The Dessoff Choirs Reveals 2023-2024 And 100th Anniversary Season Featuring Music by Rodgers & Hammerstein and More

The Dessoff Choirs, led by Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather, has revealed 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.

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

About The Dessoff Choirs

The Dessoff Choirs, under the baton of Malcolm J. Merriweather, music director, is one of the leading choruses in New York City, with an established reputation for pioneering performances of choral works from the Renaissance era through the 21st century. The 's' in Choirs connotes the group's various incarnations - from Dessoff's core group of 60 singers, to the Symphonic Choir assembled for larger engagements and Chamber Choir selected to present more intimate works. Since its founding in 1924, Dessoff's mission is to enrich the lives of its audiences and members by giving voice to new or rarely heard, forgotten music and composers; and to bring great choral works to New York audiences in new ways. Dessoff concerts, professional collaborations, community outreach, and educational initiatives are dedicated to stimulating public interest in and appreciation of choral music as an art form that enhances the culture and life of these times.

With repertoire ranging over a wide variety of eras and styles, Dessoff's musical acumen and flexibility has been recognized with invitations from major orchestras for oratorios and orchestral works. Past performances include Britten's War Requiem and Mahler's Symphony No.8 with Lorin Maazel in his final performances as Music Director with the New York Philharmonic. Over the course of its near-100-year history, Dessoff has presented many world premieres, including works by Virgil Thomson, George Perle, Paul Moravec, and Ricky Ian Gordon; the first American performance in nearly 100 years of Montemezzi's opera La Nave with Teatro Grattacielo; and the American premieres of Philip Glass's Symphony No.5 and John Tavener's all-night vigil, The Veil of the Temple.

The Dessoff Choirs is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

About Malcolm J. Merriweather

Conductor and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather is the ninth Music Director of New York City's Dessoff Choirs, known for its performances of great choral works from the pre-Baroque era through the 21st century.

Merriweather enjoys a versatile career, with performances ranging from the songs of Margaret Bonds to gems of the symphonic choral repertoire. The baritone can be heard on the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Paul Moravec's Sanctuary Road (NAXOS). Hailed by Opera News as "moving...expertly interpreted," Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs (AVIE) has earned considerable praise around the world.

In addition, Merriweather is the Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. An Associate Professor and Director of Choral Studies and Voice Department Coordinator at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, he has also joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. He was the founding Artistic Director of "Voices of Haiti," a 60-member children's choir in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, operated by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.

Maestro Merriweather's 2022-23 season opened with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, where he led three staged performances of Considering Matthew Shepard. He began his new appointment as Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus by preparing the professional choir for three programs throughout the season for Maestro Jaap van Zweden, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the reopening of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. With the Dessoff Choirs he conducts Duruflé's Requiem, Bach's St. John Passion, and motets by Vicente Lusitano, the first published Black composer. This season includes the long-awaited release of the world premiere recordings of Margaret Bonds' Credo and Simon Bore the Cross (AVIE Records). Merriweather's solo baritone engagements include Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall and Sanctuary Road with the Cincinnati May Festival and the Penn Square Music Festival.

Merriweather has been featured as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Dessoff Choirs, the New York Choral Society, and the Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. The baritone has premiered contemporary solo works by Eve Beglarian, John Liberatore, Juri Seo, Douglas Fisk, and James Adler. He has been a fellowship recipient at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Merriweather holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the studio of Kent Tritle at the Manhattan School of Music, where his doctoral dissertation, "Now I Walk in Beauty, Gregg Smith: A Biography and Complete Works Catalog", constituted the first complete works list for the composer and conductor. He received Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and in Vocal Performance from the studio of Rita Shane at the Eastman School of Music, as well as his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Syracuse University, summa cum laude.

His professional affiliations include memberships in Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Choral Directors Association, and Chorus America. He was previously Music Director of the West Village Chorale, Organist and Choirmaster at the Church of St. Luke and St. Simon of Cyrene (Episcopal) in Rochester, NY, and, for five years, Associate Choirmaster at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @maestroweather and at www.malcolmjmerriweather.com.

Phot credit:  Stephanie Berger