Thomas Cooley is a distinguished tenor known for his compelling performances in classical music, particularly in the works of renowned composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. With a rich background in vocal performance, Cooley has captivated audiences through his roles in significant productions, including his recent portrayal of the Evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion, which was part of the 2022 Bach Weekend at St. Clement's Episcopal Church. This event featured a symposium led by esteemed scholars and culminated in a concert by the Cantata Collective. Cooley also showcased his vocal prowess in Mozart's Requiem with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, marking a historic debut for conductor Jaime Martín. His performances in Handel's Messiah during the holiday season have become a cherished tradition, drawing families together for a memorable musical experience. As he continues to build on his impressive repertoire, Cooley is set to engage audiences with upcoming projects that promise to highlight his exceptional talent and dedication to the art of classical music. His ability to convey deep emotional narratives through song makes him a standout figure in the contemporary classical scene.

Singer

EPSG:4326

Handel's Messiah

Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Nicholas McGegan, a titan in the field of early music interpretation, guides the BSO and a team of all-star vocalists through Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, followed by one of the composer’s most beloved orchestral works. Corelli’s concerto, written for Christmas Eve, contemplates the wonder and quiet splendor of the night before, while Vivaldi’s setting of the hymn, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” welcomes the vocalists back to deliver some of Baroque music’s most iconic and inspired melodies. 

Spirit of the Season: Bach, Corelli, and Vivaldi

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

The Music Center at Strathmore

### Event Description: BSO: Baroque Christmas with McGegan

#### Date and Time:
- **Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 8:00 PM**

#### Location:
- **The Music Center at Strathmore**

#### Event Overview:
Join the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a magical evening of Baroque music, conducted by the renowned Nicholas McGegan. This festive concert, titled "Baroque Christmas with McGegan," features a selection of timeless pieces that celebrate the spirit of Christmas.

#### Performers:
- **Nicholas McGegan**, Conductor
- **Sherezade Panthaki**, Soprano
- **Diana Moore**, Mezzo-soprano
- **Thomas Cooley**, Tenor
- **Enrico Lagasca**, Bass
- **Handel Choir of Baltimore**

#### Program:
- **BACH**: Cantata No. 1 from Christmas Oratorio
- **BACH**: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048
- **CORELLI**: Concerto grosso, Op. 6, No. 8, G minor (Christmas Concerto)
- **VIVALDI**: Gloria, RV 589

#### Highlights:
Nicholas McGegan, a titan in early music interpretation, will lead the BSO and a team of all-star vocalists through Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, followed by one of the composer’s most beloved orchestral works. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, written for Christmas Eve, captures the wonder and quiet splendor of the night before Christmas. The evening concludes with Vivaldi’s Gloria, a hymn that brings the vocalists back to deliver some of Baroque music’s most iconic and inspired melodies.

#### Additional Information:
- **Tickets**: Available for purchase on the BSO website.
- **Note**: This event is not presented by Strathmore.

#### Plan Your Visit:
For more information on planning your visit, including directions, parking, and dining options, please refer to the Strathmore website.

Celebrate the holiday season with an enchanting evening of Baroque masterpieces, brought to life by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan.

Baroque Christmas with McGegan

Saturday 09th subscription - OSG Choir - Javier Fajardo - Carlos Mena

Opera Palace of A Coruña

Beethoven’s 9th

Hemmens Auditorium

An intimate and deeply human account of Christ’s betrayal, suffering, and death, Bach’s Passion According to St. John sets scripture and poetry in emotionally moving, expressively beautiful music. Dame Jane Glover leads the chorus, orchestra, and a roster of internationally renowned soloists in one of the greatest sacred works of all time. 

The St. John Passion

Harris Theater

An intimate and deeply human account of Christ’s betrayal, suffering, and death, Bach’s Passion According to St. John sets scripture and poetry in emotionally moving, expressively beautiful music. Dame Jane Glover leads the chorus, orchestra, and a roster of internationally renowned soloists in one of the greatest sacred works of all time.

Harris Theater for Music and Dance

North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie

Music Of The Baroque: The St. John Passion

It’s hard to imagine a more fascinating character to conduct Handel’s Messiah than Nicholas McGegan—unless, of course, you could raise Handel himself to do the job. Regarded as one of foremost experts on Baroque music, McGegan has a scholarly obsession that informs his wonderfully witty writings and stage commentary, making him a favorite of audiences. Experience this beloved classic in the hands of a master, a joy to be shared this holiday season.

Messiah

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Join us as the Symphony performs this great holiday tradition! Nicholas McGegan will conduct Handel’s incomparable classic Messiah. Joining McGegan and the musicians will be the talented singers of Montclair State University, who will delight audiences as they sing the glorious “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Handel’s Messiah

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark

Alexander Hall

For the first time as part of our Masterworks series—behold the power of the music and words of Handel’s most beloved work—the Messiah. With lighting that evokes the original 1742 Dublin premiere. Your Grand Rapids Symphony, Chorus, and vocal soloists will ring in the Holidays with choruses from “Worthy is the Lamb” and “For unto us a child is born” to “Hallelujah,” and solos from “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion” and “Rejoice Greatly” to “Thou shalt break them.”

Handel's Messiah by Candlelight

DeVos Performance Hall

Celebrate the holidays with one of classical music’s most beloved traditions and join the SPCO for our extremely popular annual performances of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. Paul McCreesh and the SPCO will be joined by an all-star roster of vocal soloists and renowned vocal ensemble The Singers in what is sure to be a wonderful musical experience for the whole family this holiday season.


Holiday Concerts: Handel’s Messiah

Basilica of Saint Mary

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

In the 1700s Handel took London by storm, penning hit after hit for what we might now consider to be the West End Stage. Theodorahad all the hallmarks of being the next such hit, but circumstance was to intervene—rather improbably in the form of an earthquake which drove much of Handel’s audience from the city. This masterpiece therefore took a little longer to develop—an oratorio that has a different feel than many of his other works—more contemplative, personal and reflective, and with music of great serenity and beauty. It was rumored to be one of the composer’s favorite works, and on hearing its spellbinding arias—brought to life here by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, tenor Thomas Cooley, bass-baritone Dashon Burton, and soprano Julie Roset in the title role—we are very sure you’ll leave thinking the sam.

Handel’s Theodora

First Congregational Church

First United Methodist Church

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

The first concert of our OSU residency, conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden, features one of Wagner’s most stirring preludes, as well as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with the NY Phil joined by OSU Greenwood School of Music Chorus in the finale’s triumphant song of joy and unity.

OSU Residency: Wagner and Beethoven

Oklahoma State University

Bach’s Easter Oratorio opens with a festive movement featuring trumpets and drums joyfully heralding an Easter celebration.

This triumphant liturgical work portrays a dramatized biblical story through four characters: Maria Jacobi (soprano), Mary Magdalene (mezzo-soprano), and the apostles Peter (tenor) and John (bass). Surprisingly, this masterwork, first written as a cantata for Easter Sunday’s mass, is a reimagined expansion on a birthday cantata he wrote for Duke Christian von Sachsen-Weißenfels just two weeks before the Oratorio’s premiere. He continued to refine and embellish the Easter Oratorio up to the final few years of his life, adding arias and a four-part opening chorus, as well as altering instrument choices for select solos. The result is a superior example of Bach’s artistry and skill.

Bach’s Easter Oratorio invites the listener to indulge in intimate serenades. Solos and duets throughout the piece each offer their own charm, utilizing the unique character of an instrument to illustrate another component of the story. One duet between baroque flute and soprano paints Maria Jacobi (soprano) in dialogue with her own feelings or thoughts portrayed by the flute’s weaving melodic lines.

This performance will feature vocal soloists Clara Rottsolk (soprano), Meg Bragle (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Cooley (tenor), and Dashon Burton (bass-baritone).

Rameau’s Suite from Dardanus includes fourteen delightful musical vignettes. It opens in the spirit of a festive Renaissance dance highlighted by tambourin jingles and rhythmic drumming. The second and fourth movements star the baroque flutes’ floating melodies and luscious oboe lines. Movement five, Rigaudon, boasts captivating rhythmic undercurrents performed by the low strings. The final movement, Chaconne, features the warmth of the woodwind section, bright fanfares in the brass, and virtuosic passages in the strings leading to a satisfying, peaceful close.

Easter Oratorio

Sunset Center Theater

Bach’s Passions are deeply embedded in the Carmel Bach Festival tradition, and the Festival is proud to continue the tradition by presenting St. John Passion in 2022.  The St. John Passion is more dramatic and expressive than the St. Matthew Passion. Because it is shorter, the narrative of the St. John Passion is relentless, visceral, and intense. In fact, this work might be the closest thing to an opera Bach composed.  The oratorio Passion—comprised of Biblical texts enhanced by lyrical arias and chorales—was a relatively new form when Bach created the St. John Passion in 1724. The Passion begins with one of Bach’s finest choruses, “Herr unser Herrscher.” The New Yorker’s Alex Ross has said regarding this chorus: “Whatever images come to mind, the craft that went into the making of the scene—the melodic inspiration, the contrapuntal rigor, the immaculate demonstration of the rules, the insolent breaking of them—is as astounding now as it must have been on that day in 1724 (when St. John Passion premiered). One notable fact about the St. John Passion…is that we have no eyewitness account of the première. If the good people of Leipzig understood that they were in the presence of the most stupendous talent in musical history, they gave no sign.”  These performances will utilize period instruments at Baroque pitch, offering Carmel audiences a similar experience as the congregants in 1724 at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, and will be directed by Associate Conductor Andrew Megill.  “The themes the St. John Passion explores go beyond the walls of any specific church or denomination,” said Andrew Megill. Light versus darkness, truth versus falsehood, how we are constrained by and transcend the bonds of time, and the good and evil that lie within the human heart.”

St. John Passion

Join Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and conductor Jaime Martín— in his historic debut as music director designate — for a spellbinding performance of Mozart’s Requiem and a West Coast premiere from Grammy Award-winning composer Bryce Dessner.

Mozart’s Requiem

Alex Theatre

Royce Hall

The performance will be accompanied by a Symposium discussing the Passion text and religious implications and will include talks by the noted Bach scholar, Michael Marissen, UC Berkeley's Professor Emeritus, Richard Taruskin, and an Introduction and Listener's guide to the work by Harry Gray. The Symposium will culminate in a round table discussion on all aspects of the piece that will include Nicholas McGegan and members of the Cantata Collective. This event is FREE to the public and will be followed by an Instrumental Chamber Concert by Cantata Collective. The Symposium and Concert will take place at St. Clement's Episcoal Church on the afternoon and evening of March 20. The 2022 BACH WEEKEND is generously underwritten by the KAVAH Fund.

Thomas Cooley

Tenor

Events

Past events

Dec 15, 2024

Handel's Messiah · Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School

7 - 8 Dec, 2024

Spirit of the Season: Bach, Corelli, and Vivaldi · Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Future and recently performed repertoire

Tenor in Messiah by Handel

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Tenor in Requiem by Mozart

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Evangelist in Saint John Passion by Bach

Cantata Collective

Tenor in Saint John Passion by Bach

Carmel Bach Festival

About

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