December 2012 – May 2013
Christopher Shepard, conductor
The Dessoff Choirs
The festival’s opening concert showcases the myriad ways choral composers rise to the challenge of setting text, including Ricky Ian Gordon’s Five by Langston, a setting of works by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, performed in the auditorium that bears his name. Join Ricky and Dessoff Music Director Chris Shepard at 7:00 pm for a pre-concert discussion of this moving composition.
Christopher Shepard, conductor
The Dessoff Choirs
In this year’s Sing-In, we explore settings of beloved American poets Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. Join in singing two staples of the choral repertoire with Dessoff, and revisit the power of these lyric gems.
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS – Dona nobis pacem (text by Walt Whitman)
RANDALL THOMPSON – Frostiana (text by Robert Frost)
Tickets $10-15, children under 12 free | Tickets will be available at the door.
Please visit the web page for this event for more details!
Ricky Ian Gordon, composer
Spend an intimate evening with the gifted American composer best known for his opera, The Grapes of Wrath, as he speaks about his life and his deep connection to poetry, and plays his extraordinary songs.
Tickets $15-40, children under 12 free | Buy tickets
Please visit the web page for this event for more details!
Get a rare backstage view of what it takes to write a musical when composer Anna K. Jacobs and lyricist Bill Nelson discuss and share excerpts from their musical-in-progress, Harmony, Kansas and provide artistic insight for a handful of young composers selected to present their pieces in this public master class.
Tickets $10-15, children under 12 free | Buy tickets
Please visit the web page for this event for more details!
Dessoff web page for this event.
Tickets $25-55 | Buy tickets from the Symphony Space Box Office here.
Christopher Shepard, conductor
Geraldine Brooks, novelist
The Dessoff Choirs
For program details and more information, please visit Dessoff’s web page for this event.
Tickets $25-55 | Buy tickets from the Symphony Space Box Office here.
Christopher Shepard, conductor
Geraldine Brooks, novelist
The Dessoff Choirs
For program details and more information, please visit Dessoff’s web page for this event.
Tickets $15-40 | Buy tickets
Join us on April 6 at New York City’s Iguana VIP Lounge for a night of music performed by members of Dessoff benefiting the choir. Enjoy Mexican cuisine during the show. Dinner, snacks, and drinks available for purchase. The Dessoff Choirs is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
6:30 p.m. Doors open
7:00 p.m. Performance begins
Tickets at the door
Christopher Shepard, conductor
The Dessoff Choirs
Unjustly obscure as a result of suppression by Russian ecclesiastical authorities, Rachmaninoff’s haunting 1910 setting of the Eastern Orthodox worship service is an a cappella masterpiece. Those who associate Rachmaninoff solely with lush Romanticism will be captivated by this deeply spiritual work, which merges the profundity of the Russian choral tradition with 20th-century mystical minimalism. A not-to-be-missed experience.
For program details and more information, please visit Dessoff’s web page for this event.
Tickets $15-35 | Buy tickets.
Documents for the 2013 Annual Meeting are being posted to this password-protected page. (See DSheet for password.)