MUSIC DIRECTOR
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DR. JOHN V. SINCLAIR
Conductor
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Dr. John Sinclair has served as Music Director/Conductor of the Messiah Choral Society for the past 36 years and is in his 34th season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Festival Society. He is also Director of Music at Rollins College and holds the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair. He enjoys a national reputation as a conductor of choral masterworks while locally being known as one of the hardest-working and in-demand artists of the Central Florida cultural community. Dr. Sinclair has to his credit over 1,000 performances of the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT and has conducted hundreds of concerts and clinics in many states, including Mass at the Vatican. In addition, he conducted the Moravian Music Festivals, Berkshire International Choral Festivals, and recording projects for Warner Brothers and the Walt Disney Company. A master teacher, Dr. Sinclair has received many awards, including Rollins College’s: the McKean Teaching Award, Barton Teaching Award, Distinguished Service Award, the Arthur Vining Davis Fellowship, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rollins College SGA and his Alma Mater, William Jewell College, honored him with their prestigious “Citation for Achievement.” For two consecutive years, he received the “Outstanding Music Educator of the Year” by United Arts of Central Florida, and he was listed as a Florida International Magazine Power Player in the Arts. Dr. Sinclair founded both the Bach Festival Society’s Arts-in-Education programs and the Rollins College Community School of Music. He earned his undergraduate degree from William Jewell College and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.
OUR SOLOISTS
CAITLIN MOHR
Soprano
American Soprano, Caitlin Mohr’s “powerful and expressive” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) voice, combined with her artistic, and theatrical versatility allow her to flourish in oratorio and opera ranging from Mozart and Handel to vocal works by Libby Larson and Rebecca Clarke. Caitlin has served as the luminous soprano soloist for an array of iconic works including Mozart’s Requiem, Rutter’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, and The Armed Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins. She received great acclaim for singing Fauré’s Requiem with “lovely purity” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and was described by critics as “the most expressive actor” with a “sparkling soprano” in her performance of Vivaldi’s Judith Triumphans. (Orlando Sentinel). As an avid performer of dynamic contemporary compositions, she has premiered works by composers Erica Glenn (Nancy, Weaver of Raveloe) and Paul Sayed (Grace in the Wind). Her selected operatic credits include the title role of Felice in Benton Hess’s Felice, Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), and Giacinta (Orontea). Mohr starred as several of America’s most beloved ingénues in an Enid Symphony Orchestra program entitled A Tribute to the Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Recent art song recitals include American Songbook: Bernstein & Copland, Sehnsucht, A Celebration of Women Composers, Ladies of Note, Courageous Voices, and a lecture recital called Art Songs & Spirituals of African American Women featuring Rollins alumni.
AMANDA CRIDER
Mezzo Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider has been recognized for her “gleaming vocalism” (Boston
Globe), “star acting” (Urban Milwaukee), and “superbly clear diction and warmly burnished
timbre” (South Florida Classical Review). A busy soloist and recitalist, Crider has appeared
regularly with Seraphic Fire, Apollo’s Fire, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the
International Contemporary Ensemble, the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival, the
Symphony Orchestras of Eugene, Savannah, Charlotte, Syracuse, Charleston, Amarillo,
Southwest Michigan and Jacksonville; and Philharmonic Orchestras of Louisiana, Carnegie
Mellon and Greeley. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2007 singing as mezzo
soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and has performed
as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s B minor Mass, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo,
Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C minor, Britten’s Phaedra, Bach’s St. John Passion, and
Messiah. She performed as Second Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera Orlando, and will be
singing with Bach Festival Society in the upcoming Rossini's Stabat Mater. Ms. Crider was a
grant recipient from the Pittsburgh Concert Society, and a finalist in both the Joy in Singing
Debut Artist Competition and the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. She was a finalist in
the José Iturbi International Voice Competition, Recipient of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal
Competition David and Ingrid Kosowsky Award, a 2022 Alumni Enterprise Award recipient
from Music Academy of the West, and is the Executive Director of Roomful of Teeth.
DANN COAKWELL
Tenor
Dann Coakwell has been praised as a “clear-voiced and eloquent … vivid storyteller” (The New York Times), with “a gorgeous lyric tenor that could threaten or caress on the turn of a dime” (The Dallas Morning News). He can be heard as a soloist on the Grammy-winning The Sacred Spirit of Russia (Harmonia Mundi 2014), as well as multiple other Grammy-nominated albums, the critically praised Bruhns: Cantatas and Organ Works, Vol. 1 (BIS 2022), and Mohammed Fairouz: Zabur (Naxos 2016). Coakwell has sung across Europe, Japan, and throughout the Americas, under renowned conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Masaaki Suzuki, Monica Huggett, William Christie, Nicholas McGegan, the late John Scott, Matthew Halls, María Guinand, and Craig Hella Johnson. Having performed in prominent venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, he has also appeared as a soloist with acclaimed organizations such as Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in Germany, Bach Collegium Japan, Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Canada, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, Oregon Bach Festival, Portland and Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Dallas Bach Society, Conspirare, and the symphony orchestras of Orlando, Charlotte, Nashville, Indianapolis, Quad Cities, and Kansas City. Serving on the voice faculty at Ithaca College, Dr. Coakwell also appears nationally and abroad as a guest teaching artist.
STEPHEN MUMBERT
Bass
Hailed as a “Scene-stealer…with an unquestionably evil-sounding bass voice and a knack for staying in character even when he isn’t the center of attention,” Stephen Mumbert is currently an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rollins College and maintains a private voice studio here in Orlando FL. He is a graduate of Stetson University where he holds a B.M. in voice performance, and he also holds an M.M. in opera from The Boston Conservatory. Recent performances include singing Khan Kontchak from Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances in Steinmetz Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a concert of Handel’s Vespers with the Bach Vocal Artists, Mozart’s Requiem with the Riverside Community Chorale and Orchestra as well as with the Dakota Valley Symphony (broadcast on Twin Cities Public Television), Handel’s Messiah with the Villages Philharmonic, Messiah Choral Society, and Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, Jesus in Bach’s St Matthew Passion, BWV 90, and Faure’s Requiem with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the Doctor in the Death of Ivan Ilych, Count Monterone in Rigoletto, Actor 8 in a tour of All is Calm, as well as Marco in Gianni Schicchi all with Opera Orlando, and a new opera project performing the lead roles of Guildenstern in Herschel Garfein’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hopkins in Robert Aldridge’s Sister Carrie staged with the respective Grammy award winning composers in residence. Upcoming local performances include singing as bass soloist for A Classic Christmas, Bach’s Magnificat, and Voices of Light, all with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.
Stephen is thrilled and honored to be returning to join the Messiah Choral Society.
Glory All
Please enjoy this video, captured at our 2012 annual performance.
THE CHORAL SOCIETY CHOIR
The Choir consists of members from all walks of life. It averages about 40 Sopranos, 50 Altos, 20 Tenors and 20 Basses. Many of the members have been with the Society over ten years. Gene Tate, a Bass, has been singing with the Society from its origin in 1973, a total of 45 years, but we welcome fresh faces and voices.
SINGERS
Auditions are not required but a good singing voice is certainly welcome. We would love to have you join us. If you are unable to be a Society singer, then we wholeheartedly invite you to become an Associate Member.
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Whether you sing with us or are a member of our audience, you’ll be sure to have an unparalleled artistic experience, the result of our dedication in performing this most magnificent and powerful musical composition. We look forward to your participation!
OUR BOARD
OFFICERS
President - Rob Landry
Past President - Maggie Winter
Vice President - Heather Cowley
Secretary - Connie Anderson
Treasurer - Frank Lieble
DIRECTORS
Mabel Burridge
Melissa Wiesman
Elaine Pancake
SECTION LEADERS
Soprano - Lee Zaharia
Alto - Becky Williams
Tenor - Alan Ott
Bass - David DiQuattro
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Ad sales - Dick Fess
Awards - Becky Williams
Banquet - Christiana Lacroix
Communications - Alan Ott
Development - Maggie Winter
Hispanic community Liason - Mabel Burridge
Membership - Wendy Landry
Production Manager - Brennan Williams
Program - Melissa Weisman
Publicity - Jane Hinton
Seating - Chuck McGrew
Strategic Planning & Investment Policy - Frank Lieble
Webmaster - Brennan Williams
Website Oversight - Dick Fess