Distinguished Concerts International New York to Presents OF FAITH AND FREEDOM, 5/28

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) commemorates Memorial Day with a musical patriotic salute to our nation and the men and women who serve and protect it. Of Faith and Freedom features choral music by Joseph Martin, who also conducts, including his well-known Song for the Unsung Hero and the world premiere of A Festive Call to Freedom. Music by Dan Forrest will be conducted by James Melton. Twenty-one choirs from thirteen states will make up the Distinguished Concerts Singers International. DCINY’s Memorial Day tribute takes place on Monday, May 28 at 7:00pm at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center.

The music of choral composer Dan Forrest will include Te Deum and Arise, Shine!, both featuring biblical texts. O God Beyond All Praising, a work by Michael Perry and arranged by Forrest, takes its magnificent hymn from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Finally, Forrest’s St. Patrick's Hymn, will be heard in its debut for full orchestra. James Melton conducts the choir and Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International.

Joseph Martin will conduct his own works for chorus and orchestra, including The Awakening, one of the most performed choral compositions of our time; The Epitaph, a quintessential Memorial Day anthem, based on a traditional Native American text; Song for the Unsung Hero, written in the days following the 9-11 tragedy; and the world premiere of A Festive Call to Freedom, a sweeping and buoyant call to citizenship and liberty.

Dan Forrest’s award-winning compositions have been heard on Performance Today and performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. He has his own choral series with Hinshaw Music, The Music of Dan Forrest, in addition to numerous other publishers in various genres and styles.

Joseph Martin’s compositions -- with over 1,000 currently in print -- are frequently heard in such diverse locations as Carnegie Hall; the Lawrence Welk Theatre in Branson, Missouri; and hundreds of worship services across the US and Canada. MR. Martin is also often heard in concert and on recordings as a solo pianist.

Tickets $20 - $100 at www.lincolncenter.org or CenterCharge 212.721.6500.