Handel’s Messiah

Mathew Halls was named chief conductor-designate of Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic in September 2022. He returned to Tampere this autumn to conduct Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, before debuting with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris and Minnesota Orchestra, and continuing long-standing partnerships with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Houston Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony. 

Matthew regularly guest conducts the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, Finnish Radio Symphony, Dallas Symphony, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, among others. Recent highlights include Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the Toronto Symphony, the U.S. premiere of James MacMillan’s Fourth Symphony with Pittsburgh Symphony (Matthew previously conducted the world premiere of MacMillan’s European Requiem), and his Chicago Symphony debut. 

With a background in period-performance, Matthew was one of the first to guest conduct Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus Wien. His discography includes Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos directed from the keyboard, the premiere recording of Handel’s Parnasso in Festa (which won the Stanley Sadie Handel prize) and Bach’s Easter and Ascension Oratorios. In the theatre, his operatic credits range from Handel’s Ariodante to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. 

Recognized for her work in the Baroque repertoire, Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin sings Mahler, Britten, and the music of the late 20th and 21st centuries with equal success. She has received prestigious distinctions, including the title of Soloist of the Year awarded by the Communauté internationale des radios publiques de langue française, first prize in the CBC Radio competition for young performers, and the Virginia Parker Prize and Maggie Teyte Memorial Prize in London. Her 2022-23 season includes performances with the Houston Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Quebec Symphony, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy.  

Recently, Karina made appearances in the United States and Canada as soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Philadelphia Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She also toured widely in Europe, giving concerts and recitals in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Britain, including a performance at Wigmore Hall. 

She has sung with the world’s greatest symphony and baroque orchestras under the direction leading conductors and has enjoyed notable opera successes throughout Europe and the United States. In addition, she has sung in recital with pianists Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Michael McMahon, and Roger Vignoles.  

Karina performed Seleuce in Handel’s Tolomeo with Alan Curtis, with whom she recorded Handel operas on ARCHIV/Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin, and Naïve labels, among others. Her recorded performances with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra have earned her two nominations from the Grammy Awards. 

Karina Gauvin has an extensive discography – more than 30 titles – and she has won numerous awards, including a Chamber Music America Award for Fête Galante, with pianist Marc-André Hamelin, and several Opus Prizes. Other recording projects include a European tour and a recording of Handel’s Ariodante for EMI Virgin Classics; a European tour and a recording of Giulio Cesare for the Naïve House, both with Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco; and Britten’s Les Illuminations with Les Violons du Roy, under the direction of Jean-Marie Zeitouni. In addition, she has completed an album in honor of Anna Maria Strada del Po, with Alexander Weimann and the Arion Ensemble. 

Hungarian-Canadian, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó is highly sought after in North America and Europe as an artist of supreme musicianship and stagecraft. She is known for her interpretation of Baroque music as well as her promotion and performance of contemporary Canadian works.  

Krisztina has performed with San Francisco Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, and Wexford Festival Opera. In 2018, she made her Royal Opera and Netherlands Opera débuts in George Benjamin’s new opera, Lessons in Love and Violence, the recording of which received a Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording. 

Krisztina’s career has seen her on all the major opera and concert stages across Canada. She regularly performs with the Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Tapestry Opera, Early Music Vancouver, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. 

She has twice been nominated for Outstanding Performance by the Dora Awards, and performed in Kopernikus (Claude Vivier) with Against the Grain Theatre (Toronto), which won a Dora Award for Best Ensemble.   

Her discography includes New Jewish Music, Vol. 3 (Analekta), Ana Sokolovic – Sirens (Naxos), and Talisker Players Where Words and Music Meet (Centrediscs).  

Digital projects include Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (Judith) with Canadian Opera Company, Tafelmusik’s The Voice of Vivaldi, Festival of the Sound’s Arias and Antics, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with Vancouver Opera, An Italian Baroque Festive Celebration with Early Music Vancouver; recitals for the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and Behind the Keys with Vancouver Bach Choir; and Tapestry Opera’s S.O.S. Sketch Opera Singers. 

Krisztina is assistant professor of voice and opera at the University of British Columbia School of Music.  

Lauded for his luminous projection, lyrical sensitivity, and brilliant coloratura, American-Canadian tenor Lawrence Wiliford is in high demand in concert, opera, and recital repertoire. In 2021-22, he appeared in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with Calgary Philharmonic; and Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Opus 31 with Hamilton Philharmonic. In the 2022-23 season, he joins both the Houston Symphony and National Arts Centre Orchestra for Messiah, returns to Early Music Vancouver for selections by Heinrich Schütz, and performs Bach’s B Mass in B minor with the Grand Philharmonic Choir. 

In recent seasons, Lawrence performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, and the Milwaukee Symphony; Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tucson Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, The Phoenix Symphony; and Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Additional concert appearances of note include Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Music of the Baroque, Louisiana Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de Mexico, Oregon Bach Festival, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Vancouver Chamber Choir; St. Matthew Passion with the Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre Métropolitain, and Toronto Bach Consort; Mozart’s Requiem with the Indianapolis Symphony, Tafelmusik, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra; Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at the Oregon Bach Festival; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the National Arts Center Orchestra; and Beethoven’s Mass in C major and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Houston Symphony. 

Lawrence holds a bachelor of music degree in church music from St. Olaf College, a master of music in vocal performance from the University of Toronto, and a master of arts in media production from Toronto Metropolitan University. He studied at Tanglewood, the Internationale Bachakademie of Stuttgart, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program. He is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. 

With a voice described as “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding” (The Globe and Mail), baritone Tyler Duncan has performed worldwide to great acclaim in both opera and concert repertoire. Throughout his varied career, he has appeared with several of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony. 

Tyler recently performed C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat with the Handel and Haydn Society, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions with the Oregon Bach Festival, and Haydn’s Creation with Music of the Baroque. In addition to these concerts in Houston, upcoming engagements include Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Orchestra Nova Scotia; Apollo e Dafne and Bach’s Ich habe genug with Arizona Early Music’s Tucson Baroque Music Festival; Brahms’s Requiem with Johnstown Symphony; and concerts with Bard Music Festival, Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Aspect Chamber Concerts. He returns to The Metropolitan Opera for its new production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion. 

Past concert engagements of note include Stravinsky’s Canticum Sacrum with the San Francisco Symphony, Messiah with the New York Philharmonic and Ottoawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Mahler’s 8th Symphony and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with the Minnesota Orchestra, Beethoven’s Mass in C with Kansas City Symphony, Schubert Lieder at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson, Bach’s Ich habe genug with Les Violins du Roy, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Lviv Philharmonic, a selection of Bach Cantatas and Jeffery Ryan’s Afghanistan Requiem with Calgary Philharmonic, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Quebec and San Diego Symphonies, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte with Vancouver Symphony, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti with The Orchestra Now at the Met Museum. He has appeared at several music festivals, including the Händel Festival in Halle, Verbier Festival, Bard Festival, Vancouver Early Music Festival, Montreal Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Grant Park Festival, Lanaudière Festival, Berkshire Choral Festival, and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival. 

The Houston Symphony Chorus is one of Houston’s oldest and most distinguished musical organizations.

Over the years, the Chorus has sung with dozens of the world’s most notable conductors, including Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Steven Reineke, Michael Krajewski, Robert Shaw, André Previn, Leopold Stokowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir John Barbirolli, Ferenc Fricsay, Lawrence Foster, and Hans Graf, to name only a very few.

In addition to performances in Jones Hall, the Symphony’s home venue, the Chorus has also delighted audiences in various concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico.

Recent reactions to its performances include:

Classical/Chorus: “…beautifully balanced, modulated sound that seamlessly blended with the orchestra.”
—Review of A German Requiem, Houston Chronicle, May 8, 2018

Classical/Chorus: “… the chorus was magnificent.”
—Review of Stabat Mater, Houston Chronicle, September 27, 2018

The Chorus consists entirely of volunteer singers who have considerable musical skill, vocal talent, and choral experience. They audition for placement each year.  The Chorus performance schedule is possibly the busiest in the country, consisting of up to fourteen different sets of repertoire for a total of 45 concerts.