Four Major Concerts Highlight ROS’ Thoughtful and Approachable Season, Including a Rochester Premiere
ROCHESTER, NY — The Rochester Oratorio Society is delighted to announce the four major concerts of its new 2026-27 season. ROS Artistic Director Eric Townell created this concert season to “reflect what our community cares about, continuing to engage, challenge, and delight audiences and ROS members alike.”
All series concerts take place on Friday evenings at 7:30 pm at the Hochstein School of Music.
The season opens on October 30, 2026, with Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. Since it was first heard in 1994, Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus has captured the imagination of music lovers worldwide, thanks to its unique combination of classical principles with the flavors of world and ethnic music. Audiences will be treated to this thrilling Rochester premiere of Adiemus—awarded 17 gold and platinum discs— performed by the ROS Chorus and Orchestra, the Nazareth University Percussion Ensemble, the Roberts Wesleyan Chorale, and a Children’s Choir directed by Carina Telesca. ROS welcomes the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence as its newest Community Charity Partner.
On December 18, 2026, ROS brings Holiday Warmth and Cheer, with some of the season’s most celebratory classical favorites by Bach, Lauridsen, Mendelssohn, and Handel (Christmas portion of Messiah). Audience members are encouraged to make their impact felt by donating a new coat for a child, accepted by Action for a Better Community.
The March 12, 2027 concert blends jazz, gospel and choral music in Passion Music. This modern masterpiece, written by U.K. composer Will Todd, features Gospel soloist Isabel Randall joining the ROS Chorus, Orchestra, and jazz ensemble in a dramatic retelling of the Passion story. It begins with a new setting of Greater Love Has No Man, Stabat Mater—focusing on the seven last words of Christ—and a setting of Were you there when they crucified my Lord? This concert is paired with Rachmaninov’s soaring and sacred Choral Concerto. It features a four-voice mixed choir and draws heavily on the rich traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church and Rachmaninov’s deep love for Russian choral music.
The ROS season closes on May 7, 2027, with A Jubilee of Psalms, highlighting two world-class Black Rochester composers in a thrilling concert. Nathaniel Dett’s The Chariot Jubilee—for tenor, chorus and orchestra—blends the traditional Spiritual with thrilling choral writing. Born in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario, Dett graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1932. Composer, choir leader, pianist, teacher, poet, and writer, Dett was lauded as the first American composer to fuse African-American folk music with the European art music tradition in a sophisticated way. Rochester-born modern master Adolphus Hailstork is one of the most prolific and versatile American composers today, with more than 300 published pieces in every classical style imaginable. His 1997 cantata, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, sets Psalm texts in beautifully compelling and exciting choral writing. It is one of the composer’s best-known works.
For tickets and more information, visit www.rossings.org or call (585) 473-2234. A season subscription is $80 if purchased by October 1. Individual tickets prices are $35/general admission at the door; $30/advanced general admission and $25/advanced for seniors and students.
Additionally, the season also includes ROS’ annual Rochester International Vocal Competition (virtual); its bold and vibrant Arts Connexions Series exploring the rich intersections of classical music with diverse cultural, ethnic, and storytelling traditions; and a fascinating series of hybrid community seminars with local presenters.
