Dessoff presents J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, complete with a full period orchestra and soloists on Saturday, April 18, 2026 4:00 at p.m. at Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem.

The performance marks several converging milestones: Merriweather’s tenth anniversary with The Dessoff Choirs coincides with his tenth year on the faculty of Brooklyn College. This dual occasion will be reflected in the inclusion of current Brooklyn College Conservatory students, alumni, and former Dessoff Choirs assistant conductors among the soloists and ensemble.

In addition, the concert serves as a culminating event in the centennial celebrations of Mother AME Zion Church’s current building, bringing together generations of artists and history in a space that has long stood at the heart of Harlem’s cultural life.

PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach: B Minor Mass

ARTISTS
The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Katie Hyun, concertmaster

Vianca Alejandra, soprano
Melissa Attebury, mezzo soprano
George Baolin, bass
Patrice Pates Eaton, mezzo soprano
Jiyu Kim, soprano
Albert Lee, tenor
Nadine Lee, soprano
Mara Montez, soprano
Nicole Osmolovskya, soprano

Considered a cornerstone of Western music, it is the perfect prism through which to view Bach’s compositional genius. No one knows why this Lutheran composer ever choose to compose a Catholic mass in the first place, and why, once composed, it was never performed in its entirety (and its final form) until several decades after Bach’s death. Perhaps the most convincing reason is that Bach compiled the B Minor Mass to stand as a catalog of all the musical styles known at that time, from the earliest Gregorian chants to the newly fashionable style galant.  In creating a work that has come to be regarded as the apex of human artistic expression, Bach also left a musical catalog for future generations.