'A Celebration of Classic Masters'

The Morris Choral Society will present its spring concert, "A Celebration of Classic Masters," Saturday, May 19, at 8 p.m. at the United Methodist Church on the Green in Morristown. 

The uplifting concert will feature excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven'sHallelujah from The Mount of Olives, and the complete performance of Haydn'sLord Nelson Mass.  Choral Director R. Wayne Walters of Parsippany has arranged for a number of renowned guest soloists for the concert, including: 

* Stephen Bryant of Montclair, a bass-baritone, who has sung with the New York City Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Indianapolis Opera, and other companies of renown. In performance with major orchestras from the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra to the Israel Philharmonic and the Japan Philharmonic, Bryant has delighted audiences with an extensive repertoire. 

* Alejandra Garrido of Bloomsbury, a lyric soprano, who has performed with various opera companies throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Rutgers Opera, Pineda Lyric, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Stony Hill Players, Center Stage Opera, The Opera Project, and Opera at Florham. Garrido received her bachelor’s in music, vocal performance, from Rutgers University (Mason Gross School of the Arts) and her master’s in opera performance from New Jersey CityUniversity. Always looking to improve her craft, she has taken opera acting classes with Richard Crittenden and has studied baroque ornamentation with Julianne Baird. 

* Patricia Ruggles of Florham Park, a mezzo-soprano whose singing career ranges from operas to oratorios to recitals. Ruggles has been the soloist in many Baroque works of Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi as well as Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C, and Copland's In the Beginning, appearing with the Morris Choral Society, Ars Musica, and Harmonium. 

The acclaimed 85-member Morris Choral Society was named Outstanding Arts Organization of 2007 by the Arts Council of the Morris Area. Walters, the founder and musical director of the Morris Choral Society, was named the 2002 Outstanding Professional in the Arts by the Arts Council of the Morris Area. Kenneth Donohue of Morristown is the society president. Funding for the Morris Choral Society is provided, in part, by the Arts Council of the Morris Area through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, Local Arts Grant Program. 

Tickets to the Celebration of Classic Masters Spring concert are $25 for adults; $20 for senior citizens; and $15 for children 18 and younger. For further information about the Morris Choral Society or the upcoming concert, call 973-998-7239 or visit www.morrischoralsociety.org.