The World of Dreams

March 11, 2023 · Download this Program
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  • La Frontera - Judith Shatin (b. 1949)
  • Most Holy Night - Carol Barnett (b. 1949)
  • You Can Tell the World - Traditional spiritual, arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)
  • The Road Home - Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
  • To Sit and Dream - Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962)
  • Let's Touch the Sky, a choral suite - Louise Talma (1906-1996)
  • Spiritual Fantasy - Frederick C. Tillis (1930-2020)
  • Charting the World - Dale Trumbore (b. 1987)

Psalms and Carols

The Sounds of Joy
December 7, 2022 · Download this Program
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  • Psalm 84 - Heinrich Schütz (1535-1572)
  • and the swallow (Psalm 84) - Caroline Shaw (b. 1981)
  • Be Glad in the Lord - Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962)
  • Carol of the Stranger - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
  • Christmas Eve - Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006)
  • The Babe of Bethlehem - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
  • Jubilate Deo - Per Gunnar Petersson (b. 1954)
  • Kyrie - Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
  • Jesu, meine Freude - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Dream Keeper

May 20, 2022 · Download this Program
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  • O Praise the Lord - Ulysses Kay (1917-1995)
  • The Lee Shore - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
  • O Praise the Lord - Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
  • We Shall Walk Through the Valley - Negro Spiritual, arr. Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)
  • Sicut Cervus - Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962)
  • I'm Coming Home - Hale Smith (1925-2009)
  • Arise, My Beloved - Adolphus Hailstork
  • Lyric Quartette - William Grant Still (1895-1978)
  • The Dream Keeper - Philip Lasser (b. 1963)

American Voices, Classic and New

March 16, 2022 · Download this Program
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  • Lord, We Give Thanks to Thee - Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)
  • When Storms Arise - Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
  • Harlem Night Song - Tara Mack (b. 1972)
  • as freedom is a breakfastfood - Ronald Perera (b. 1941), SATB arr. Anthony Pasqua
  • In the Middle - Dale Trumbore (b. 1987)
  • Reincarnations - Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
  • Careless Carols - Andrew Rindfleisch (b. 1963)
  • In the Beginning - Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

The Return of Song

December 11, 2021 · Download this Program
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  • The Word Was God - Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962)
  • Quatre petites prières de Saint François d'Assise - Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
  • Winter Cantata - Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)
  • We Will Stand Up - Karen Siegel (b. 1980)
  • O Radiant Dawn - James MacMillan (b. 1959)
  • Deus in adjutorium meum (Psalm 70) - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
  • Wake Me Up, Lord - Uzee Brown, Jr. (b. 1950)
  • Newborn - Christmas Spiritual - arr. John W. Work (1901-1967)
  • Adam lay y-bounden - Howard Skempton (b. 1947)
  • I Go Among Trees - Robert Paterson (b. 1970)

A Century of A Cappella Gems

December 12, 2019 · Download this Program
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  • Only in Sleep - Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)
  • Benedicamus - Urmas Sisask (b.1960)
  • Ave Maria - Per Gunnar Petersson (b. 1954)
  • Adam lay Ybounden - Colin Mawby (b. 1936)
  • Peace Upon You, Jerusalem - Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
  • O Gloriosa - György Orbán (b. 1947)
  • Four Carols - Halsey Stevens (1908-1989)
  • Mass for Double Chorus - Frank Martin (1890-1974)

Tango Mass

May 16, 2019 · Download this Program
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  • Romancero Gitano - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
  • Verano Porteño (Summer of Buenos Aires) - Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), arr. Oscar Escalada (b. 1945)
  • Invierno Porteño (Winter of Buenos Aires) - Astor Piazzolla, arr. Oscar Escalada
  • Misa a Buenos Aires (Misatango) - Martín Palmeri (b. 1965)

The Romantic Spirit: Wild and Tender

March 8, 2019 · Download this Program
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  • Three Songs from Opus 59 - Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847)
  •   Abschied vom Walde
  •   Die Nachtigall
  •   Jagdlied
  • Musica, Dei donum optimi - Carol Barnett (b. 1949)
  • Der Greis - Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
  • Die Beredsamkeit - Haydn
  • Peter Quince at the Clavier - Robert S. Cohen (b. 1945)
  • Im Sommer - Hugo Wolf (1860–1903)
  • Mailied - Wolf
  • Die Braut (from The Isle of Rügen) - Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
  • Der Bräutigam - Brahms
  • Zigeunerlieder - Brahms

Psalms and Celebrations

December 7, 2018 · Download this Program
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  • Exultate Justi - Lodovico Viadana (1560–1627)
  • In Exitu Israel - Samuel Wesley (1766–1837)
  • An den Wassern zu Babel - Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672)
  • Vom Himmel Hoch - Johann Hermann Schein (1586–1630)
  • Hvalite ímia Ghospodne - Pavel Chesnokov (1877–1944)
  • Duo Seraphim Clamabant - Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611)
  • O Maria, Diana Stella - 15th century anonymous lauda
  • Noel! - Steven Sametz (b. 1954)
  • Abendlied zu Gott - Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
  • Wende dich, Herr - Johann Hermann Schein
  • Der Jäger - Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
  • Remembering that it happened once - Doug Brandt (b. 1961)
  • Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
  • O Praise the Lord of Heaven - Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

Rejoice in the Lamb

A Century of Choral Favorites and a Premiere
May 31, 2018 · Download this Program
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  • Nunc Dimitiis - Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
  • Concord; Time and Concord - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
  • Green Broom (from Five Flower Songs) - Benjamin Britten
  • I See; Do You Believe? (from Three Spirituals) - Robert S. Cohen (b. 1945)
  • The Wave Rises - Ben Moore (b. 1960)
  • Rejoice in the Lamb - Benjamin Britten
  • Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal - Traditional, arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)
  • Unclouded Day - Rev. J. K. Alwood (1828-1909), arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)

Hymn to the Dawn

Songs of Serenity and Joy
March 8, 2018 · Download this Program
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  • Agnus Dei - György Orbán (b. 1947)
  • De Profundis - Per Gunnar Petersson (b. 1954)
  • Hymn to the Dawn - Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
  • Evil Shall Not Prevail - Wallingford Riegger (1885-1961)
  • The Creation - Willy Richter (1896-1969)
  • The Old Superb - Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
  • Daemon Irrepit Callidus - György Orbán
  • O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf - Hugo Distler (1908-1942)
  • Sicut Cervus - Nancy Wertsch (b. 1948)
  • Hope and Love - Carson Cooman (b. 1982)
  • Salmo de Alabanza - Andrew Rindfleisch (b. 1963)
  • Walks of Life - Lisa Bielawa (b. 1968)
  • Solfegging - Morton Gould (1913-1996)

Sing, Sing Ye Muses

Choral Classics and a Premiere
December 8, 2017 · Download this Program
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  • Sing, Sing, Ye Muses - John Blow (1649-1708)
  • Duo Seraphim - Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
  • Beatus Vir - Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
  • Ave Verum Corpus - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
  • Rejoice in the Lord Alway - Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
  • Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem - Henry Purcell
  • The Vision - Dominick Argento (b. 1927)
  • Befiehl dem Engel, dass er Komm - Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
  • At a Window - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
  • The Darkling Thrush - Carol Barnett (b. 1949)
  • An Irish Blessing - Andrew Rindfleisch (b. 1963)
  • Break Forth, O beauteous, heavenly light - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Life Is But a Dream

Poetry and folk song inspire modern American works
June 1, 2017 · Download this Program
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  • World, I cannot hold thee close enough - Colin Britt
  • Two Yeats Songs - Ben Moore When You Are Old When I Was One and Twenty
  • Father William - Irving Fine
  • Amazing Grace - Eriks Esenwalds, arr.
  • Fata Morgana (from A Harvard Triptych) - Dominick Argento
  • Workin’ for the dawn of peace - Ron Jeffers, arr.
  • Simple Gifts - Aaron Copland, arr.
  • O Sapo - Stephen Hatfield, arr.
  • Me! Come! My Dazzled Face! - Andrew Rindfleisch
  • When Music Sounds - Ronald Perera
  • Shakespeare Songs, Book Seven - Matthew Harris
  • Life is but a dream - Robert Paterson

Northern Lights

Four Centuries of Spirited Music from Northern Europe
March 17, 2017 · Download this Program
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  • Habe deine Lust an dem Herrn - Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785)
  • Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen - Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
  • Kheruvimskaya Pesn’ - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
  • Northern Lights - Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
  • Two Lenten Motets - Antonín Tučapský (1928-2014) Tristis est anima mea Pater mi
  • Bogoroditse Devo - Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
  • Bleibe, Abend will es werden - Albert Becker (1834-1899)
  • Mundi Renovatio - György Orbán (b. 1947)
  • Die Lotosblume - Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
  • Rastlose Liebe - Robert Schumann
  • Der Tambour - Hugo Distler (1908-1942)
  • Sag mir, Gott - Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
  • Gram zernagt, mein Herzchen - Bohuslav Martinů
  • Ave Maria - József Karai (1927-2013)
  • Ave Maria - Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson (b. 1952)
  • Cor Mundum - György Orbán
  • Der Herr ist meine stärke - Gottfried August Homilius

O Magnum Mysterium

Renaissance and Contemporary Meditations on the Season
December 16, 2016 · Download this Program
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  • Missa O Magnum Mysterium - Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
  • Pueri, concinite - Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
  • Qué buen año es el del cielo! - Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599)
  • Sacerdotes Domini - William Byrd (1539-1623)
  • The Mirthful Heart - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
  • Spaseniye sodelal - Pavel Chesnokov (1877-1944)
  • Hallelu! - Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
  • La virgen lava pañales - Traditional Spanish, arr. Parker & Shaw
  • Brightest and Best - A Southern Harmony, arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
  • O Jesulein Süß - J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
  • Mirabile Mysterium - Jacob Handl
  • Resonet in Laudibus - Jacob Handl
  • Lux Aurumque - Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
  • Adam lay y-bounden - Howard Skempton (b. 1947)
  • Christmas Eve - Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006)
  • Thou hast turned my laments into dancing - Daniel Pinkham
  • O Magnum Mysterium - Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
  • O Magnum Mysterium - Tomás Luis de Victoria

The Good Earth

New music for the land and its fragile glory
May 22, 2016 · Download this Program
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Three Choral Works on Poems of Anne Campbell - Thomas Schudel (b. 1937) Three by Langston - Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1956) Choral Suite from A New Earth - Robert Paterson (b. 1970) Green Music - Kirke Mechem (b. 1925) Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980) Jabberwocky - Judith Shatin (b. 1949) Bring Me the Sunset in a Cup - Ronald Perera (b. 1941) Daybreak in Alabama - Kirke Mechem Hallelujah - Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970) This Amazing Day - Mark Kilstofte (b. 1958)

Frank Martin – Golgotha

March 13, 2016 · Download this Program
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Golgotha - An oratorio according to the Evangelists and texts of St. Augustine, for chorus and orchestra - Frank Martin (1890 - 1974)

The Mass, The Dance, The Feast

December 13, 2015 · Download this Program
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Missa Brevis - Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) Missa Cantorum - Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) Missa Brevis in D - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Ave Maris Stella - Lajos Bárdos (1899-1986) Regina Caeli - Cecilia McDowell (b. 1951) Bethlehem Down - Peter Warlock (1894-1930) Tomorrow shall be my dancing day - David Willcocks, arr. (1919-2015) Our Joyful'st Feast - Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) Fürchte dich nicht - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Poems, Letters, and Premieres

Major Works by Dellaira, Effiger, and Whitacre for chorus and winds on poetry of Joyce, Dickinson, Rilke, and stirring letters of van Gogh
May 28, 2015 · Download this Program
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Petites Voix - Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) She Weeps Over Rahoon - Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) French Choruses from The Lark - Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Drinking Song (samba) - Matthew Harris (b. 1956) Nobody - Michael Dellaira (b. 1949) Six Chansons - Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) Dear Theo - Ben Moore (b. 1960) Four Pastorales - Cecil Effinger (1914-1990)

New American Romantics

Composers of Our Time on Poems of Frost, Yeats, Agee, Graves, and Hardy
March 8, 2015 · Download this Program
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North Country - Ronald Perera (b. 1941) If Music and Sweet Poetry Agree - Matthew Harris (b. 1956) Prayers for Wind - Elizabeth Lim (b. 1986) Sure on This Shining Night - Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) O Love, Be Fed with Apples While You May - Morten Lauridsen Let Evening Come - Donald Grantham (b. 1947) A Valediction - Donald Grantham The Lake Isle of Innisfree - Ben Moore (b. 1960) Three Choruses from Tess - Matthew Harris So I’ll Sing with My Voice - Dominick Argento (b. 1927)

Sing with the Spirit

Bach, Gabrieli, Harp, and Brass
December 14, 2014 · Download this Program
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Jubilate Deo - Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612) And the Song Am I - Abbie Betinis (b. 1980) Quatres petites prières de St. François d’Assise - Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Sing with the Spirit, From The Garment of Praise - Randall Thompson (1899-1984) Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied - J.S. Bach (1685-1750) O Lieber Herre Gott - Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Irish Lullaby for the Christ Child - Gaelic - arr. Steven Sametz (b. 1954) Nova, nova, ave fit ex Eva - Williametta Spencer (b. 1932) Seven Joys of Christmas - Kirke Mechem (b. 1925) Jubilemus deo salutari nostro - Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b. 1963) Christmas Cantata - Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006)

Full Fathom Five

Shakespeare in Song
May 22, 2014 · Download this Program
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Four Shakespeare Songs - Knud Jeppesen (1892-1974) Three Shakespeare Songs - Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Songs of Ariel - Frank Martin (1890-1974) O Mistress Mine - Robert Washburn (1928-2013) Chimes at Midnight - Alaric Jans (b. 1949) Chantey - Tom Benjamin (b. 1940) La Mort d'Ophélie (the Death of Ophelia) - Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) Four Shakespeare Songs - Jaako Mäntyjärví (b. 1963) O Mistress Mine - György Orbán (b. 1947)

Calamity and Consolation: From Darkness to Light

March 9, 2014 · Download this Program
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We who with songs - Howard Skempton (b. 1947) Ubi Caritas - Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978) Warum ist das Licht gegeben - Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Beati Mortui - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1947) Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae - Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b. 1963) Musikalische Exequien - Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)

A Ceremony of Britten

Carols, Hymns, and Lullabies
December 15, 2013 · Download this Program
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A.M.D.G. (Ad majorem Dei gloriam) - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
A Shepherd's Carol - Benjamin Britten
A Wealdon Trio (The Song of the Women) - Benjamin Britten
A Ceremony of Carols - Benjamin Britten
Psaume 121 - Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
Ave Maria - Franz Biebl (1906-2001)
I Wonder as I Wander - arr. John Jacob Niles (1892-1980)
A Hymn to the Virgin - Benjamin Britten
Carols and Lullabies (Christmas in the Southwest) - Conrad Susa (1935-2013)

Premiere!

American Poetry Settings
May 23, 2013 · Download this Program
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The Star in the Pail - Ronald Perera (b. 1941) Travelers - Alex Weiser (b. 1989) Tempest - Elizabeth Lim (b. 1986) Three Plums - Matthew Harris (b. 1956) A Farewell to Arms - Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012) Carols of Death - William Schuman (1910-1992) Shenandoah - American Folk Song, arr. James Erb Healing River - Fred Hellerman, arr. Sheena Philips Fantasy on La Bamba - Matthew Harris

Passion and Protest

Music of Eastern Europe
March 3, 2013 · Download this Program
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Six Hungarian Songs - Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Cantemus! - Lajos Bárdos (1899-1986) Fölszállott a páva (The peacock) - Zoltán Kodály (1882-1969) Le forgeron (The blacksmith) - Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Zauberspruch den Liebsten zu Beschwören - Petr Eben (1929-2007) Festive (from Where the Wind is Blowing) - Alla Borzova (b. 1961) Unsere Liebe (Our love) - Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) Four Madrigals on Moravian Folk Songs - Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) Four Songs - Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915)

Comfort and Joy

Six Centuries of Sacred Song
December 9, 2012 · Download this Program
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Antiphon - Randall Thompson (1899-1984) Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren - Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) The God of Glory - Judith Shatin (b.1948) Ich lasse dich nicht - J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Quem pastores laudavere - James Bassi (b.1961) A Christmas Carol - Sheena Phillips (b.1958) Patapan! (New York premiere) - trad. French, arr. Sheena Phillips Mary and Gabriel - Abbie Betinis (b.1980) Die mit tränen säen - Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Ein Kind ist uns geboren - Heinrich Schütz Regina Caeli - Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) Wach auf - Carl Rütti (b.1949) Missa Brevis - James MacMillan (b.1959)

Songs of Birds and Angels

May 31, 2012 · Download this Program
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Lark - Aaron Copland (1900-1990) The Caged Bird - Kirke Mechem (b. 1925) Die Erste Elegie - Einhjuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) O Süsser Mai! (from Op. 93a)- Johannes Brahms (1883-1897) Fahr Wohl! - Johannes Brahms Der Falke - Johannes Brahms The Lark in the Clear Air - Irish traditional, arr. Paul Crabtree (b. 1960) Shakespeare Songs, Book VI (New York City premiére) - Matthew Harris (br. 1956)   When Daisies Pied Fear no More Where the bee Sucks, There Suck I Skylarks (New York City premiére) - Steven Stucky (b. 1949)   From To a Skylark Haiku From Split the Lark From An Alphabet From In Flanders Fields From Hark, hark the Lark

Juxtapositions

March 2, 2012 · Download this Program
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Ave Verum Corpus - William Byrd (1543-1623) Civitas Sancti tui - William Byrd Sing Joyfully - William Byrd Dum complerentur dies Pentecostes - Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1540-1611) Christus factus est pro nobis - Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) Amazing Grace - traditional American, arr. Eriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass - Carol Burnett (b. 1949)

A Child in Winter

December 11, 2011 · Download this Program
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Cantate Domino - Vytautas Miškinis
Niño de Rosas - Steven Sametz
The Little Match Girl Passion - David Lang
Dormi, Jesu - Abbie Betinis
O Magnum Mysterium - Morten Lauridsen
Jesu, meine Freude - Johann Sebastian Bach

With a Lily in Your Hand

May 26, 2011 · Download this Program
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Dover Beach Revisited - Dominick Argento
Song 1 from Fire Songs - Morten Lauridsen
To Music - Mark Kilstofte
Fern Hill - Fenno Heath
With a Lily in Your Hand - Eric Whitacre

Songs for the Changing Seasons

March 13, 2011 · Download this Program
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Many-Colored Broom - Johannes Somary Dateless Calendar - Paul Alan Levi (World Premiere & Commissioned by NAS) Mid-Winter Songs - Morten Lauridsen Give me the Splendid Silent Sun - Thomas Beveridge O Joy! - Kitty Brazelton

Bach to Betinis

Major Works for Double Chorus and A Cappella Miniatures
December 12, 2010 · Download this Program
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Komm, Jesu, Komm - Johann Sebastian Bach Amen - John Corigliano Leise rieselt der Schnee - Clare Maclean Christmas Rounds - Mark Kilstofte Ave Maria - Giuseppe Verdi The Lamb - Fenno Heath The Babe of Bethlehem - Abbie Betinis Cantus Missae - Josef Gabriel Rheinberger Hodie Christus natus est - Francis Poulenc
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New Amsterdam Singers

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Music

New Amsterdam Singers proudly performs music not often heard in New York City—or anywhere, for that matter. We focus our efforts on lesser-known works by preeminent composers and on new works by living composers.

Clara Longstreth is “one of the more imaginative programmers around.” – The New Yorker

In this section of the site you can read more about how Clara chooses music, review a list of premieres and commissions, listen to recordings of NAS in concert, and much more.

  • Programming for NAS
  • Premieres and Commissions
  • Composers
  • Program Notes

When I choose music for NAS, one criterion stands above all others: will our singers love it? I find that if the chorus loves the music, they will convince the audience to love it as well. And if a program looks interesting to the New York Times or to fellow conductors, that’s a great bonus, but the singers’ stimulation and pleasure come first.

Our repertoire is also determined by our size. At 60-70 voices, we are the right group for most double chorus works, for many Renaissance and Baroque works, and for much contemporary work. We are not the group for Beethoven’s Ninth or the Verdi Requiem. We also avoid other very familiar works, however worthy, that are often done in the major halls, in favor of repertoire somewhat off the beaten track. Beyond size considerations is the issue of funding orchestras. We use freelance professional players every year or two for a concert, but the majority of our repertoire is a cappella.

When one does a lot of contemporary music, one is rewarded by having a great deal of new music sent unbidden. This can be exciting, but it is always difficult to find time to look at everything that comes in. I find that I sometimes have to look first at the composers I already know because the style of their new works will likely be right for NAS. The composers I most admire are ones whose tenth work does not seem a replica of their first. NAS has enjoyed doing many works by Ron Perera, Matthew Harris, and Paul Alan Levi over the past fifteen years. I am now finding that the works of Abbie Betinis, Dale Trumbore, Mark Kilstofte, Rob Paterson and Ben Moore, just to name a few, reward close study. I look forward to more such discoveries. And we will always return to Bach and Brahms, because every choral singer ought to have sung their great works.

An important step in the selection process is a balancing act: the music needs to be challenging enough to interest our most experienced singers, yet not so difficult that the process of learning is unrewardingly slow. Within a season I also balance periods, styles, languages, sacred/secular, and familiar/new, and within a given concert I balance kinds of learning required, types of rhythmic challenges, degrees of dissonance, amounts of divisi, and issues of unfamiliar languages. I look for good opening and closing pieces, for some fast, some slow, some loud, some soft. And if I find that I have come up with four great works, each of which ends pianissimo, I often add a short brilliant one to send the audience off on an upbeat note.

We have a pretty good record of including music by women composers, but only a fair record of including composers of color. Starting in June 2020 with the Black Lives Matter movement, I embarked on a project to find many more works of Black composers, and have found a wealth of great new pieces. These will enrich our programs for years to come.

Thematic programs are the most fun to choose, but not every program needs to fit a tight theme. A theme is only good if every piece is a winner, not included just because it serves the theme. It helps to have on one’s shelves or in one’s memory bank a huge amount of music to choose from, and having done program building for many years, I do. Sometimes I think the choosing of a year’s repertoire is the best part of the whole season, but when I get to the first rehearsal in September, I realize, no, it’s the people of NAS that are the most fun of all.

~ Clara Longstreth, Fall 2020

Throughout its 50+ years New Amsterdam Singers has been acclaimed for its imaginative programming. Our repertoire spans seven centuries, and we have a continuing commitment to commissioning and performing new choral works.

New Amsterdam Singers Commissions — World Premieres
Dale Trumbore Charting the World 2023
Robert Paterson I Go Among Trees 2021
Ben Moore The Wave Rises 2018
Lisa Bielawa Walks of Life 2018
Carol Barnett The Darkling Thrush 2017
Matthew Harris Shakespeare Songs, Book Seven 2017
Paul Alan Levi Dateless Calendar 2011
Ronald Perera Why I Wake Early 2008
Paul Alan Levi Acts of Love 2002
Ronald Perera The Golden Door 1999
Behzad Ranjbaran Open Secret 1999
Paul Alan Levi Journeys & Secrets 1994
Thomas Beveridge General William Booth 1987
Francis Heilbut Caliban’s Song 1974
World Premieres
Ben Moore Two Yeats Songs (choral version) 2017
Donald Grantham A Valediction 2015
Elizabeth Lim Tempest 2013
Alexander Dmitriev Two Songs 2005
Alexander Dmitriev The Ancient Mariner 2004
Katherine Hoover Echo 2003
Alla Borzova The Ballad of Barnaby 2002
Jacob Avshalomov His Fluid Aria 2001
Charles Fussell Mists 1998
Dennis Riley Chansons Funèbres 1998
Paul Alan Levi In the Beginning 1998
Jack Gallagher To One Who Died 1986
Hale Smith Two Kids 1972
Vally Weigl A Shelter for All 1970
American Premieres
Per Gunnar Petersson De Profundis 2018
Einojuhani Rautavaara Unsere Liebe 2013
Matthew Harris Three Plums 2013
Richard Rodney Bennett I Saw Three Ships 2008
Richard Rodney Bennett Nonsense 2008
Eleanor Daley Missa Brevis 2002
Geoffrey Burgon Sleep 1996
Petr Eben Bitter Earth 1992
Daniel Catan Cantata 1987
New York and NYC Premieres
Judith Shatin La Frontera 2023
Carol Barnett Most Holy Night 2023
Karen Siegel We Will Stand Up 2021
Abbie Betinis At a Window 2017
Robert Paterson Life is but a dream 2017
Ronald Perera When Music Sounds 2017
Abbie Betinis Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight 2016
Mark Kilstofte This Amazing Day 2016
Kirke Mechem Green Music 2016
Kirke Mechem Daybreak in Alabama 2016
Robert Paterson Choral Suite from A New Eaarth 2016
Ronald Perera Bring Me the Sunset in a Cup 2016
Michael Dellaira Nobody 2015
Donald Grantham Let Evening Come 2015
Matthew Harris If Music and Sweet Poetry Agree 2015
Ben Moore The Lake Isle of Innisfree 2015
Ben Moore Dear Theo (letters from Van Gogh) 2015
Abbie Betinis And the Song Am I 2014
Matthew Harris Fantasy on La Bamba 2013
Ronald Perera The Star in the Pail 2013
Alex Weiser Travellers 2013
Sheena Phillips Two Carols 2012
Judith Shatin The God of Glory 2012
Steven Stucky Skylarks 2012
Stephen Sametz Niño de Rosas 2011
Kitty Brazelton O Joy! 2011
Clare Maclean Leise rieselt der Schnee 2010
Kirke Mechem Suite for Chorus 2010
Ronald Perera earthsongs 2010
Kirke Mechem The World is Too Much With Us 2009
Rihards Dubra Rorando Coeli 2009
Abbie Betinis Cedit, Hyems 2009
Michael Dellaira The Masters at the Movies 2008
Matthew Harris Innocence and Experience 2008
Kirke Mechem Peace Motets 2007
Luna Pearl Woolf Après moi, le déluge 2007
David Brunner I Am in Need of Music 2007
Paul Crabtree Four Folk Songs 2007
Howard Skempton The Flight of Song 2007
Richard Wilson In Schrafft’s 2007
Ruth Watson Henderson Make Me a World 2007
Kirke Mechem American Trio 2005
Ronald Perera Three Love Lyrics 2005
Daniel Pinkham Christmas Jubilations 2004
Kirke Mechem Missa Brevis 2004
Adolphus Hailstork Seven Songs of the Rubaiyat 2003
Adolphus Hailstork The God of Glory Thunders 2002
Judith Shatin Songs of War and Peace 2002
Kirke Mechem Winging Wildly 2001
Paul Alan Levi Unpoem 2000
Matthew Harris Shakespeare Songs, Book IV 1998
Charles Fussell Specimen Days 1998
William Hawley Six Madrigals on Texts by Torquato Tasso 1997
Petr Eben Zauberspruch, den Liebsten zu beschwören 1996
Daniel Pinkham Advent Cantata 1995
Marga Richter Into My Heart 1995
Ronald Perera The Outermost House 1994
Matthew Harris Shakespeare Songs, Book III 1993
Ronald Perera Earth Songs 1993
Petr Eben Cantico delle Creature 1991
Petr Eben Salve Regina 1991
Daniel Pinkham The Saints Preserve Us! 1991
Paul Siskind On Aging 1989
Thomas Beveridge Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun 1987
Tomas Svoboda Chorale Without Words 1986
Edwin Fissinger Lux Aeterna 1984

New Amsterdam Singers Repertoire: 1967 – Present

15th – 18th Centuries, European & American
Allegri • Araujo • J.C. Bach • J.C.F. Bach • J.S. Bach • Banchieri • Billings • Blow • Buxtehude • Byrd • Carissimi • Charpentier • Costeley • Couperin • de la Lande • de la Rue • Dering • Donato • Dufay • Farmer • Fernandes • Gabrieli • Gesualdo • Gibbons • Gluck • Gombert • Guerrero • Hammerschmidt • Handel • Handl • Hassler • Haydn • Heiler • Isaac • Janequin • Josquin • Lassus • Lienas • Monteverdi • Morago • Morales • Morley • Mozart • Ockeghem • C.T. Pachelbel • Palestrina • Passereau • Pilkington • Purcell • Pygott • Regnard • Schein • Schütz • Senfl • Stölzel • Sweelinck • Tallis • Tessier • Tomkins • Vecchi • Victoria • Vivaldi • Walther • Weelkes • White • Wilbye • Zielenski

19th – 20th Centuries, European & World
Aston • Avni • Bárdos • Bartók • Beethoven • Ben-Haim • R.R. Bennett • Berlioz • Biebl • Bizet • Boito • Boulanger • Brahms • Britten • Bruch • Bruckner • Burgon • Casals • Chesnokov • Chilcott • Cornelius • Dallapiccola • Debussy • Distler • Dubra Dvořák • Eben • Elgar • Esenwalds • Farkas • Fauré • Finzi • Gjeilo • Gounod • Górecki • Grechaninov • Hensel • Hindemith • Holst • Howells • Hrusovsky • Jánacek • Jeppeson • Kodály • Kverno • La Cour • Laburda • Liszt • Maclean • MacMillan • Mahler • Mäntyjärvi • Martin • Martinu • Mayr • Mendelssohn • Messiaen • Miskinis • Moeran • Musgrave • Mussorgsky • Nielsen • Nunes Garcia • Orbán • Parry • Pärt • Penderecki • Petersson • Pizzetti • Poulenc • Rautavaara • Ravel • Rawthorne • Reger • Rheinberger • Rossini • Rubbra • Rütti • Schoenberg • Schubert • Schumann • Shostakovich • Sibelius • Skempton • Stanford • Sullivan • Svoboda • Taneyev • Tavener • Tchaikovsky • Tormis • Vaughan Williams • Verdi • Walton • Warlock • Washburn • Weber • Wolf • Yaichkov • Zimmerman

20th Century – Present, The Americas
Aguiar • Alwood • Argento • Avshalomov • P.D.Q. Bach • Baksa • Barnett • Barber • Bassi • Benjamin • Bernstein • Betinis • Beveridge • Bielawa • Biggs • Brant • Brazelton • Brown • Brunner • Borzova • Carter • Castelnuovo-Tedesco • Catan • Chávez • Chen Yi • Chihara • Cohen • Coleridge-Taylor • Copland • Corigliano • Crawford • Crabtree • Daley • Dellaira • Dennis • Dmitriev • Felciano • Fennimore • Fine • Fissinger • Foss • Fussell • Gallagher • Gershwin • Ginastera • Gordon • Gould • Hailstork • Harbison • Harris • Hawley • Healey • Heath • Heilbut • Henderson • Hogan • Hoover • Hovhaness • Ives • Jans • Johnson • Joplin • Kay • Kernis • Kilstofte • Lang • Lasser • Lauridsen • Levi • Levine • Lewin • Lim • Loesser • Loos • Luening • Mack • MacIntyre • MacMillan • McCullough • Marshall • Mauldin • Mechem • Menotti • Milhaud • Moore • Niles • Nin • O’Regan • Parker • Paterson • Paulus • Perera • Persichetti • Phillips • Piazolla • Pinkham • Piston • Powell • Raminsh • Ranjbaran • Rhodes • Richter • Riegger • Riley • Rindfleisch • Robles • Rorem • Sametz • Santoro • Schuman • Shatin • Siegel • Siskin • Smith • Somary • Spencer • Stevens • Still • Stravinsky • Stucky • Swingle • Susa • Talma • Thompson • Thomson • Toch • Trumbore • Wallach • Washburn • Weigl • Weiser • Wertsch • Whitacre • White • Wilberg • Wilson • Woolf • Work


March 11, 2023The World of Dreams
December 7, 2022Psalms and Carols
The Sounds of Joy
May 20, 2022The Dream Keeper
March 16, 2022American Voices, Classic and New
December 11, 2021The Return of Song
December 12, 2019A Century of A Cappella Gems
May 16, 2019Tango Mass
March 8, 2019The Romantic Spirit: Wild and Tender
December 7, 2018Psalms and Celebrations
May 31, 2018Rejoice in the Lamb
A Century of Choral Favorites and a Premiere
March 8, 2018Hymn to the Dawn
Songs of Serenity and Joy
December 8, 2017Sing, Sing Ye Muses
Choral Classics and a Premiere
June 1, 2017Life Is But a Dream
Poetry and folk song inspire modern American works
March 17, 2017Northern Lights
Four Centuries of Spirited Music from Northern Europe
December 16, 2016O Magnum Mysterium
Renaissance and Contemporary Meditations on the Season
May 22, 2016The Good Earth
New music for the land and its fragile glory
March 13, 2016Frank Martin – Golgotha
December 13, 2015The Mass, The Dance, The Feast
May 28, 2015Poems, Letters, and Premieres
Major Works by Dellaira, Effiger, and Whitacre for chorus and winds on poetry of Joyce, Dickinson, Rilke, and stirring letters of van Gogh
March 8, 2015New American Romantics
Composers of Our Time on Poems of Frost, Yeats, Agee, Graves, and Hardy
December 14, 2014Sing with the Spirit
Bach, Gabrieli, Harp, and Brass
May 22, 2014Full Fathom Five
Shakespeare in Song
March 9, 2014Calamity and Consolation: From Darkness to Light
December 15, 2013A Ceremony of Britten
Carols, Hymns, and Lullabies
May 23, 2013Premiere!
American Poetry Settings
March 3, 2013Passion and Protest
Music of Eastern Europe
December 9, 2012Comfort and Joy
Six Centuries of Sacred Song
May 31, 2012Songs of Birds and Angels
March 2, 2012Juxtapositions
December 11, 2011A Child in Winter
May 26, 2011With a Lily in Your Hand
March 13, 2011Songs for the Changing Seasons
December 12, 2010Bach to Betinis
Major Works for Double Chorus and A Cappella Miniatures

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