Back-to-Back Sellouts in Scarsdale

The New Choral Society performs two sold out concerts of Handel's Messiah at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church. (Photo credit: Steven Schnur)The New Choral Society (NCS) has done it again.

NCS, in its 58th and 59th consecutive performances of Georg Friedrich Handel’s Messiah, the always well-prepared musical organization once again registered back-to-back sellouts on Friday evening, Dec. 6, and Sunday afternoon on Sunday, Dec. 8, to the delight of its enthusiastic concert-goers of all ages at both events.

The sellouts took place in the Sanctuary at the Hitchcock Presbyterian Church on Greenacres Avenue in Scarsdale.

In his 31st consecutive year at the helm, Maestro Dr. John T. King, artistic director and conductor who founded NCS in 1994, was as usual his energetic self while directing the 48 choral singers and 14 orchestra members who kept their eyes continuously glued and clearly focused on their leader during the performances.

Many of the singers had continuous smiles on their faces for the entire 75-minute performances of the Messiah. They absolutely seemed to be enjoying themselves while performing as the two audiences did the viewing and listening.

One of those steady smiles came from Soprano Liv Redpath, who was the last soloist of four to stand-up and perform. It was Redpath’s debut with NCS, and it was most noticeable that she was thoroughly enjoying her own “very professional” performance as well as the singing of all the other performers and the other soloists.
Redpath, a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School, according to the concert’s program, “has been hailed as possessing such a radiant voice, effortless even in the highest register with breathtaking coloratura, the likes of which have not been heard for a long time.”

The other three Messiah soloists also had their moments of greatness. They included Anne Marie Stanley, Mezzo-Soprano; David Portillo, Tenor, and Sean Michael Plumb, Baritone. Portillo and Plumb appeared by courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Always willing to experiment for a better and clearer sound for his educated audiences, Dr. King for these 2024 Messiah concerts reconfigured the NCS singers in the line-up with the basses and sopranos closely melded together and the same for the tenors and altos. Members of the orchestra were entirely at their familiar posts.

It was indeed another success story for NCS.

Dr. John T. King backstage with soloists David Portillo, Sean Michael Plumb, Liv Redpath and Anne Marie Stanley