Holiday Concert to Benefit Sussex Festival

On Saturday, December 22nd, at 7:30 p.m., tenor Scott Mello will offer a concert, “Home for the Holidays,” in collaboration with pianist Jessica Arnold at Christ Church Newton. The performance will feature traditional Christmas carols along with tunes from a wide variety of genres, including folk, pop, musical theatre and others. Select members of the Children’s Chorus of Sussex County will also perform; audience participation will be encouraged. Tickets are $25 per person, $15 for students and seniors if purchased online, or $30 per person and $20 for students and seniors if purchased at the door. Proceeds will benefit the inaugural Sussex Festival, a newly-established annual summer festival which will bring world-class chamber music, theater, and art to the county seat while highlighting the robust artistic community of picturesque Northern New Jersey. Christ Church is located at 62 Main Street in the heart of downtown Newton.

Mello has toured throughout Asia, Europe, North America, and South America performing music of the baroque through modern day contemporary works. Career highlights include appearances with American Bach Soloists, Apollo's Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Bach Collegium Japan in collaboration with New York Philharmonic, Cappella Amsterdam, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Bach Collegium San Diego. He has toured projects with the GRAMMY®-winning ensemble Conspirare, Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mello holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, New York University, and Yale University. A native of Fredon, New Jersey, and alumnus of Kittatinny Regional High School and the Children's Chorus of Sussex County, Mello currently resides in New York City and is a member of the GRAMMY®-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, under the direction of Julian Wachner.

Jessica Arnold began her career as a professional pianist at the age of 13 when she began accompanying the Children’s Chorus of Sussex County’s Bel Canto Choir. Arnold went on to earn her undergraduate music degree at Seton Hall University and then received a master’s degree in Music in Piano Coaching and Accompanying from Westminster Choir College, where she studied with Dr. J.J. Penna and Rachelle Jonck, and continued studying with Dalton Baldwin in Europe. While at Westminster she was fortunate to perform in Weill Recital Hall and Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Arnold has served as the staff pianist for the CoOPERAtive program at Westminster and chorus master for NJ State Opera. She currently teaches on the music & theatre faculties of County College of Morris, Rowan University, and continues as staff accompanist at Westminster Choir College. A native of Sussex, New Jersey, she is an alumna of High Point Regional High School and the Children’s Chorus of Sussex County

The Home for the Holidays concert will take place at Christ Church, 62 Main Street, Newton. Tickets can be purchased online, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/home-for-the-holidays-with-scott-mello-jessica. For more information, visit www.christchurchnewton.org.