The highlight of the season: ARTEK’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, Part 1 and Bach’s Cantata 191, Gloria in excelsis Deo (Bach’s Christmas reimagining of portions of the Gloria from the B minor Mass). Led by the brilliant violinist Cynthia Freivogel, with singers from ARTEK and the Choir of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, and the ARTEK orchestra. Soloists: sopranos Sarah Chalfy, Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Christina Kay, and Clara Rottsolk; mezzo Kim Leeds, countertenor Clifton Massey; tenors Andrew Fuchs and Jacob Perry Jr; and basses Peter Becker and Steven Hrycelak. The Messiah will feature several rarely heard versions of our favorite arias! Don’t miss ARTEK’s take on this familiar masterpiece in a performance informed by the best of historical practices, conducted by Gwendolyn Toth, professor of Historical Performance at The Graduate Center, CUNY as well as the director of both ARTEK and the Saint Ignatius of Antioch choir. Fredric Fehleisen, lecturer, is a noted expert in Handel and the Messiah; he is a professor of music history at Juilliard.