Messiah in the Valley
**Special edition on baroque instruments**
The CSO Baroque Ensemble, Belle Voci and professional soloists present Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Paula DeWit, on December 9 & 10. The CSO Chorus will join them on December 15&16 2023.
This best-loved oratorio includes favourites such as “Hallelujah” and “The Trumpet Shall Sound”. Together they present this glorious oratorio, a musical rite of the holiday season.
One of the special challenges in performing Messiah year after year is to keep the work sounding fresh, as if one had just discovered it. Those in attendance can expect to hear a more detailed, articulate style and quicker tempos based on Baroque dance rhythms and speech patterns.
You have four opportunities to join Music Director, Paula DeWit, their 4 amazing soloists, Sinead White, Erik Kallo, Jonny Michel, and Dave Rosborough. Each Venue has stunning esthetics and beautiful acoustics.
December 9, 2023
Afternoon Matinee- 2PM
Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver
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December 10, 2023
7:30 PM
St James Catholic Parish, Abbotsford
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December 15, 2023
7:30 PM
Chilliwack Cultural Centre
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December 16, 2023
7:30 PM
Good Shepherd Church, Surrey
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Sinéad White, Soprano
Soprano Sinéad White is currently based in Toronto where she has performed with ensembles such as Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Theatre of Early Music and Opera Atelier.
Sinéad was a young artist in the Boston Early Music Festival’s Young Artist Training Program where she was supported by an Early Music America Summer Scholarship. Some notable performances as a soloist include performances of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Kamloops Symphony, Handel’s Dixit Dominus with the Theatre of Early Music, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri with Early Music Vancouver, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Okanagan Festival Singers and Handel’s Messiah with the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra.
Sinéad has received further training at the Ton Koopman Academy, as an Art of Song fellow at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, at the Victoria Conservatory of Music’s summer program and as a fellow at the Sibelius Academy’s Creative Dialogues Program in Santa Fe, NM. She obtained both her Bachelor and Masters’ degrees at McGill University and is currently pursuing her Doctorate at the University of Toronto.
Erik Kallo, Countertenor
Erik Kallo received his Bachelors of Voice Performance at the UBC and a Master of Music at the Royal College of Music in London, England.
In Canada, Erik primarily sang for West Vancouver United Church as a professional soloist and musica intima; a Juno award-nominated self-directed vocal chamber ensemble.
During his time at the Royal College of Music in London, England, Erik performed in Opera Scenes and had done Masterclasses with notable musicians such as:
Ashley Solomon’s Baroque Ensemble Florilegium, Robin Blaze, and Michael Chance among many others.
He also sang the role of Armindo from Handel’s Partenope with Hampstead Garden Opera and was a semi-finalist in one of the most prestigious vocal competitions the Kathleen Ferrier Wigmore Hall competition.
Jonathan Michel, Tenor
Jonny Michel is a lyric tenor and choral director from Langley, B.C. As a classical tenor with a special interest in oratorio
and concert works, Jonny has been featured as a soloist with the UBC Orchestra, UBC University Singers, and with UBC
Opera at Bard on the Beach. He has been featured as a soloist with the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra, the Arioso
Quartet, Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir, the Gloria Dei Chorale, Bella Voci, Chilliwack Evensong Chamber Singers,
United Voices Choir and Kwantlen University Chorus. Jonny made his debut as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion
with the Trinity Western University Masterworks Chorus. He was also featured as a soloist in a performance of
Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes in a celebration of 25 years of the Kwantlen University music program. From 2015-2018
Jonny enjoyed singing in the tenor section with Phoenix Chamber Choir in Vancouver. In the fall of 2021, Jonny made his
debut with Musica Intima, performing in two concerts: Rosa Mystica and Ding Dong!
Jonny has been a music teacher and choir director at the Langley Fine Arts School in Fort Langley, B.C. since 2014. Under
Jonny’s direction, LFAS Choirs have engaged in a number of musical and collaborative endeavours including performing
and recording Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, and special performances with visiting artists. LFAS Choirs have participated in
several invitational festivals, including the UBC Invitational Choral Festival, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Festival, and the
inaugural Beyond the Horizon festival in North Vancouver. Notable performances include a collaboration between the
LFAS music, visual art and dance programs to produce and perform a show inspired by the rock group, Radiohead, called
Radiohead Re_covered, and another original contemporary show, Kind of Orange, both featuring several original
arrangements by Jonny. Other recent highlight performances include a third-place award in the CBC Music Class
Challenge Senior Choir category, and a top-five finish in the Canada’s Top Choirs competition.
Jonny has enjoyed adjudicating and providing choral workshops to choirs at festivals in the Fraser Valley, including at the
Chilliwack Lions Club Music and Dance Festival and the Abbotsford District Choral Festival. Jonny has enjoyed doing
special collaborative orchestra and chorus projects each summer at the Yukon Summer Music Camp, directing honor
choirs with The Salvation Army, and leading workshops with choirs from a number of schools in the Lower Mainland.
Dave Rosborough, Bass-Baritone
David Rosborough is an experienced music educator, conductor, composer, singer and accompanist who is active around the Metro Vancouver area. He has taught at Pacific Academy (Surrey, BC) for 18 years, where he directs two high-school choirs and an award-winning vocal jazz ensemble, in addition to teaching Biology in the IB Diploma Programme. David is the Assistant Conductor of the Phoenix Chamber Choir, one of Vancouver’s top choral ensembles renowned for diverse and eclectic programming from the Renaissance to the contemporary, and for its frequent commissioning and premiering of Canadian and international composers. As a performer, David regularly appears as a chorus member and soloist with the Vancouver Cantata Singers, with whom he has sung for the past 6 years. He has also performed with Pacifica Singers, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Chilliwack Symphony and Chorus, Belle Voci, Rorate, and the Gloria Dei Chorale, in addition to solo engagements as a singer and as a pianist. David has also been highly involved in musical theatre, both at Pacific Academy and with community theatre groups in Vancouver and Abbotsford, serving various roles including musical director, technical director, vocal coach, keyboardist, set designer and sound designer, in shows such as Fiddler on the Roof (Pacific Academy; Gallery 7 Theatre), Beauty and the Beast (Gallery 7 Theatre), and Last 5 Years (Stones Throw Productions). David lives in Aldergrove, BC with his wife, Marianne, and daughters Kaitlyn and Rebecca.
CSO Baroque ensemble
Violin
Chloe Meyers
Grant Sigurdson
Viola
Joshua Gomberoff
Cello
Shin-Jung Nam
Bass
Michael Vaughan
Continuo
Conner Page
Trumpet
Jens Jacobsen
Katherine Evans
Oboe
Marea Chernoff
Lauris Davis
Bassoon
Rebecca Norman
Belle Voci
Soprano
Cassie Luftspring
Veronica Roentetz
Sonja Strimbei
Jaime Rene
Alto
Cara Bergen
Sheila Wright
Erik Kallo
Diane Van der Gucht
Deborah Handley
Tenor
Gerald Cupido
Thomas Bergen
Mark De Silva
Bass
Jim Banman
Bevin van Liempt
Henry Waldock
Christopher Suen
Dave Rosbourough
Chris Gutnecht