“ sung by the amazingly talented Daniel Gerdes. Not to be let down the chorus follows immediately with ”And the glory, the glory of the Lord.“ With that you will be carried musically through this amazing work.

Soloists are: Daniel Gerdes, to perform as Tenor Soloist - Mr. Gerdes, a native of Islip, New York, made his international debut as Paride in Gluck’s Paride ed Elena with Opera Piccola Bremen in Germany and has since performed both internationally and nationally including the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, and with the New York City Opera. He has performed with the Tupelo Symphony, the Florida State University Symphony, the Boston University Opera Institute, and the Santa Fe Opera. Gerdes has received many rave reviews including: CARMINA BURANA ”Carmina makes extraordinary demands on soloists as well, though these were surmounted with great sensitivity and humor by Jan Grissom, soprano; Daniel Gerdes, tenor; and Michael Hix, baritone.“ – Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal MEROLA GRAND FINALE CONCERT ”Daniel Gerdes, a tenore di grazia in the making, lent an exquisite range of dynamics and a measure of pathos to an aria from Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto,“ – Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Classical Voice MEROLA MATINEE CONCERT ”The first half closed with the final Act I love duet from La Bohme in top-class, utterly glowing performances by soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer and tenor Daniel Gerdes, These singers are, again, ready for big-time careers – especially the ringing timbres of tenor Gerdes.“ – Heuwell Tircuit, San Francisco Classical Voice GLORIANA ”...standout featured performers included Tim Mix, Erin Morley and Daniel Gerdes...“ – Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Gerdes’ appearance is made possible through the generous donation of Jan and Nub Turner.

AMICCO Soprano Joy Leitner takes the soprano lead in Messiah. Ms. Leitner has performed extensively in the Opera Theatre, the Kentucky Opera, and as a soloist with the well-acclaimed Louisville Orchestra. After graduate studies in Opera and Vocal Performance in England Ms. Leitner returned to the U.S. to become a regular on the recital and concert stage. Best known for her versatility of vocal style, Joy has performed in many operatic, musical theatre and popular music productions performing with the Kentucky Opera, Brevard Music Center Opera, Opera Tampa, Vero Beach Opera and Orlando Opera. Her past roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Madame Goldentrill in The Impresario, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Blanche in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, principal roles in Strauss’ Gypsy Baron and Die Fledermaus; and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado, HMS Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance.

Robyn Rocklein, Mezzo Soprano, Alto, is known for her vibrant and flexible voice and has appeared as a soloist in England, Austria, Germany, and throughout the USA. Most recently hailed in the Orlando Sentinel for her "winningly devilish Carmen" who brought a "richness of tone in Carmen's arias.“ She has performed with Arizona Opera, Florida Orchestra, Florida Opera Theatre, St. Petersburg Opera, Tampa Oratorio Singers, Opera Tampa, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and St. Andrew’s Bach Society and sung under the batons of international conductors Richard Buckley, Daniel Lipton, Edoardo Mueller, David Stahl, and Anthony Walker. Robyn has also performed with the Kronos Quartet, Barry Manilow, Dick Hyman, Kenny Rogers, John William’s Star Wars in Concert, and Columbia Artists’ Lord of the Rings Symphony as the mezzo-soprano soloist at the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall, and most recently as Celes Chere in the role of "Maria" in the Opera Maria and Draco from Final Fantasy VI in Distant Worlds: Music of Final Fantasy conducted by Arnie Roth.

Joseph Ryan, baritone, has performed with Central City Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy, the Cincinnati May Festival, and Cincinnati Opera. Credits include the Father in Hansel and Gretel (Opera Naples), Monterone in Rigoletto (St. Petersburg Opera), Mozart’s Requiem (Charlotte Symphony Orchestra), Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer (Encore Chamber Music Series), and an appearance with Opera Tampa’s Vocal Arts Festival in their concert of works by Carlisle Floyd, presented by the composer. He has performed with the Sarasota Music Archive, Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, and in Handel’s Messiah with the Brandon Choral Society, as well as the Sarasota Choral Society. Mr. Ryan has sung locally with the Gloria Musicae ensemble, St. Petersburg Opera, and Sarasota Opera's apprentice program.

AMICCO will also present at this concert a composition of holiday songs arranged by Leonard Murphy made possible by a grant from the Woman’s Exchange, Inc.

Season tickets and single concert tickets are available at amicco.org, by phone at 410-812-2468, or the Anna Maria Island Chamber, 5313 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach and, if still available, at the door.

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