Our Performances
Our 2024-2025 Concert Season
The Oratorio Society is pleased to announce our performance plans for the coming season. Bring your family and invite your friends!
December 21, 2024
2:30 & 7:30 p.m. at The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Christmas at The Paramount
This holiday favorite on the Downtown Mall has become a community tradition in Charlottesville. This year’s program will feature Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols with harp along with a variety of arrangements of holiday favorites for everyone to enjoy!
One of The Oratorio Society’s favorite holiday concert traditions is having a local youth choir or music group join us onstage for part of each concert. This year we’ll enjoy the Regents School Cantorum singers join us for the 2:30 concert and Voces Laetae, a community youth chorus led by Will Cooke, will join us at 7:30.
Tickets available at theparamount.net
Can’t make it in person? We plan to offer a Livestream again this year for the 7:30 p.m. performance. Click below to purchase Individual, Couple, or Family level access! A link will be emailed to you at 5:00 p.m. on the day of the concert.
March 15, 2025
10:00 a.m. Workshop & 4:00 p.m. Concert at First Presbyterian Church, 500 Park St., Charlottesville
Together in Song: Music & Poetry
Calling all singers! Community members are invited to participate in a choral workshop with Music Director Michael Slon in the morning, and then join The Oratorio Society singers onstage for their performance in the afternoon. This year’s program will feature Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs as well as other works by a variety of composers including Rosephanye Powell, Libby Larsen, and Morten Lauridsen.
This concert also raises funds for a local non-profit service organization. In 2024, the beneficiary was Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. In 2023, the beneficiary was Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. If you know of an organization that would benefit from this partnership, please contact Christine Fairfield, Executive Director: execdir@oratoriosociety.org. Check back in January for more information!
May 11, 2025
3:30 p.m. at Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia
Bach’s Mass in B minor
Check back soon for more information regarding this production and much more!
Available Online:
Verleih uns Frieden
Felix Mendelssohn
Recorded virtually during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Compiled and produced by Arts Laureate Recordings
“This small piece deserves to be world famous,” said Robert Schumann of his contemporary’s brief but undeniably beautiful setting of Martin Luther’s prayer for peace. Originally slated for performance on our March 2020 Together in Song, members of The Oratorio Society recorded this performance at home. We hope to sing it for you live, very soon!
Recorded and Produced during the 2020-21 season.
The World Called
Music by Adolphus Hailstork
Text by Rita Dove
Commissioned in celebration of our 50th Anniversary, this work stands as one of The Oratorio Society’s proudest moments. Hear the performance on YouTube, including an interview with the poet, Rita Dove, and Music Director Michael Slon.
Testimonial, by David Guinn
Produced July 2020
Christmas at the Paramount
Compiled from archival footage
All performances by The Oratorio Society of Virginia
Michael Slon, Music Director
Since we couldn’t hold our annual holiday favorite in person this season, we compiled recordings of past performances to bring the joy of song to our community during our first, and hopefully final, Christmas season during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the season has passed, the music is still beautiful!
Photo credit: David Perry
Produced December 2020
“…generous and all together moving. Thank you, and your fine musicians and volunteers, for drawing together our community for an hour of wonder.”
— Former UVA president John Casteen