Oratorio, Concerto, and Suite
December 6th, 2025
7:30 PM
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Christ United Methodist Church
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​Featuring
Ninebark Ensemble String Orchestra
Sahar Hassan, mezzo-soprano
Horacio Nuguid, pianist

Program
To Be Announced

The Ninebark Ensemble returns with another joyous program to start our holiday
celebration! Joining in this concert is mezzo-soprano Sahar Hassan to sing
selections from part one of Handel’s Messiah. Also in the program is a keyboard
concerto by Bach and the St. Paul’s Suite by Holst.

The Ninebark Ensemble

Sahar Hassan

​Egyptian American mezzo-soprano Sahar Hassan is “… rich toned and authoritative.” (Star Tribune). She is as an opera singer, chamber musician, oratorio soloist and the artistic director of the Twin Cities based Ladyslipper Ensemble.

As an oratorio singer, Ms. Hassan performed with Twin Cities Catholic Chorale. She was the alto soloist in Franz Schubert’s Mass in C major, Haydn’s Gross Orgelsolo Mass, as well as Missa Brevis in D, Credo Mass and Missa Longa by W. A. Mozart. Additionally, she has been a soloist with St. Catherine Choral Society, where she performed Haydn’s Harmonie Messe and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She has also appeared in productions of An Opera Theatre, Journey North Opera Company, and other regional opera companies.

A recipient of several grants, Ms. Hassan was awarded a 2017 Artist Initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to produce a CD of vocal chamber music. The World’s Highway was released in 2019 on the Centaur label and reviewed by Fanfare Magazine “… we hear the excellence of Hassan’s vocal technique in her evenness of legato and her control when flying high and loud.” She was also a grantee of a 2020 and 2022 Next Step Fund from the Metro Regional Arts Council and the McKnight Foundation, Creative Support for Individuals grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2021 and 2022, to create virtual concerts during the pandemic and in 2023 to produce a live recital, as well as a 2022 Music in Action grant from the Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest to present a program of German lieder. She was a finalist for the 2022/23 McKnight Fellowship for Musicians. 

As an educator, Ms. Hassan She has served on the faculties of Wellesley College, Phillips Exeter Academy, in New Hampshire, New England Conservatory’s Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education, Salve Regina University, in Newport, Rhodes Island, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, in Collegeville, McNally Smith College of Music, as well as the Wellesley Composers’ Conference, where she was a chamber music coach. 
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She earned a Bachelor of Science in French from California State University, Fresno and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, with additional studies at the Versailles Conservatory in France and the College of Music in Munich, Germany. She is assistant faculty at the Minnesota Center for the Alexander Technique.

Horacio Nuguid

With an extensive repertoire, pianist Horacio Nuguid has captivated audiences with his
“beautiful tone” and “elegance.” In addition to several well-known piano concertos, Nuguid has
performed lesser-known works such as Edward MacDowell's Concerto in A Minor, Clara
Schumann’s Konzertsatz in F Minor, Mario Pilati’s Suite, and Ferdinand Ries’ Grand Variations
on Rule Britannia with orchestras in the Philippines, Mexico, and United States. As the pianist
and artistic director of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, Nuguid has been performing
with distinguished artists in the region, earning him the Ardee Award (Mayor's Award) for
Outstanding Artist. Nuguid received his music performance degrees from the University of
Santo Tomas in Manila (BM), the University of Northern lowa (MM), and the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA). As a music educator, Dr. Nuguid has presented master
classes internationally and has served as an adjudicator for piano competitions in Minnesota. He
also has served as artist/faculty at the Young Artist World Piano Festival in Minnesota for over
20 years and has taught as guest artist at the Philippine High School for the Arts. His pioneering
anthology—Philippines Piano Pieces—has been widely received for its scholarly edition of works
by Filipino composers.

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