Local student to perform with N.Y. Philharmonic

Sussex - William Start, son of William and Michele Start of Sussex, will perform Handel’s Messiah with the Westminster Choir and the N.Y. Philharmonic, conducted by Richard Hickox, Dec. 14 through 17 at the Riverside Church in NYC. The performance also will be broadcast nationally Dec. 20 on public radio. Start is a student at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. The Westminster Choir, which has been in existence for 80 years, has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The choir was also the chorus-in-residence for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, for 23 years. The choir’s 2005-5006 season includes several performances with the N.Y. Philharmonic and a March 2006 concert tour of Great Britain, as well as participation in the 2006 Spoleto Festival USA. Recent seasons have also included tours of Korea and Taiwan, as well as a series of performances at the Colmar (France) International Music Festival. Its newest recording, Heaven to Earth, has been released internationally on the AVIE label. Acclaimed by critics for its “full-bodied, incisive singing” (The New York Times), the choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with many leading conductors and orchestras. For information, call 800-962-4647 or go on line to westminster.rider.edu.