ABOUT US
The Rochester Oratorio Society has been inspiring audiences in Western New York with exceptional performances since 1945. The organization serves Rochester, NY and the surrounding seven-county region with a full symphonic choir, live musicians for hire, local education and outreach, and international support for emerging vocal artists.
The Rochester Oratorio Society, founded in 1945, is the leading choral/orchestral ensemble in Rochester, New York, and the surrounding seven-county region. The mission of ROS is to produce live choral music of the highest quality, engaging and educating our community in numerous musical genres, and gratifying our volunteer singers with the professionalism of their art. Led by Maestro Eric Townell since 2006, the Rochester Oratorio Society gives voice to the very best qualities of Rochester and western New York.
Comprising approximately 145 auditioned, adult members in a typical performance season, the ROS presents two to four performances of predominantly well-known masterworks for chorus and orchestra from the 18th-20th centuries. In this role, the ROS has offered the local premieres of monumental works, such as the Berlioz Requiem and Britten’s War Requiem, and many performances of Handel’s Messiah, under the direction of founder Theodore Hollenbach and successors Roger Wilhelm and Eric Townell.
Rochester is our first name; living and singing here affords us the opportunity to celebrate our culture in all its rich variety, to welcome all who share our passion for the full spectrum of choral music, and to serve our community as we give voice to its best qualities.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Maestro Eric Townell is an experienced and creative conductor of operatic, orchestral, and choral repertoire from the Baroque period through the 21st Century. Since joining the Rochester Oratorio Society in 2006, he has led the ROS in a wide variety of concerts, outreach performances, and tours.
ACCOMPANIST
Kevin Nitsch is a pianist, collaborator and teacher in the Rochester area. Kevin is a member of the piano faculty at Nazareth College of Rochester, is vocal coach at SUNY Geneseo and is the Music Director at the Baptist Temple in Brighton. Kevin performs regularly with Rochester Oratorio Society, Finger Lakes Opera, and Lyric Opera.
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Mission and Vision
Learn more about our mission, vision, values, and the 5 components that make up ROS!
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Learn more about our education and outreach initiatives including outreach performances, youth vocal lessons and choir, and our scholarship and fellowship programs.
ARTS CONNEXIONS
Arts Connexions is a concert series exploring the intersection of diverse cultures/ethnicities with classical music. Programs have included:
Freedom Song: When Gospel Came to the Empire
a poignant and moving account of the Fisk University Singers’ historic tour through the US and New York, the UK, and the Continent, told through their original songs for soloists, narrator, Gospel choruses, and jazz combo
Water Ceremony
Asian, Hispanic, Persian, and African-American vocal and instrumental music
The Reaction
Spirituals, Art Songs, and Gospel Music by Black Composers
Visit our events page for upcoming performances
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meet our board of directors, made up of members of the chorus and our community, working together to uphold our mission and vision.
MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES
The ROS has performed concert tours to Italy, Eastern Europe and China; performed a live, one-hour televised concert for WXXI’s “Voices” series; collaborated with the region’s finest vocalists, instrumentalists, ensembles and artists in other disciplines; commissioned and premiered major works; hosted choirs from Canada and from major cities in the U.S.; appeared regionally in concert venues on college campuses, in performing arts centers and churches; and initiated a solo vocal competition of national stature which continues to this day.
Over the years, the ROS has performed for conductors of national and international distinction, including Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Yuri Segal and Christopher Seaman, in engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and at the Chautauqua Institution, where the ensemble has appeared frequently over the years.
The ROS has welcomed a wonderful variety of collaborating ensembles and artists over the decades. Among the notable favorites are: baritone William Warfield; Borinquen Dance Theatre; Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble; Morgan State University Choir; Thomas Warfield and the NTID Dancers; Haudenosaunee Turtle Clan representative Jamie Jacobs; Choreographer and dancer Sean McLeod; BIODANCE; Elena O’Connor, soprano; and numerous youth and academic choirs, including the Hochstein Youth Singers, the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir and the Nazareth Bach Children’s Choir.
COLLABORATION WITH THE RPO
The ROS has long maintained a thriving relationship with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, performing masterworks of Vaughan Williams, Orff, Verdi, Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart and Britten, among many others. The relationship grew significantly (2006) with the arrival of Eric Townell, who brought professional orchestral conducting and choral preparation experience to his role with ROS and who enjoyed a close working relationship with (then) RPO Musical Director Christopher Seaman. This culminated in the 2009-10 season, during which the ROS completed a record four engagements for the RPO, all of which were subsequently broadcast over WXXI radio. In a highlight, the ROS performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philharmonic under Christopher Seaman before three capacity audiences on the occasion of the grand opening of the remodeled Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. Following an acclaimed performance of Handel’s Messiah in 2012 with the RPO under Eric Townell, the ROS was engaged for three performances for the 2013-2014 season and a further four performances in 2014-15, including La Traviata in concert with RPO Music Director, Ward Stare. ROS continues to perform with the RPO regularly and is scheduled as part of their 100th anniversary season finale with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
HISTORY
Learn more about our past concert seasons, browse images, and listen to historic recordings of ROS
