Holidays with Dessoff: Welcome Yule!
Friday, December 8, 2017 at Saint Peter’s Church, Manhattan
Holidays with Dessoff: Messiah Sing
Saturday, December 9, 2017 at Union Theological Seminary, Manhattan
Holidays with Dessoff: Welcome Yule!
Sunday, December 10, 2017 at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Brooklyn
New York City, NY (For Release 11.06.17) — Hailed as “one of the great amateur choruses of our time (New York Today) for its “full-bodied sound and suppleness (The New York Times),” The Dessoff Choirs celebrates the holiday season with a trio of festive concerts. Now in its 93rd year, The Dessoff Choirs continues to wow audiences with its seasonal repertoire and contemporary arrangement of carols performed in some of New York City’s most beautiful churches. This season’s offerings include a sing-in of Handel’s Messiah (the quintessential classical music highpoint of the Christmas season), Bernstein’s Simchu na celebrating the start of Hanukkah, and works by New York City-based composers: Ola Gjeilo, Nancy Wertsch, Gregg Smith, and James Bassi—to name a few. (Program details are below.)
“What better way to usher in the winter solstice than with the lush, warm, and festive sounds of a choir?” asks Malcolm J. Merriweather, Dessoff’s ninth Music Director. “Our holiday concert series is always a highlight of the season for both our singers and audience members. Singing Silent Night in harmony amidst glowing candles and fellow New Yorkers helps shepherd everyone into the holiday spirit.”
Led by music director Malcolm J. Merriweather, the 55 singers will be joined by pianist/organist Steven Ryan as well as audience members of all ages joining in the singing of carols. The two Welcome Yule! concerts will open with Gregg Smith’s motet Alleluia: Von Himmel Hoch, a setting of the chorale tune of the same name. Brahms’s romantic trilogy, Drei geistliche Chöre, will be performed by the sopranos and altos of the choir followed by the full choir singing three motets by living composers Ned Rorem, Nancy Wertsch, and James Bassi. Dessoff will also celebrate Hanukkah with Simchu Nu by Leonard Bernstein as part of the ensemble’s season-long dedication to Bernstein’s centenary. A set of popular carols will complete the concert including a candlelit rendition of Silent Night for all to sing.
Dessoff’s Messiah Sing invites all singers and non-singers alike to join with the choir on the work’s many choruses. According to NewYorkArts.net, “you’ll tingle down to your toes. If you enjoy choral music or simply want to see an up-and-coming conductor/performer with a great future, check out the Dessoff Choirs. And, if singing is even sort of your thing, consider joining the Dessoff’s 2017’s Messiah Sing. Hallelujah!”
About The Dessoff Choirs
The Dessoff Choirs, one of the leading choruses in New York City, is an independent chorus with an established reputation for pioneering performances of choral works from the Renaissance era through the 21st century. Since its founding in 1924, Dessoff’s mission is to enrich the lives of its audiences and members through the performance of choral music. Its concerts, professional collaborations, community outreach, and educational initiatives are dedicated to stimulating public interest in and appreciation of choral music as an art form that enhances the culture and life of our times. With repertoire ranging over a wide variety of eras and styles, Dessoff’s musical acumen and flexibility has been recognized with invitations from major orchestras for oratorios and orchestral works. Past performances include Britten’s War Requiem and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Lorin Maazel in his final performances as Music Director with the New York Philharmonic. Over the course of its 92-year history, Dessoff has presented numerous world premieres, including pieces by Virgil Thomson, George Perle, Paul Moravec, and Ricky Ian Gordon, as well as the first American performance in nearly 100 years of Montemezzi’s opera La Nave with Teatro Grattacielo; and the American premieres of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 5, and Sir John Tavener’s all-night vigil, The Veil of the Temple. Dessoff’s recent discography includes REFLECTIONS, featuring music by Convery, Corigliano, Moravec, and Rorem, and GLORIES ON GLORIES, a collection of American song featuring composers ranging from Billings to Ives. Please visit dessoff.org for more information.
About Malcolm J. Merriweather
Conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather is Music Director of New York City’s The Dessoff Choirs, known for performances of choral works from the pre-Baroque era through the 21st century. An Assistant Professor, he is Director of Choral Studies and Voice Department Coordinator at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Artist in Residence at Union Theological Seminary, and Artistic Director of Voices of Haiti, a 60-member children’s choir in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, operated by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.
Merriweather is also in demand as a baritone soloist, often performing throughout the eastern United States. This past summer, Merriweather led Voices of Haiti in performances with Andrea Bocelli at Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, Italy and for Pope Francis at the Vatican. Future conducting highlights of the 2017-18 season include Handel’s Messiah at Brooklyn College and the Harvard Club of New York; and Leonard Bernstein’s Mass (Concert Selections) and Honegger’s King David at Brooklyn College. Recent conducting highlights have included Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Merriweather holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the studio of Kent Tritle at the Manhattan School of Music, where his doctoral dissertation, Now I Walk in Beauty, Gregg Smith: A Biography and Complete Works Catalog, constituted the first complete works list for the composer and conductor. He received Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and in Vocal Performance from the studio of Rita Shane at the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Syracuse University, summa cum laude. Merriweather’s professional affiliations include membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Choral Directors Association, and Chorus America, and he sits on the Board of Directors of the New York Choral Consortium. Please visit malcolmjmerriweather.com for more information. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @maestroweather.
# # #
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.