Note : I perform nearly all major oratorio repertoire from memory. My aim is always to remove the barrier of the score so the audience and conductor experience direct communication — facial expression, textual clarity, and expressive immediacy. If I reference anything, it is only a printed page with key verbal cues or phrasing marks. A conductor once told his chorus during rehearsal for the Verdi Requiem:   “He understands every word he sings.”   A background in Latin, along with sentence-diagramming of crucial text passages across opera and oratorio, ensures complete alignment of intention, meaning, and vocal delivery.