Joseph Haydn’s “Theresa” Mass will be performed; Saturday, June 1st 2013 at 12:00 in the Maronite Church in Gush Halav, Israel. Ada Pelleg, conductor; The Mostly Mozart in the Galilee Orchestra; Emek Hefer Choir (chorus master Shimon Lev-Tov); Ira Bertman, soprano; Svetlana Sandler, alto; Yotam Cohen, tenor; Felix Speer, bass-baritone
“Theresa Mass”, one of Haydn's most intimate and lyrical liturgical works, will receive its first Israeli performance at the beginning of June, as part of the "Mostly Mozart in the Galilee" Festival. The concert will take place at the Maronite Church in Gush Halav , which has 700 seats. Ada Pelleg gathered for the task a group of the best Israeli and international players and singers: The Israeli String Ensemble that she directs, with an addition of brass and timpani; Emek Hefer Choir (music director Shimon Lev-Tov,) Israeli soloists: Ira Bertman, Svetlana Sandler, and Yotam Cohen along with the German baritone Felix Speer.
Ada Pelleg is the founder and music director of the Haifa Music Center and the conductor of the Israeli Strings Ensemble. She graduated with distinction from the Chicago Music College (BA in piano performance), and from Indiana School of Music in Bloomington (composition and conducting). She conducted orchestras and choirs in Israel and abroad, including the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, IBA, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival's orchestra and choir, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, The Israel Opera Choir and many others. She was awarded a conducting fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival, a scholarship to study with Frederick Prauznitz at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and a fellowship to a master class with Max Rudolph at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Pelleg received the First Prize in the Molly Margolis Piano Competition in Chicago as well as other scholarships and distinctions. The Israeli Association of women in Management chose Ada Pelleg as "Woman of the year 2006".
A prolific writer and sought after lecturer Pelleg has published numerous articles in professional publications and has lectured in prestigious institutions, including the School of Architecture at the Israel Institute of Technology, London University SOAS, Middlebury College, Haifa University and Indiana University. Pelleg directed the international music festival in Columbia Maryland, founded the International Flute Competition and the international competition for composition, and the Classi-Zfat Festival that further became a whole concert series. In 2006, she rearranged Pink Floyd's The Wall, for a rock band, choir and orchestra. Most recently she completed the Hebrew translation to Histoire du Soldat by the Swiss Librettist Ferdinand Ramos, set to music by Igor Stravinsky, and conducted a special performance with the participation of actors and players of the Israel Philharmonic.
Ira Bertman, born in Latvia, immigrated to Israel in 1992. She was a member of the Israeli Opera’s Opera Studio and the Jerusalem Music Center. Her repertoire includes such roles as Adina in . She performed Adina in L’elisir d’amore (Donizetti) with the Israeli Opera tour to the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She received the Basser, Grabov and the IVAI scholarships. Roles with the Israel Opera include Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Anina in La traviata, Frasquita in Carmen, Niece One in Peter Grimes, Lœna in La belle Hélène and the Voice of a Priestess in Aida.
Svetlana Sandler was born in Russia and immigrated to Israel. She performed in opera productions in Belgium, France and Italy. She was a member of the Opera Studio of the Israeli Opera. Her many roles at the Israeli Opera include Kabanicha in Katya Kabanova (Janacek), Azucena in Il trovatore, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Fenena in Nabucco (Verdi), Jezibaba in Rusalka (Dvorak), Madelon in Andrea Chenier (Giordano), Filipievna in Yevgeny Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, the Princess in Suor Angelica (Puccini) and many others.
Yotam Cohen was born in Israel. His repertoire includes more than 25 leading roles. He has performed in festivals and opera houses in Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and other countries. Among his recent roles at the Israeli Opera Canio in Pagliacci, Artemidor in Armide, Don Jose in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and many other.
Bass baritone Yorck Felix Speer, born in Kiel, Germany, performed under the baton of the greatest conductors in the world, including Philip Herreweghe, Trevor Pinnock, Thomas Hengelbrock, Sir Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, and many others. He performed with most of the important orchestras in Germany including DSO Berlin, the Bamberg-, Hamburg-, Stuttgart-, Basel-, and Munich-Symphonic, Gewandhausorchestra Leipzig, Orchestre de Champs-Elysees Paris, Academy of ancient music Berlin, the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Concerto Köln, the Odense Symph. Orc., Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Basel chamber orchestra, Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin, Munich Bachsoloists, Württembergische, Orquestra Sinfonica de Sao Paulo, Munich Bachorchestra, and also with the Swedish
Radio Symph. Orc. His repertoire ranges from the music of Monteverdi and his contemporaries and until the music of the 20th century. He has performed in prestigious venues including Alte Oper Frankfurt, concert- and the philharmonic hall in Berlin, Cathedral in Copenhagen, Gasteig, Herculessaal and the Prinzregententheater in Munich, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Festival Hall in Baden-Baden, Theatre de Champs-Elyssee Paris, and many others. In recent years he sang St. John Passion, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, Mephistophelles in Schumann’s Faust-Szenen with Hans-Christoph Rademann, and Babi Yar under Enoch zu Guttenberg’s baton.
