The Dessoff Choirs Announces 2023-2024 And 100th Anniversary Season

The Dessoff Choirs, led by Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather, today announces its 2023-2024 season, which begins a two-year 100th anniversary celebration. Featured composers include Rodgers & Hammerstein, Felix Mendelssohn (Elijah, in collaboration with the Abyssinian Baptist Church Cathedral Choir), Vicente Lusitano, Herbert Howells, R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence Price, Adolphus Hailstork, Valerie Capers (Sojourner), and James Whitbourn.

"I could not be more thrilled to usher Dessoff into its centennial with this incredible line up of repertoire,” shares Malcolm J. Merriweather, Music Director. “I know that our audiences will be delighted by some familiar pieces like Mendelssohn's Elijah and lesser known works like Valerie Capers' Sojourner.”

The season – and Dessoff's centennial celebration – begins with Some Enchanted Evening on Friday, October 13, 2023 at 7:30pm at Roulette in Brooklyn. The Dessoff Chamber Choir and Maestro Merriweather dazzle the audiences with beloved selections from Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic American musicals.

On Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 4:00pm, Dessoff joins forces with the Cathedral Choir of Abyssinian Baptist Church to present Mendelssohn's Elijah at Abyssinian's landmark location in Central Harlem. Maestro Merriweather leads The Dessoff choirs, soloists, and full orchestra in this enduring masterpiece.

Dessoff ushers in the holidays with December concerts in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Welcome Yule: Sing Lullaby takes place on Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 4:00pm at Union Theological Seminary's James Chapel in Manhattan and on Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 3:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. Works include Beati Omnes by Vicente Lusitano, Sing Lullaby by Herbert Howells, Ave Maria by R. Nathaniel Dett, Snow Song by Florence Price, and Break Forth by Adolphus Hailstork, which Dessoff premiered to New York audiences in 1995.

On Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 4:00pm at Union Theological Seminary, Dessoff offers its popular annual Messiah Sing! Audience members join the choir for Handel's vibrant choruses, and Dessoff members perform the arias.

On Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 4:00pm, Dessoff returns to Union Theological Seminary for a program of works by American pianist and composer Valerie Capers. In her “operatorio” Sojourner, which premiered in 1981, Capers encapsulates the dramatic essence of the life of Sojourner Truth, the freed slave, abolitionist, and women's rights activist, in three episodes: Sojourner's sale as a nine-year-old at auction; her religious conversion and name change to Sojourner Truth; and her statement of the challenges to be overcome by Black individuals and women.

Dessoff concludes the season with Annelies by British composer James Whitbourn. Scored for soprano, chorus, and chamber ensemble to Melanie Challenger's libretto of extracts from The Diary of Anne Frank, Annelies shares the teenager's remarkable and penetrating observations, written while she hid with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Performances take place on Thursday, April 25 in Brooklyn and Sunday, April 28, 2024 in Manhattan, times and locations to be announced.

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Program Information

Some Enchanted Evening
Friday, October 13, 2023 at 7:30pm
Roulette | 509 Atlantic Ave | Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $20 - $50
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/some-enchanted-evening

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II – Selected works

The Dessoff Chamber Choir
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

Elijah
Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 4:00pm
Abyssinian Baptist Church | 132 W 138th St | New York, NY
Tickets: $20 - $50
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/elijah

Felix Mendelssohn – Elijah

The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
The Cathedral Choir of Abyssinian Baptist Church
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

Welcome Yule: Sing Lullaby
Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 4:00pm
Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway | New York, NY
Tickets: $20 - $50
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/sing-lullaby-manhattan

Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 3:00pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Church| 199 Carroll St | Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $20 - $50
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/sing-lullaby-brooklyn

VICENTE LUSITANO – Beati Omnes
HERBERT HOWELLS – Sing Lullaby
NATHANIEL DETT – Ave Maria
Florence Price – Snow Song
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK – Break Forth 

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

Messiah Sing!
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 4:00pm
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway (at 121st Street) | New York, NY
Tickets: $15
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/messiah-sing-2023

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL – Messiah

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

Sojourner
Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 4:00pm
James Chapel Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway (at 121st Street) | New York, NY
Tickets: $20 - $50
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/2024/2/24/sojourner

VALERIE CAPERS – Sojourner

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

Annelies
Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Brooklyn, time to be announced
Tickets: $20 - $50, on sale July 1
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/annelies-april-27

Sunday, April 28, 2024 in Manhattan, time to be announced
Tickets: $20 - $50, on sale July 1
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/annelies-april-28

JAMES WHITBOURN – Annelies
Libretto by MELANIE CHALLENGER

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor