All readings and performances are at the Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland and start at 8 p.m. Season subscriptions are $70; $50 for senior citizens and students.

Details: (412) 621-9893.

BACH CHOIR UPDATE

"I should never have stopped singing," says Matt Dooley, utterly exhilarated Tuesday evening after a two-hour rehearsal with choral conductor Brady Allred at Duquesne University.

Dooley gave up singing 20 years ago as family demands led him to work in administrative positions, but this fall joined the Bach Choir. He is one of more than 70 singers of varying ability who signed up for the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh’s Summer Choral Institute. Tuesday evening sessions through July 9 are devoted to rehearsal and private performance of such works as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s "Coronation" Mass, Francis Poulenc’s "Gloria" and George Frederick Handel’s "Messiah."

All the singers had received a cassette tape and score of Franz Joseph Haydn’s "Nelson" Mass to help them prepare for this week’s work. Dooley was excited because the two hours had flown by as Allred had shown the singers dozens of ways to improve their performance.

Allred, artistic director of the Bach Choir and director of choral activities at Duquesne, conducted, sang, danced and played the piano to make his points. They ranged from little tricks, such as darkening vowel sounds by pushing out the lips, to focusing diction, rhythm and rhetoric by speaking the text in unison. The conductor used humor to lighten the effect of his very efficient pace of rehearsal, and suggested that the singers think of a swinging jazz beat under one quick passage for liveliness. After a break, Allred led the singers through the entire piece.

The Choral Institute also includes weekend sessions, with rehearsals Thursdays through Saturdays followed by public performances:

Registration fees for the remaining sessions range from $35 to $80, depending on the program.

Details: (412) 454-0800.

BACH SOLOIST

When Chen Reiss heard about an audition to sing Johann Sebastian Bach’s "Wedding Cantata" and Cantata 51 with solo trumpet with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, she had only one thing to say:

"I'm on the plane."

"They are two of my very favorite pieces of music on Earth," says this weekend's vocal soloist with guest conductor Martin Haselbock and the orchestra. "Bach is the best. I really love to sing his music."

The 24-year-old Israeli considers herself a light coloratura soprano and sings a wide variety of repertoire. This season, she performed contemporary composer Henryk Gorecki’s hypnotic Third Symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra; the role of Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck’s romantic opera "Hansel and Gretel" in Quebec; George Frederick Handel’s baroque masterpiece "Messiah" with Robert Page in Buffalo, N.Y.; as well as operas by Claudio Monteverdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Israel. She lives in New York City.

Reiss says many aspects of singing are the same in different styles, such as breathing and how vowel sounds affect tone. But she says the way Bach writes is so different from other composers that his music shows its own style.

She’s especially looking forward to performing at two of Pittsburgh’s East End churches. "It will be fun because you can’t really sing pianissimo (very softly) in a big hall with a big orchestra, but in a church with a small orchestra, you can use dynamics in a very free way."

Today's performance is at Third Presbyterian Church, Fifth Avenue at South Negley Avenue, Shadyside; Saturday's is at Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Ave., Shadyside. Both concerts start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50.

Details: (412) 392-4900.