Success is 80 years in the making for the Rochester Oratorio Society (ROS) as the renowned organization kicks off its 2025-2026 season.
According to Artistic Director Eric Townell, “Innovation and tradition are hallmarks of our 80th season.
Throughout the years ROS has stayed on the cutting edge artistically, with many commissions and important first performances together with great classics. We’ve tried to maintain that legacy in our 80th season, with several Rochester premieres and music written by Jeff Tyzik for ROS alongside masterworks by Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns.” He continues “A great chorus is a force for positive change in the community, reflecting and living out the best qualities of our city and region. Together with all the singers and leadership over the years, ROS has truly made Rochester a richer and better place to live.”
Event schedule:
•Mass in Blue: October 17, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Hochstein Performance Hall – The ROS opens its 80th season in celebratory style with music by Rochester composers and a jazz-inspired mass. Jeff Tyzik’s “Psalm 150” was premiered by the ROS 20 years ago. Hear it in Jeff’s new edition along with Ron Nelson’s “Fanfare for a Festival” and the globally famous “Mass in Blue,” by Will Todd, in its local premiere.
•Arts Connexions presents Alicia Esmeralda Barry: November 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m., First Universalist Church of Rochester – Featuring the music, poetry, and spoken word of Mesoamerica with mezzo-soprano Alicia Esmeralda Barry and storyteller Stephanie Paredes.
•A Joyful Christmas: December 19, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Hochstein Performance Hall – Serenely inspiring music and a world of carols warm your soul this December.
•Arts Connexions presents Inventions of a Dream: February 15, 2026, 3 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – A program of art song, musical theater, opera, and original poetry, exploring Isabel Randall’s journey from her birth in Spain to Broadway to now as a poet and opera singer. Featuring Ines Draskovic, piano.
•The Cry of Jeremiah: March 20, 2026, 7:30 p.m., Hochstein Performance Hall – Mendelssohn’s Christus relates the Easter story through the fragments left to us at his passing. Together with “The Cry of Jeremiah,” by Rosephanye Powell, they make for a compelling and uplifting, Gospel-inspired evening.
•Rochester International Vocal Competition Emerging Artist Prize “Joseph Eduardo” Finals: May 16, 7:30 p.m., Hochstein Performance Hall – Enjoy performances from rising stars live and in person. Then, feel the anticipation as the esteemed judge announces the grand prize winner during this one-of-a-kind evening of opera arias.
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to http://www.rossings.org or call 585-473-2234.
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