Our Voices

The New York Choral Society, New York’s pioneering symphonic choir that explores unique collaboration and dynamic repertory, announces Our Voices, a digital 2020-2021 season of multidisciplinary art shorts of acapella choral works, November-May. Highlighting the talents of NY-based vocalists, visual artists and dance makers, the season, co-created with a group of innovative contemporary artists and choreographers, features works by a number of noted African American and female composers and arrangers, championing equity and inclusion for both the arts community and its patrons.

Exploring themes of utopian ideals to the deeply personal yearnings for peace and the comfort of love, this 5-part series includes works from the Shaker era to the present, rooted in the choral idiom. This fall, the company will reimagine the Shaker hymn, Peace unto Zion, arranged by Kevin Siegfried. Premiering on November 11, this short will highlight a unique collaboration of choir with multidisciplinary artist, Joyce McDonald, a Visual AIDS artist, weaver of words, celebrated sculptor, painter and staunch activist for AIDS awareness and prevention.

This holiday season, the organization will premiere Adolphus Hailstork’s Carol for All Children on December 15. Working alongside visual artist and dancemaker Brendan Fernandes, members of the choir will be juxtaposed against a backdrop of ballet inspired movements in a celebration of peace, faith and hope—the true reason for the season. Alice Parker’s God is Seen will premiere late winter on February 23 in collaboration with Princess Grace Award recipient and choreographer Claudia Schreier. Written during a period of optimism in America, Parker, along with a balletic movement vocabulary and a New York backdrop ushers in a fresh start of a new year, exploring an insight into the quest for a life of common good, simple beauty, and the hope of a flourishing society.

Additionally, Langston Hughes’s Mother to Son poem arranged by the prolific American composer Undine Eliza Anna Smith Moore invites rising star soprano Gabriella Reyes for their March 16 video premiere in collaboration with choreographer Danielle Russo. A poem that paints the portrait of black life in America composed by way of inspiration of black spirituals and folk music, this collaboration shines a light on history, storytelling and activism in the context of the Black narrative of yesterday and today.

The season will close on May 4 with Invitation to Love; Jennifer Higdon’s choral setting of a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Paired with sculptor, performance-maker and writer Gordon Hall, the artists leave patrons and viewers with an unwavering sentiment of acceptance and inclusion, marching into a season of renewal for a city still healing from crisis.

“The challenge of social distancing – so “unchoral” – has prompted us to consider new ways of creating performances of choral music,” explains NY Choral Society’s Music Director David Hayes. “The digital media space is an exciting opportunity for us to re-imagine performances of acapella choral works in collaboration with contemporary artists and community arts organizations,” he continues. “Although all of our collaborators will be creating and recording their contributions to the productions remotely and without the benefit of in person workshops and rehearsals, this process will challenge collaborators and audiences to reconsider the simplicity and power of these choral works. I look forward to offering a new form of choral performance with this multitude of “voices” from around New York to bring new ways of discovering the relevance and beauty of these choral works”.

SEASON SCHEDULE AND DETAILS

All shorts will be released on both https://www.nychoral.org and the company’s YouTube page

November 11, 2020: Peace unto Zion

December 15, 2020: Carol for All Children

February 23, 2021: God is Seen

March 16, 2021: Mother to Son

May 4, 2021: Invitation to Love

ABOUT THE NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETY

Founded in 1959, the NY Choral Society is hailed as one of the mainstays of the city’s music scene,known for its adventurous repertoire. Committed to presenting a diverse repertoire that spans from well-known choral masterworks, great compositions rarely heard in concert halls, and newer culturally significant choral works, innovative collaborations and exceptional artistry highlight the essential joy and power of live choral music for New York patrons each season. Made up of more than 150 voices, ages 19-90, the choir is led by Music Director David Hayes and has performed at prestigious venues throughout the New York metropolitan area such as Carnegie Hall, and partnered with major arts institutions like American Ballet Theatre, Lincoln Center, the New York City Ballet and Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and many others. From their debut concert at the David Geffen Hall, formerly known as Philharmonic Hall with just over a dozen singers in 1965, the New York Choral Society continues to expand its artistic mission, educational commitment and legacy, bringing choral music into the twenty-first century and beyond.