Reading Choral Society will be singing Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil on Sunday, April 23rd at Sacred Heart Church in West Reading. This performance will be sung in Church Slavonik, the language of the Russian Orthodox liturgy. RCS will be singing this choral composition a cappella under the leadership of the RCS Music Director, Dr. Graham Bier. This piece has been praised as Rachmaninoff’s finest achievement and “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church.”
The featured soloist is Piotr Buszewski , a young polish tenor who is currently a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Several other soloists including Robin Bier, alto, will be performing during the concert as well as the Reading Choral Society Chamber Choir. The artists are sponsored by the Gertrude Sternberg Concert Fund of the Reading Musical Foundation.
Piotr Buszewski,Tenor
Young Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski is currently a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where this season he will sing the role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. This past summer Piotr performed the role of Nemorino in L’elisir D’amore with Oberlin in Italy. Prior to AVA, he studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Doctor Robert C. White and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Opera Studio in Rome under the tutelage of Renata Scotto. Prior to that Piotr studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Music University in Warsaw.
Most recent engagements include Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Trentino Music Festival, Tinca in Il Tabarro and Flaminio in L’amore dei tre re at the Academy of Vocal Arts. This coming summer he sings the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale at he Brevard Music Festival.
In 2016 Piotr received third prize in the Zinka Milanov International Voice Competition, as well as Special Prize at the Otto Edelmann Voice Competition. In 2015 he was awarded second prize in the Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition and the Hal Leonard Voice Competition. Piotr has sung in master classes with Renata Scotto, Deborah Voigt, Tito Capobianco, and Christopher Macatsoris. He is currently a student of Bill Schuman.
Founded in 1875, the Reading Choral Society is one of America’s oldest musical ensembles, and from its earliest days has pursued performances characterized by vocal excellence and musical distinction. Under its current music director, Graham Bier (the twelfth person to hold this position), the Reading Choral Society continues to evolve and change. Its educational programs now encompass regular performances with invited local high school and college choirs. While continuing the tradition of programming master choral works, the Society has expanded its repertory to include the more frequent performance and commissioning of new music and the exploration of more “popular” literature, like folksongs, spirituals, and musical theater.
The Reading Choral Society is comprised now, as it has always been, of dedicated semi-professional singers from all walks of life with no minimum or maximum age. Determined to present the highest caliber musical performances possible, the Society rehearses weekly in a professional atmosphere, fulfilling the lives of its members by immersing them in great music, and through RCS performances enriching and enlivening the musical life of the greater Reading community.
The RCS Music Director, Graham Bier, will be giving a pre-concert talk at 3:30. At this talk he will explain the music that will be performed at this concert, as well as information about the composer and guest artists. Please arrive at 3:30 for this short preview. The concert will be starting at the scheduled time of 4pm.
Schedule for the day:
3:30 – Pre-concert talk
4 – Rachmaninoff concert
Reception to follow to honor: Soloists; and RCS Scholarship and Awards recipients.
Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at door; Students $10
Tickets may be ordered online or call the RCS office 610.898.1939
For more information, please contact the RCS office.
