Cecilia Performances in the News

When Britten Met Haydn (2010)

"Presiding over the entire occasion was the generous spirit, intelligence and musicianship of Donald Teeters, one of Boston’s musical treasures. Because of him the music carried the evening, as indeed it always should. In this age of shallow glamor and glitzy personalities, it is a life-changing privilege to experience an evening so focused and full of integrity."

Brian Jones, Boston Musical Intelligencer, April 18, 2010
Transcendent Evening with Boston Cecilia

A Starlit Birth (2009)

"And they [The Boston Cecilia] seemed to set the bar (as they have done for many years) for this season’s classical Christmas scene. The program was ambitious and well coordinated..."

C.A. Gentry, Boston Musical Intelligencer, December 14, 2009

Cecilia Sets Bar with Woodman’s Music for Christmas Concerts

 

Rebeca Cardoso, The Gavel, December 7, 2009

Holiday hub: Boston winter events

 

Joel Brown,The Insider, November 20, 2009

Boston Cecilia celebrates the season

 

Steven Ledbetter, Boston Musical Intelligencer, November 11, 2009

 

Musica Sacra’s 50th Anniversary Concert Offers Brahms Requiem with The Boston Cecilia

 

Bring on Brahms (2009)

"The Boston Cecilia and mezzo-soprano, Krista River, gave a wonderful performance of “nocturnal” art-songs by Brahms..."

Chamber Music Today, May 2, 2009

Boston Cecilia: The Curious Incident of Brahms in the Night-Time

Wheeler's The Construction of Boston (performed and recorded 2007)

"On the whole, an engaging one-hour work, a thoroughly original libretto, and a polished performance."

Carlton Wilkinson, New Music Connoisseur, 2008

The Construction of Boston: Opera in One Act

American Record Guide, November 28, 2008

"Donald Teeters deftly guides both the Cecilia orchestra and chorus behind the principals."

The Construction of Boston

 

Lloyd Schwartz, NPR, December 11, 2008

'The Construction of Boston,' Caught On Disc

Listen to an audio excerpt

 

“Donald Teeters and the Boston Cecilia have returned Scott Wheeler’s enchanting, genre-bending The Construction of Boston to local circulation...I wasn’t at the premiere, but Teeters and his classy cast and players offered the first truly satisfying performance I’ve heard — and it was being recorded by Naxos...Teeters led everything with remarkable sensitivity to both text and musical architecture. And if I ever forget what a superb programmer he’s been over his 39 years of directing Boston Cecilia, remind me of this concert.”

Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix, April 5, 2007

Unmasked

(Note: Cecilia review is 2nd item in the article, titled Unmasked)

 

“'Construction of Boston' is a love note to the city.”

Matthew Guerrieri, The Boston Globe, April 3, 2007

'Construction of Boston' is a love note to the city

 

Handel's The Choice of Hercules (2005): “Teeters planned and conducted the program with devotion and skill, and the musical level he and the performers achieved was representative of the enviable standard he and the Boston Cecilia have maintained for decades.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, November 8, 2005

Cecilia opens with 'Choice' Handel

 

Mozart Davidde Penitente (2005): “[Donald Teeters] is a discriminating musician, and he led a performance that was buoyantly and confidently sung by his chorus, and handsomely played by his orchestra.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, April 15, 2005

Wyner resigns her post at New England String

(Note: Cecilia review is 2nd item in the article, titled Wyner resigns her post at New England String)

 

Brahms Requiem (2003): “Donald Teeters's Boston Cecilia presented a moving evening of Brahms...The collaborating choruses and orchestra performed with buoyant fervor, rising to the challenge of Teeters's broad, spacious tempos, and helped immeasurably by his clarity of textures and rhythmic incisiveness.”

Lloyd Schwarz, The Boston Phoenix, March 28, 2003

 

Brahms Requiem (2003): “...lucid, transparent, flowing, and deeply felt performance”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, March 19, 2003

 

Brahms Requiem (2003): “...wildly successful concert... The audience knew they had witnessed something great, and were proud, too; the performers were awarded a five minute standing ovation.”

Stephen Marc Beaudoin, Bay Windows, March 20, 2003

 

Italian Handel (2002): “Handel's influence felt by superb Cecilia”

Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Globe, Nov 10, 2002

 

Purcell (2002): “Even before the first notes sounded, the Boston Cecilia had a lot going for it Sunday afternoon.”

Richard Buell, The Boston Globe, April 10, 2002

 

Samson (2001): “[Teeters] cast all inhibition aside to explore the farthest emotional reaches of this all-embracing music.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, 2001

 

Samson (2001): “Teeters was at the top of his form, conducting the superb orchestra with unflagging energy...even a little twinkle.”

Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix, Oct 26, 2001

 

Messiah (2000): “Teeters did not shy away from blood and guts vehemence...his performance stressed the dramatic contrasts...the ensemble sang with fervor...a terrific orchestra”

Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Globe, 2000

 

Deborah (1998): “the chorus sang with impressive accuracy, confidence, enthusiasm, and imagination, and the orchestra played with stylistic assurance”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, 1998

 

Best Early Music Performance of 1998: Best Oratorio/Early Music Performance of 1998 - “In a city of first-class choruses it is hard to pick a single winner, but the Boston Cecilia’s performance of Handel’s Deborah under Donald Teeters was one of the proudest moments in its ongoing Handel survey...”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, 1998

 

Joseph and his Brethren (1997): “The Cecilia chorus sang with fire and gusto, inspired by the stellar period-instrument orchestra... His [Teeters’] passionate advocacy animated this neglected masterpiece. This performance was a wonderful gift to us - and to Handel.” (Read full review)

Lloyd Schwarz, The Boston Herald, 1997

 

“Boston is one of America’s great centers of choral music. The annual Handel oratorio performance by the Boston Cecilia under the direction of Donald Teeters, who is celebrating his 30th anniversary as music director, is one of the things that keeps it that way.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

 

Joseph and his Brethren (1997): “...the combined chorus, orchestra, and soloists gave it a distinguished performance.”

Michael Manning, The Boston Globe, 1997

 

“(The performance was) remarkable for Teeters’ assured execution and profound penetration of the work, for the handsome singing of the chorus and for an ensemble of soloists, impressive for its musical, stylistic and expressive excellence.”

Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Herald

 

“It is safe to say that, during Teeters’ tenure, the Boston Cecilia has never given a careless or carelessly prepared concert.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

 

“The Handel series has brought out new qualities in Cecilia music director Donald Teeters; the performance had the clarity and balance one expected, but also the weight, density and sense of destiny that suffuse this great music.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

 

Joshua (1995): “Teeters conducted with magisterial authority and wonderful passion”

Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Herald, 1995