(COLTS NECK, NJ) -- The award-winning Monmouth Civic Chorus presents Mendelssohn's Elijah on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 4:00pm. This is the first full-length performance of this transcendent piece produced by the chorus since 2000.
The music and narrative of this seminal work resonate as much today as ever. MCC president James Scavone says, “This towering oratorio has taken the chorus on a musical journey like no other. From the calm luscious melodies in He Watching Over Israel to the spirited and jaunty The Fire Descends from Heav’n, MCC has captured the emotion and heart of Mendelssohn’s great work.”
First premiered in 1846, Elijah tells the story of the prophet Elijah, his mission to lead the people of Israel back to God, his confrontation with the prophets of Baal, and his eventual ascension to heaven. The oratorio combines powerful choral movements, lyrical arias, and dynamic orchestration, showcasing Mendelssohn's mastery in blending dramatic storytelling with rich, expressive music. Held at the Parish of St. Mary in Colts Neck, the 100-voice choir will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra of professional musicians with the church’s recently installed state of the art organ featuring prominently. Acclaimed baritone Holland Jancaitis of Union Township will take on the role of Elijah.
The performance will take place at the Parish of St. Mary (1 Phalanx Road) in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Tickets for general admission seating are $40 adult, $35 senior, $15 student. Tickets and information about the concert and Virtuoso Fund opportunities to directly support this programming are available at monmouthcivicchorus.org or (732) 933-9333.
Monmouth Civic Chorus makes the music that moves you. The Chorus has been called “near-flawless” (Asbury Park Press), “alive and evocative” (The Star-Ledger) and “superior” (Red Bank Green). MCC is the proud recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, and a third-place winner of the 2018-19 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
Among audiences, MCC Artistic Director Ryan James Brandau is best known for dynamic and uplifting choral and orchestral performances, whether he himself is at the podium or his arrangements on the program. The New York Times hailed his recent debut appearance at Trinity Church Wall Street, conducting its iconic annual Messiah, “the gold standard” against which others “paled in comparison.” For both expert and new listeners, his interpretations are at once resplendent with the past and resonant with the present, earning the Times’ praise as “urgent and eloquent,” “burning and gladdening,” “intimate, alternately sober and joyous,” and, most essential to Ryan’s pervasive artistic intent, “modest yet monumental.”
In addition to his work with Monmouth Civic Chorus, Ryan serves as Artistic Director of Princeton Pro Musica and Amor Artis, a chamber choir and orchestra in New York City. He has prepared choruses for the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony and has taught and conducted at Westminster Choir College, Santa Clara University, and Smith College. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music, a Master of Philosophy in Historical Musicology from Cambridge University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Princeton University.
Holland Jancaitis is a pianist, vocalist, and conductor based in Union Township, NJ. He has been music director of Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church in Maplewood since 2010. From 2007-2010 he was assistant director of choral ensembles at Cornell University. Holland is resident music director for interACT Theatre Productions, for whom he has music-directed Footloose, The Wedding Singer, Pippin, Forum, Legally Blonde, Sister Act, and many others. He maintains an active piano studio and studies voice with Martin Hurt. He holds a DMA, MMA, and MM from Yale University, a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and is currently pursuing studies in Applied Information Technology at Montclair State University. He was born and raised in Waterford, Vermont.
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