Musica Viva NY Presents SUNRISE IN THE CITY

Musica Viva NY celebrates its 40th anniversary with a concert entitled Sunrise in the City on Sunday, May 20 at 5:00 p.m. at All Souls Church. The performance, which features the Musica Viva NY Choir led by Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, includes the world premiere of Ars Poetica #1002: Rally by Elena Ruehr, commissioned by Musica Viva NY in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

Also on the program is Mahler's Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the world) in a choral arrangement by Clytus Sottwald; the New York City premiere of Maarten Spruijt's Thurémin; and Ola Gjeilo's Sunrise Mass. Works are accompanied by a string orchestra which includes the Aeolus Quartet.

Tickets, priced at $40, are available by visiting musicaviva.org/tickets or can be purchased at the door.

Founded in 1977, Musica Viva NY, a chamber choir of thirty professionals and highly skilled volunteers, shares the transcendent power of choral and instrumental music with audiences in New York City and beyond, through its annual four-concert series at All Souls Church on the Upper East Side. The choir's broad repertoire includes new compositions and classic masterworks, emphasizing artistic excellence and transformative interpretations.

Musica Viva NY additionally will present Infinite Hope: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of MLK's Assassination on Sunday, April 8 at 5:00 p.m. featuring Alice Parker's A Sermon from the Mountain, Dvo?ák's String Quartet in F major Op. 96, "American," and spirituals.

Esteemed conductor, pianist, and composer Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez was named Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music of the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan in 2015. He is also Co-Founder of the New Orchestra of Washington and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor "with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom," as well as praise from The New York Times for leading "a stirring performance" of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. He is featured in El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity. He resides in New York City and Washington, D.C.

The Aeolus Quartet is committed to presenting time-seasoned masterworks and new cutting-edge works to widely diverse audiences with equal freshness, dedication, and fervor. Formed in 2008, the Quartet is comprised of violinists Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro, violist Caitlin Lynch, and cellist Alan Richardson. The all-American Aeolus Quartet has been awarded prizes at nearly every major competition in the United States and has performed across the globe in venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Reinberger Recital Hall at Severance Hall, Merkin Hall, The Library of Congress, Renwick Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. They were the 2013-2015 Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School. Members of the Quartet hold degrees from the Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Maryland, and the University of Texas at Austin, where they served as Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence. The quartet has released two critically acclaimed albums of classical and contemporary works through the Longhorn/Naxos label which are available on iTunes, Amazon, and major retailers worldwide.

Photo Credit: Richard Termine