The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra will bring “Simple Gifts, Sacred Praise,” to the Broome County Forum Theatre on Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m., the second concert in the 2026 Symphonic Series.
The collaborative show will feature the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Binghamton University Chamber Singers and the Southern Tier Singers’ Collective, along with a quartet of four soloists: soprano Sarah Fleiss, countertenor Samuel Higgins, tenor Landry Allen and baritone Patrick Wilhelm.
Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring (1944, a Pulitzer Prize-winning piece, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Op. 86 (1807) will be performed during the show. Appalachian Spring captures the optimism and frontier spirit of rural America, culminating in the Shaker melody Simple Gifts. Mass in C Major, Op, 86, was commissioned by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II and will be performed by the full orchestra and guest vocalists.
Fleiss won the 2026 Music Fund Society Award in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the 2025 of the Arthur W. Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association. As a part of the Baroque touring ensemble, Le Jardin des Voix of Les Arts Flourissants, for the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 season productions, Fleiss has been described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News. She performs in Les arts flourissants and La Descente d’Orphee aux Enfers by Charpentier under William Christie and in Il giardino di rose by Scarlatti under Paul Agnew.
Higgins has received First Prize in many competitions like the Fidelity Young Artists Competition at the Boston Pops (2018), the National Classical Singer Competition (2020), the Schmidt Lower Undergraduate Competition (2023) and more. Higgins recently played Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which he performed earlier in the season with Curtis Opera Theatre along with the role of Pastore in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. An interpreter of early and new music, Higgins has previously worked with the Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Symphony Pops, ChoralArts Philadelphia and the New England Philharmonic.
Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Allen also recently performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Lysander and Apollo in L’Orfeo. Allen has also appeared as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Northwestern State University Orchestra and Monroe Symphony Orchestra.
Wilhelm returned to Virginia Opera this season to perform the role of Dandini in Rossini’s La cenerentola and as a second-year Gerdine Young Artist who covered the roles of Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Frank in Die Fledemaus. He has previously covered the roles of Richard Loving and Bernard Cohen in the world premiere of Loving vs. Virginia and played Masetto in Don Giovanni, Le Dancaire in Carmen and more. He has also performed with the Wolf Trap Opera as a studio artist.
Children aged 17 and under get in for free. Find out more information about tickets for Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Simple Gifts, Sacred Praise” here.
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