Our upcoming season features our signature mix of choral classics and contemporary voices, from J.S. Bach’s peerless counterpoint to the world premiere of a newly commissioned setting of 13th century French poetry and a selection of favorite American works from the 20th and 21st centuries.
A Winter Tapestry
Poems, carols, and counterpoint, from Bach to Britten
New Amsterdam Singers begins the season with a concert featuring several beloved choral classics, including J.S. Bach’s motet for double chorus “Ich lasse dich nicht”, Morten Lauridsen’s ethereal “O Magnum Mysterium”, and Franz Biebl’s soaring “Ave Maria” for men’s voices. The women will perform Benjamin Britten’s much-loved “A Ceremony of Carols”, a 12-movement setting of medieval and Renaissance carol texts that offers a wide variety of musical styles and moods. Also on the program: Lauridsen’s “Midwinter Songs”, based on poetry by Robert Graves, arrangements of “Three Yiddish Folksongs” by Viktor Ullman, and Rosephanye Powell’s rousing “The Word Was God”.
Friday, December 13, 2024, at 7:30PM
Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 4PM
Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 4PM – Online stream
An Invitation to the Voyage
Striking settings of French and Spanish poetry
The centerpiece of this concert is the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by composer Philip Lasser. His “La Signification des Lettres” sets a series of 13th century French poems that follow the letters of the alphabet. Continuing with works in French, the chorus will perform two pieces by Haitian American composer Sydney Guillaume that set poems by his father, Gabriel T. Guillaume: “C’est Beau, La Vie” and “Le Dernier Voyage”, both meditations on the joys and pains of life. Also on the program are Gabriel Fauré’s “Cantique de Jean Racine” and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Romancero Gitano”, featuring poems by Federico Garcia Lorca and classical guitar.
Friday, March 21, 2025, at 7:30PM
Sunday, March 23, 2025, at 4PM
TBD – Online Stream
A Few of My Favorite Things
A celebration of new American choral classics
To celebrate her 57 seasons leading New Amsterdam Singers, Music Director Clara Longstreth will return to contemporary American choral works that are among her personal favorites. Those include works by Ben Moore, Michael Dellaira, Ronald Perera, Matthew Harris, Abbie Betinis, and Robert Paterson. Plus, we’ll present four works that are new to the chorus, all by notable Black composers. Those include Undine Smith Moore’s setting of Langston Hughes’ stirring poem, “I, Too, Sing America”, and Marques Garrett’s 2023 work, “Lucis, Creator Optime”, which the composer describes as having “a percussive drive that accompanies elongated chant melody…harmonized by the voices around it.”