SPIRIT OF THE SEASON : BACH , CORELLI & VIVALDI
Paul Foster-Williams
Minster , London ’ s Royal Albert Hall and the Cathedrals of Ely , Gloucester , Winchester , and Coventry ; and Sea Pictures at Gloucester and Guildford Cathedrals , St Andrew ’ s Hall , Norwich , and with San Francisco Ballet at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden .
Thomas Cooley
Thomas Cooley
With an acclaimed international performance career spanning over two decades , tenor Thomas Cooley continues to set the standard in his field , delivering memorable performances across the Americas , Europe , and Asia . Cooley has made noteworthy appearances in major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall , Concertgebouw , Konzerthaus Berlin , Berlin Philharmonie , Symphony Hall Boston , Avery Fisher Hall , Konzerthaus Vienna , Walt Disney Hall , and the Kennedy Center , and has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Helmuth Rilling , Donald Runnicles , Teodor Currentzis , Michael Tilson-Thomas , Robert Spano , Franz Welser-Möst , Wolfgang Sawallisch , Osmo Vänskä , Matthew Halls , Markus Stenz , Carlo Rizzi , Manfred Honneck , Jaap van Zweden , and Andrea Marcon . Among Cooley ’ s notable engagements are frequent collaborations with internationally acclaimed orchestras and ensembles such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony , Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig , New York Philharmonic , Copenhagen Philharmonic , National Symphony , Atlanta Symphony , Orchestre Symphonique de Québec , the National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa , Orchestra
of St . Luke ’ s , Trinity Wall Street , St . Thomas Fifth Avenue , Singapore Symphony , Mark Morris Dance Group , the Jerusalem Symphony , and the Osaka Philharmonic .
Renowned as an expert in the works of Handel and J . S . Bach , particularly in the role of the Evangelist , Cooley has performed this repertoire with renowned ensembles such as the Thomanerchor and Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig . He also performs regularly with historically informed groups such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Göttingen and Halle Handel Festivals .
Thomas Cooley ’ s discography includes 20 recordings . An upcoming recording of Bach ’ s St . Matthew Passion , under the baton of Nicholas McGegan , is planned for Avie Records 2025 .
Enrico Lagasca
Enrico Lagasca
Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca is an in-demand vocalist , having performed over a hundred oratorios , new-music works , opera roles , song cycles , and collections . His “ smooth , dark bass voice ” can be heard on five Grammy Award-nominated recordings .
In the 2024-25 season , he makes his debuts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , the Toronto Symphony Orchestra , and the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra . He recently debuted at BachFest in Leipzig and with the San Francisco Gay Men ’ s Chorus with the San Francisco Symphony . In 2023 , he was the resident soloist for the Carmel Bach Festival , and he appears regularly
Alain Lababit with The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra .
Solo engagement highlights include performances with the St . Louis Symphony Orchestra , Portland Baroque Orchestra , Tafelmusik , Ars Lyrica Houston , American Classical Orchestra , Experiential Orchestra , Washington Bach Consort and Musica Sacra New York . He finds joy in participating in concert ensemble repertoire and can be regularly heard in performances with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street , TENET Vocal Artists , Seraphic Fire , Conspirare , Santa Fe Desert Chorale , Bach Collegium San Diego , and Skylark . As a member of the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble , which is committed to diversity and social justice , he participates in creative outreach programming for various communities with limited access to the arts . His performances of Craig Johnson ’ s Considering Matthew Shepard also reflect Enrico ’ s particular interest in works that address the LGBTQ + community .
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM by Jacob Jahiel
Johann Sebastian Bach
Born March 31 , 1685 in Eisenach , Thuringia ( present-day Germany ) Died July 28 , 1750 in Leipzig , Germany
CANTATA NO . 1 FROM CHRISTMAS ORATORIO , BWV 248 [ 1734 ]
Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer who knew how to write on a deadline . While overseeing music for no fewer than four churches in Leipzig , including the famed Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche , he composed a new sacred cantata almost every week for Sunday services and holidays .
Bach ’ s 1734 Christmas Oratorio , unlike his other oratorios , consists not of a single cohesive work to be played over the course of one concert , but rather a series of six sacred cantatas to be performed on feast days between
32 | OVERTURE | BSOmusic . org