Mid-Atlantic Symphony presents holiday celebration Dec. 1
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Julien Benichou, will usher in the holiday season with an exciting program of orchestral and vocal music, including traditional seasonal favorites and selections from Handel’s "Messiah" and Tchaikovsky’s "Nutcracker Suite" at the Holiday Joy concert, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, at Mariner’s Bethel Church, Route 26 and Central Avenue, Ocean View.
This year, the MSO will showcase soprano Jessica Victoria Bachicha. She is noted for captivating audiences with performances that gracefully combine depth, beauty and charm. As a student at a summer university in Rome in 2001, Bachicha was honored to have the opportunity to sing for His Holiness John Paul II during a private audience. She was a 2003 National Federation of the Blind scholarship winner, and in May 2004 earned a BM in vocal performance and a BA in foreign languages from the University of New Mexico.
Afterward, she spent a year doing research on music and theology at University of Leeds in Leeds, England. She obtained her master’s in vocal performance at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In May 2011, she graduated with her doctorate in vocal performance from the Catholic University of America. In January 2012, she made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall.
She has performed as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s opera "The Magic Flute" at the Catholic University and Violetta in Verdi’s "La Traviata" with the Bel Cantanti opera company. Bachicha gives recitals, master classes and lectures throughout the United States and internationally, and shares the culture of life through collaborative performances with instrumentalists, dancers, visual artists and others.
The concert will also feature dance performances by Vincent Thomas, choreographer and founder of VTDance; Tony Byrd; Linda Garofalo; and Catherine Horta-Hayden; and the audience will be invited to participate in the lively farandole and the much loved sing-along of holiday carols. Individual tickets are $40 adult, $15 student and $5 for children under 12. For tickets and information, call 1-888-846-8600 or go to www.midatlanticsymphony.org where the season brochure and ticket order form can be downloaded by clicking on Tickets.
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, a nonprofit organization, is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Sussex County Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, the Quiet Resorts Charitable Foundation, the Carl M. Freeman Foundation and the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, as well as donations from individuals and corporations.
