Woonsocket Native To Solo With RI Philharmonic

WOONSOCKET, RI - From Rhode Island Philharmonic: Nicholas Laroche’s passion for music, theater and singing stretches back to his childhood growing up in the City of Woonsocket where he currently lives. He is passionate about local music, and for the second year in a row, Laroche, who graduated from Woonsocket High School in 2003, will be one of four featured soloists appearing in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Providence Singers’ joint performance of Handel’s Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m., at The VETS.

Says Laroche, a baritone, the perennial beloved holiday concert, which features the Hallelujah Chorus, For Unto Us a Child Is Born and I Know That My Redeemer Liveth,“has always spoken to me. It is a treat to get to perform it, especially with such fantastic musicians,” Laroche added. “One of the most beautiful things about Messiah is that, even if you may know the piece or have heard it many times, each performance offers a fresh and nuanced approach which makes it new again. That, to me, is the key to great music—being able to tell a story over and over again, while still making it seem new and exciting to the audience.”

Laroche has been a featured soloist in many oratorio and opera engagements. He is the music director for The Chorus of Kent County. He was an adjunct voice faculty member at Rhode Island College, and was the conductor and director of the Rhode Island College Men’s Chorus. (A full biography of Laroche is below.)

“For 11 seasons – and counting – our community has enjoyed this holiday masterpiece with the Philharmonic Orchestra, Providence Singers and wonderful soloists. We are thrilled to be able to work with so many gifted musicians including Nick, an incredible local talent,” said David Beauchesne, executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School. “Christine Noel conducts a powerful and inspiring Baroque performance of Handel’s masterpiece, to warm the heart at this festive season.”

Tickets are $15–$100, and can be purchased online at tickets.riphil.org or from the RI Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office in East Providence – in person or by phone401.248.7000 (M-F 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). On concert day, tickets are available at The VETS Box Office 3 p.m.–showtime. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Questions can be emailed to boxoffice@riphil.org.

Handel's Messiah with Providence Singers
Saturday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m.
The VETS, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence
Tickets start at $15

Conductor
Christine Noel, artistic director of the Providence Singers

Soloists
Margot Rood, soprano
Emily Marvosh, alto
Matthew Anderson, tenor
Nicholas Laroche, bass

About Nicholas Laroche
Rhode Island baritone Laroche is establishing himself as a new voice in the New England area. Laroche has been a featured soloist in many oratorio and opera engagements, including the Bach B-Minor Mass and St. John Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Britten’s Albert Herring and The Rape of Lucretia, Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmélites and Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Laroche has performed solo and choral repertoire with many area ensembles including Schola Cantorum of Boston, Capella Nova Mundi, Collegium Ancora, Ecclesia Consort, Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra (RICCO), and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Providence Singers. As an avid recitalist, Laroche has produced and performed numerous well-received solo concerts throughout the New England area and abroad, including Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Vienna and Salzburg. Laroche holds a Master of Music from McGill University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of New Hampshire, both in Solo Voice Performance. Recently, Laroche was the director of music ministry at Blessed Sacrament Church in Providence. He was an adjunct voice faculty member at Rhode Island College, where he was also the conductor and director of the Rhode Island College Men’s Chorus. Laroche is the music director for The Chorus of Kent County, in southern Rhode Island.

About the concert

Messiah

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Two hundred and seventy-five years after its first performance, Handel’s Messiah remains the most frequently performed, most beloved work in the choral canon, featuring the Hallelujah Chorus, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth and other favorites. Handel completed the entire composition in only 24 days, and the oratorio has been performed consistently–revised, updated, staged and restored to its “period” form–ever since.

About Providence Singers
The Providence Singers celebrates the choral art through concerts of the masters and contemporary works, creative collaborations, recordings of American choral treasures, new music commissions and education programs. Collaborators include the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Kronos Quartet at the FirstWorks Festival, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New Haven and New Bedford symphonies, Aurea Ensemble and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Written in 2013, Dan Forrest's Requiem for the Living proved to be a powerful work in performance for both the chorus and listeners attending the Singers 2014-2015 season opener. In 2017, the Singers’ members were proud to include Requiem for the Living as the fourth recording in their American Masterpieces collection.

Photo courtesy of Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School