WESTFIELD – On Saturday, December 7, at The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, New Jersey Festival Orchestra kicks off the holiday season with a bang and plenty of bling with Return of the Holiday Tenors, a family celebration of traditional and contemporary songs and music, sing-a-longs and more guaranteed to make the season merry.
This year’s concert features The Three Holiday Tenors – Chauncey Packer, Benjamin Werley, and Michael John Butler – who are set to dazzle and captivate with a beautiful selection of renowned tenor classical fare to welcome in the holidays. Their performances of traditional carols a host of wintertime curiosities are also sure to delight.
“We cannot wait to celebrate this special time of year and are thrilled to welcome back The Three Holiday Tenors – each more talented than the next – to help us usher in holiday season,” said Wroe.
Continued Wroe, “These magnificent tenors, drawn from some of the most famous theaters in the country, renowned tenor favorites such as “La donna e mobile,” “Love The, Dearest,” “Mama,” “Volare,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “ Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” and many more. The program is festive and upbeat. It’s a dynamic evening with more ‘top Cs’ than you can shake a stick at!”
The concert features award winning tenors Chauncey Packer, Benjamin Werley, and Michael John Butler to celebrate and captivate with a dazzling selection of renowned tenor arias. Their performance of traditional carols, signature versions of familiar fare and a host of wintertime curiosities is also sure to delight.
Metropolitan Opera’s Chauncey Packer is an exciting and versatile talent on the stages of opera houses and concert halls in Europe and the United States. Most recently Mr. Packer returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Howard Boucher in the highly anticipated Dead Man Walking and reprised the role of Spinner in Fire Shut Up in Bones. He has also taken leading roles with opera companies throughout the United States including Nashville Opera, Mobile Opera, Pensacola Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Pacific, and New Orleans Opera and more.
Chauncey Packer
Award-winning Pittsburgh native Benjamin Werley—praised as having a “gleaming, flexible tenor” (Opera News)—has performed with many of the country’s leading opera companies. Recent career highlights include Cavaradossi (Tosca – St. Pete Opera, Anchorage Opera), Vaudémont (Iolanta – Pacific Opera Project), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore – Dayton Opera), Narraboth (Salome – Dayton Opera), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni – Indianapolis Opera), Canio (Pagliacci – Salt Marsh Opera), and Alfredo (La Traviata – Cleveland Opera Theater) He has also been a soloist with leading US orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Dayton Philharmonic and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Benjamin Werley
Prize-winning American tenor, Michael John Butler, is poised to emerge as a major contender on the international opera scene. With a voice described as having a “bright, ringing quality throughout his range” and a “plush, resonant middle voice with vibrant high notes” (OperaWire), Butler, who has recently performed leading roles with Washington National Opera, Opera Baltimore and in Italy with Teatro Regio di Torino, continues to captivate audiences with his artistry and commanding stage presence.
Michael Butler
The orchestra will also feature a salute to Pearl Harbor Day with a performance of “Victory at Sea” by Richard Rogers.
“We believe there is something for everyone in this concert. Our holiday celebration is a vessel for children, parents, grandparents and friends – indeed the entire community – come together through festive music at this unique time of the year.”
The concert will take place on Saturday, December 7 at 7 pm at The Presbyterian Church in Westfield.
For more information, or to purchase tickets go to www.njfestivalorchestra.org or call (908)-232 9400
Get ready for the New Year with NJFO!
NJFO’s quintessential New Year’s celebration is also back with “Broadway Through the Ages,” a superb revue of American song and dance showstoppers.
Audiences are invited to ring in the New Year and revel in the musical genius of America’s great composers, outstanding vocal performers, dazzling dance numbers and a world-class professional orchestra led by Maestro David Wroe.
A cabaret style event for the whole family, “Broadway Through the Ages,” promises a superb review of musical theatre classics presented in glorious symphonic splendor as renowned guest singers direct from the Broadway stage and dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem join NJ Festival Orchestra to swing to favorites from America’s Great Songbook.
The celebrations are set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, December 31 at Westfield High School Auditorium, Westfield.
This seasonal stroll of timeless classics and sentimental favorites, sure to bring us back together with joy, smiles, and distinctive holiday memories, has been made possible in part by support from The NJ State Council on the Arts, The Westfield Foundation, The Summit Foundation and a Union County H.E.A.R.T grant.
For tickets and further information go to www.njfestivalorchestra.org or call (908) 232-9400.
