William Still News

History may have its eyes on Hamliton, but today, we have our eyes on the history of its stars. Take a deep dive into the career of Leslie Odom Jr., both before and after his Tony-winning turn in as Aaron Burr!

Under award winning director Paige Rattray's considered eye, Sydney Theatre Company opens their 2020 season with Terence Rattigan's THE DEEP BLUE SEA.

I was delighted to hear that the Oratorio Society of New York's world premiere at Carnegie Hall of SANCTUARY ROAD (Naxos 8.559884)--a work for orchestra, chorus and a quintet of soloists--had been captured on disc. Not only is the story worth bringing to a broader audience, but the magic of the work, composed by Paul Moravec with a libretto by Mark Campbell based on the writings of William Still, “a conductor for the Underground Railroad,' merits hearing over and over again.

In celebration of Black History Month, Focus Features and Regal have partnered to offer free screenings of HARRIET in 50 theatres around the United States on Tuesday, February 4, and Tuesday, February 11.  The film depicts the life of one of history's most courageous African American heroes, Harriet Tubman, bringing her story to the big screen for the very first time. For her work as the titular role of Harriet, Cynthia Erivo has been nominated for two Academy Awards®, for Best Actress and Best Original Song for a?oeStand Up,a?? which she co-wrote with Joshuah Brian Campbell. 

The 2018 world premiere performance by the Oratorio Society of New York of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell work Sanctuary Road is now a Naxos Records release (January 10, 2020). Based on the writings of William Still, a 'conductor' on the Underground Railroad who chronicled 'the death struggles of slaves in their efforts of freedom,' the oratorio was led at its premiere by OSNY Music Director Kent Tritle, and featured soloists Laquita Mitchell, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Joshua Blue, Malcolm J. Merriweather, and Dashon Burton.

Follow the inspirational journey of one of the bravest people and heroes in history, Harriet Tubman, as she risks her life to save others from the horrors of slavery in HARRIET, arriving on Digital January 14, 2020 and Blu-rayi??, DVD and On Demand on January 28, 2020 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. With a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes®, HARRIET on Blu-rayi??, DVD and Digital has a variety of compelling bonus features, including deleted scenes, a deeper look into Harriet Tubman's story, and feature commentary with director and co-writer Kasi Lemmons. The captivating and emotional story of courage, HARRIET has been nominated for two 2020 Golden Globe® awards including Best Actress in a Drama for Cynthia Erivo and Best Original Song for a?oeStand Upa?? which was co-written by film star Erivo and Joshuah Campbell. Additionally, the film was nominated for a SAG Award® and a Critics Choice Award, earning a total of three Best Actress nominations.

In 1874, a one-year-old organization called the Oratorio Society of New York performed Handel's Messiah on Christmas night at Steinway Hall, then on East 14th Street. Earlier that year, New York City made its first move to grow beyond Manhattan by annexing the 'West Bronx.'

In 1874, a one-year-old organization called the Oratorio Society of New York performed Handel's Messiah on Christmas night at Steinway Hall, which was then on East 14th Street. Earlier that year, New York City made its first move to grow beyond Manhattan by annexing the 'West Bronx.'

Five guest soloists and the Columbus Symphony Chorus join CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov and the musicians of the Columbus Symphony for The American Festival, performing Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell's monumental oratorio Sanctuary Road based on the writings of William Still, a conductor on the Underground Railroad who helped almost 800 slaves escape to freedom. The program also includes a concert version of Gershwin's American classic, Porgy and Bess.

The 2019-20 season of the Oratorio Society of New York, the city's standard for grand choral performance led by its acclaimed music director, Kent Tritle, is highlighted by two premieres that reflect its 146-year history: the U.S. premiere of a new critical edition of a Brahms masterwork that the Society performed in 1877; and the world premiere of A Nation of Others, an OSNY-commissioned oratorio for soloists, chorus, and orchestra by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell on the subject of immigrants' arrival at Ellis Island.

The Columbus Symphony and Music Director Rossen Milanov today announced the 2019-20 Masterworks series and unveiled its new aspirational initiative-Putting the Star in Columbus.

Well, it's that time of the year again--time for a look-back on what was worth making note of during the calendar year that's about to come to an end. It's from a totally personal, subjective point of view, of course, but frankly that's the way opera-lovers always seem to like it, n'est-ce pas? The productions worth noting come from places big, small and in-between, from composers old as the hills to freshly minted or somewhere in between (likewise the performers), from traditional or boldly modern to simply stand up and sing.

The world premiere performance of SANCTUARY ROAD (subtitled “An Oratorio Based on the Writings of William Still, a Conductor for the Underground Railroad”), by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, performed by the Oratorio Society of New York under Kent Tritle, burst forth from the stage of Carnegie Hall the other night, with energy, humanity and, of course, great musicality from all involved.

World premieres of an oratorio about the Underground Railroad that sets narratives of slaves running for freedom and their lives, and a work that sets poems calling for peace in Farsi, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and English: Sanctuary Road, music by Paul Moravec and text by Mark Campbell based upon the writings of William Still, a conductor for the Underground Railroad; and We Are One for chorus and orchestra by Behzad Ranjbaran, both completed within the last year, will be given their first performances by the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) led by Music Director Kent Tritle as the culminating concert of the OSNY's 145th season on Monday, May 7, 2018, at Carnegie Hall.

World premieres of an oratorio about the Underground Railroad that sets narratives of slaves running for freedom and their lives, and a work that sets poems calling for peace in Farsi, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and English: Sanctuary Road, music by Paul Moravec and text by Mark Campbell based upon the writings of William Still, a conductor for the Underground Railroad; and We Are One for chorus and orchestra by Behzad Ranjbaran, both completed within the last year, will be given their first performances by the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) led by Music Director Kent Tritle as the culminating concert of the OSNY's 145th season on Monday, May 7, 2018, at Carnegie Hall.

In the spring of 2018, choral conducting superstar (Time Out New York) Kent Tritle leads two programs featuring world premieres of works with American themes that are resonating especially strongly today: with the Oratorio Society of New York, Sanctuary Road, an oratorio about the Underground Railroad with music by Paul Moravec and text by Mark Campbell (commissioned by the OSNY) based upon the accounts of William Still, as well as Behzad Ranjbaran's We Are One (commissioned by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra) on May 7; and a program at the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine celebrating the immigrant history of New York in collaboration with early/world music group Rose of the Compass that includes the world premiere of a commissioned work by Robert Sirota, text by Reverend Victoria Sirota, on April 9.

The Oratorio Society of New York has the distinction of having performed Handel's Messiah every Christmas season since 1874, and at Carnegie Hall every year the hall has been open since 1891 qualifying the OSNY's annual rendition of the holiday classic as a New York tradition of the highest order.

Star soprano Susanna Phillips and rising star baritone John Chest join the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) and its music director, Kent Tritle, for a program of two masterpieces of choral music by Brahms to launch OSNY's 2017-18 season on Monday, November 6, 2017, at Carnegie Hall.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, announces its 2017 2018 season of Onstage at the Opera Center, which begins on Thursday, October 5, 2017, and runs through May 2018.

World premieres of works by Paul Moravec and Behzad Ranjbaran that speak to humanity's quest for freedom and peace highlight the Oratorio Society of New York's 2017-18 season, led by Music Director Kent Tritle.