DCINY Presents New Work By African-American Composer Rosephanye Powell Plus Carmina Burana

A special program of DCINY (Distinguished Concerts International New York) 10th anniversary season, a popular producer of world-class classical choral concerts, is The Sacred and the Profane, featuring the New York premiere of Gospel Trinity, written by African American composer Rosephanye Powell and conducted by William Powell, followed by Carl Orff's Carmina Burana conducted by maestro Jonathan Griffith. The program juxtaposes the sacred in Powell's composition with the profane in Orff's masterpiece.

The concert will be presented on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, at 7 PM at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. For information and tickets, visit DCINY's website. Tickets start at $20. The performance will be streamed live via the DCINY Facebook Page.

"African American and female composers have been and still are overlooked in the classical field," says Iris Derke, DCINY co-founder and General Director. "It is with great pride that DCINY presents a new work by Rosephanye Powell, an outstanding African American woman composer. Gospel Trinity is a soulful and uplifting masterwork of vocals which features the composer as narrator and soloist. And who would be a better conductor than William Powell, her husband, who is also an accomplished choral arranger himself?" Derke adds.

Gospel Trinity is a musical expression of one of the primary tenets of Christian theology. Composed in the Black Gospel music style, the work relies heavily upon the rhythm section of the piano, bass, and drum set while supported by the orchestra. Other characteristics of the style include the use of syncopation, improvised and decorated solos, a "special" section (sections of the choir sing independently and layered, building in passion), movement, claps, and spontaneity in performance.

A highlight of DCINY's anniversary season is the presentation by Maestro Jonathan Griffith, DCINY's Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, of Carl Orff's 1937 composition Carmina Burana performed by Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Singers International. Orff's selection of 24 songs of early 13th-century songs and poems, discovered in 1803 in a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria, is probably the most frequently performed choral work today and one of the most popular pieces in the classical repertoire. Vocalists are Penelope Shumate, Soprano, Dillon McCartney, Tenor, and Keith Harris, Baritone.

Rosephanye Powell is recognized as one of America's premier African-American female composer of contemporary choral music. She has a diverse and impressive catalogue of works published by some of the nation's leading publishers, including the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Fred Bock Music Company/Gentry Publications, Oxford University Press, and Alliance Music Publications. Her works have received numerous premieres in New York. In May 2014, her multi-movement choral work, The Cry of Jeremiah, was premiered by DCINY at Lincoln Center to rave review. In addition to being a composer, she is a professional singer and voice professor at Auburn University.

William Powell, professor and director of choral activities at Auburn University, holds degrees from Alabama State University, Westminster Choir College, and Florida State University. At Auburn, he teaches choral-related courses and conducts the Chamber Choir, Concert Choir, Men's Chorus, and Gospel Choir. His guest-conducting engagements include performances in Italy and Australia, at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Walt Disney World, and for various regional and state choral festivals. His choral arrangements are published by Hal Leonard, Oxford University Press, and Gentry Publications.

Jonathan Griffith is co-founder and Artistic Director of Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). An acclaimed conductor, educator, and lecturer, he has led performances across North America, Europe, and Asia. The founder and Music Director of the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, Griffith also oversees DCINY's mentoring program for conductors.

Maestro Griffith made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1989 and has since conducted well over 100 performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center combined. In addition to the major works of the classical repertoire, conducting highlights include the U.S. premieres of Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater and Te Deum; Sergei Taneyev's At the Reading of a Psalm; Miloš Bok's Missa Solemnis; Luigi Boccherini's Villancicos; and Eugène Goossens' reorchestration of Handel's Messiah, along with world premieres by Eric Funk, Seymour Bernstein, and Robert Convery.

Additional conducting credits include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City; Manhattan Philharmonic and New England Symphonic Ensemble, both at Carnegie Hall; The European Symphony Orchestra in Spain; Bohuslava Martin? Philharmonia and Philharmonia Chorus, Chamber Orchestra Virtuosi Pragensis, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and Dvo?ák Chamber Orchestra in the Czech Republic; and the Bialystok State Philharmonic in Poland, as well as numerous regional orchestras and choruses across the United States.

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)
Founded in 2007 by Iris Derke and Jonathan Griffith, with its first public performance in January 2008, DCINY is a leading producer of dynamic musical entertainment in renowned international venues. Over 40,000 musicians representing 45 countries and all 50 states have participated in DCINY productions. Since the inception of the company, DCINY has produced 17 world premieres and more than 200 concerts for over 200,000 audience members.

DCINY commemorates its 10th Anniversary Season in 2018. With unforgettable, world-class concert experiences, empowering educational programs, and a global community of artists and audiences, DCINY changes lives through the power of musical performance. In addition to being selected three times for Inc. 5000, DCINY has received national recognition with two American Prizes: Jonathan Griffith, Founder and Music Director of Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, won the 2014 American Prize in Conducting, Professional Orchestra Division, and the 2015 American Prize recognized DCINY's General Director and Co-Founder Iris Derke and the DCINY Team for Arts Marketing.

The Sacred and the Profane
Monday, May 28, 2018, at 7:00 PM
David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
Click here for Tickets