Read below what the critics are saying...                 ... or click to download Press Releases

Betsy Burleigh, Music Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, conducted her "desert island" favorite, Bach's B Minor Mass, on April 18, 3 pm, at East Liberty Presbyterian Church. She talks about why Bach wrote a Mass that couldn't be used for a service, and that no one asked for, and why it's so rewarding to conduct and hear.   Click to read more, to listen online, or to download the concert program.

On WQED's Around Town: Betsy Burleigh on Bach  
Airdate: April 13, 2010 | listen

Manfred Honeck, the PSO's incredible, new music director, has helped make 2009 a banner year for us. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently recognized our collaborations as 3 of the top 5 classical performances of the year, highlighting the John Adams concert(#4), the Mozart Requiem (#5), and our June performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony (#1). Regarding December's Requiem, Druckenbrod wrote "...at the center was a gorgeous performance of the hauntingly beautiful work by the Mendelssohn Choir and PSO."

Messiah, December 2006

"A new voice for 'Messiah' stood out at Heinz Hall Thursday night when Betsy Burleigh conducted a stylish and moving performance of George Frideric Handel's famous score....The performance featured...well-balanced and robust singing from the Mendelssohn Choir. "

"But the appeal of Burleigh's performance went far beyond roster issues, and the mixed seating of the choir for that matter, to lilting rhythms, well-structured dynamics and clarity in quickly sung passages to convey their expressive quality."

". . . . under Burleigh the balances within the choir and with the orchestra were superb."

"With an exceptionally well-paced account of the final 'Amen', featuring beautifully filled out musical lines, it was the partially understated version of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' that was the most surprising moment of the concert. While some sections were strongly inflected, at other places Burleigh pulled back to favor fluency and light attacks over weight."

Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
> Read complete review


Beethoven's 9th Symphony, June 2007

"Conductor Andrew Davis marvelously marshalled the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in the finale. A fine operatic conductor, he pays meticulous attention to the group, expertly prepared by Betsy Burleigh.  . . .  When tutti, the tone was gentle even when loud, and certainly when meant to be ephemeral."
Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
> Read complete review

Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe
Debussy: Nocturnes
October 2007

"'Fetes' and 'Sirenes'. The latter gained from the wordless utterances of the women of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh"
Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette    
> Read complete review 

"The Second Suite from Maurice Ravel's ballet 'Daphnis and Chloe' provided a raise-the-roof finale, in which tremendous volume was achieved without too much brass, and the choir again was emphatic." 

Mark Kanny TRIBUNE-REVIEW CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC    Saturday, October 20, 2007    
 > Read complete review


Messiah, December 2007

[The Mendelssohn] "exhibited an excellent balance, sonorous timbre and a light phrasing appropriate to the music (helped by the perfect number of singers at about 50). 'And with his stripes we are healed' was particularly impressive."
Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 > Read complete review

"The performance hit its stride with the chorus 'And the Glory of the Lord', with the Mendelssohn Choir singing with impressive exuberances achieved with clarity of rhythm and line."
Mark Kanny
TRIBUNE-REVIEW CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC 
> Read complete review


Holiday Pops, December 2007

"the music often involved clever choices, especially from the top-notch choruses"
Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
> Read complete review 

 

 

"Tortelier captured the elegance of 
Faurés Requiem with balance, tone and tempo,  
but it was the phrasing of the violins and  
the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh that captured me....  
and the rounded, unforced singing and  
the lambent tone of the voices prepared by director  
Betsy Burleigh brought out the goosebumps."  

Andrew Druckenbrod, Classical music critic 
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6-15-08 
Read complete review   -   Read additional reviews