Tucker Biddlecombe received glowing reviews as the featured guest conductor of Bluegrass Mass, performed last month at Carnegie Hall in New York. The choral concert event featured more than 200 singers performing with a traditional bluegrass ensemble, and included a number of Blair alumni and faculty. New York Concert Review hailed the sold-out performance “a remarkable achievement,” noting that “Maestro Biddlecombe was masterful in uniting the huge combined choir.”
“The opportunity to conduct singers from all over the country is always special, but doing it on the stage of Carnegie Hall brings the experience to a different level,” said Biddlecombe. “I was especially grateful to the many members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus and Blair School of Music alumni who comprised the core of the ensemble. I was also pleased to feature vocal soloists Bethany DiSantis (‘21), Rose (Thompson) and Carl Hellmers (‘19), Matt Tuggle (‘21), and Blair faculty member Jerry Kimbrough on guitar.”
The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass was composed by Carol Barnett with librettist Marisha Chamberlain, premiering in 2007. The work’s blend of the classical mass, modern choral sophistication, insightful poetry, and traditional bluegrass instrumentation has made it a beloved piece performed across the country.
