Gary the Happy Pirate, 1453 E Main St, Rochester, NY 14609, US

Sixty-four years ago the Rochester Oratorio Society made its debut with the first of its now traditional Christmas season performances of Handel's Messiah. Since that time the ROS has grown under the outstanding leadership of Theodore Hollenbach ( 1945-1986 ) and Roger Wilhelm ( 1986-2006 ), and has become Rochester's premiere large concert chorus. In 2006, Eric Townell joined ROS as its third director. ROS has performed with the European Symposium of Choral Masterworks in Beijing, Paris, London, Salzburg, Mantua, and Verona, as well as at prominent festivals closer to home, including Chautauqua. It has performed under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Pierre Monteux, David Zinman, Mark Elder, David Effron and Uriel Segal and has featured Jon Vickers, Justino Diaz, Maureen Forrester, and William Warfield among its soloists. ROS has offered the Rochester premieres of numerous major works, including Britten's War Requiem, Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand, and John Rutter's Magnificat. For its 50th Anniversary, the ROS commissioned Cary Ratcliff's Ode to Common Things. The society has a long history of collaboration with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, including performances of Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and the Rochester premieres of Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens and Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky. Also, the ROS has enjoyed collaborating with the Chautauqua Institute.