The Dessoff Choirs to Present Valerie Capers' Sojourner in February

The Dessoff Choirs will return to Union Theological Seminary on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 4:00pm, for American pianist and composer Valerie Capers’ “operatorio” Sojourner. Soloists include Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano (singing the title role of Sojourner), Angela L. Owens, soprano (Mother Betts), Martin Hargrove, bass (Baumfree, Lord), and Justin Bell, tenor.

In 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.

Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather remarks, “The concert begins with the "Burial Sentences" by William Croft (as heard at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II) and Henry Purcell's poignant "Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts." This is followed by the polychoral setting of Psalm 51, or Miserere mei by Gregorio Allegri. The juxtaposition of these Renaissance-era religious songs acts as a prelude to the oratorio which at many points illustrates Sojourner's constant and devout faith.”

Dessoff concludes its 2023-24 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. Performances take place on Thursday, April 25 at 7:30pm at Brooklyn College and Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 4:00pm at Hebrew Union College.

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Concert Information

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

WILLIAM CROFT – Burial Sentences
Henry Purcell – Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts
GREGORIO ALLEGRI – Miserere mei
VALERIE CAPERS – Sojourner

Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano (Sojourner)
Angela L. Owens, soprano (Mother Betts)
Martin Hargrove, bass soloist (Baumfree, Lord)
Justin Bell, tenor soloist
The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

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About The Dessoff Choirs

The Dessoff Choirs, one of the leading choruses in New York City, is an independent chorus with an established reputation for pioneering performances of choral works from the Renaissance era through the 21st century. Founded in 1924 by Margarete Dessoff, the chorus is celebrating its centennial over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with programs that reflect music from its rich history and move us forward into the next 100 years with new collaborations and commissions.

The ‘s’ in Choirs connotes the group’s various incarnations – from Dessoff’s core group of 50 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.

Dessoff's world-premiere recording of Margaret Bonds's Credo and Simon Bore the Cross was released in February 2023 and received rave reviews. WRTI wrote that “Margaret Bonds: Credo, Simon Bore the Cross brings new luster, and the utmost care of execution. Under the baton of Malcolm J. Merriweather, The Dessoff Choirs has a profound simpatico with Bonds’ mature compositional style...” We are also featured on a new album from Roomful of Teeth, Rough Magic, in a recently commissioned Eve Beglarian work, None More Than You.

Other recent discography includes Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs, a debut recording of Margaret Bonds’s crowning achievement, which was cited as a “Best Classical Recording of 2019” by WQXR-FM Radio; Reflections, featuring music by Convery, Corigliano, Moravec, and Rorem; and Glories on Glories, a collection of American song featuring composers from Billings to Ives.

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

Grammy-nominated 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.

In addition, Merriweather is the Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. He is an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and has also joined the faculty at 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. 

He 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 and Credo & Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) has earned considerable praise around the world. At the invitation of Solange Knowles, he joined the interdisciplinary studio and creative agency, Saint Heron, for performances with Voices of Harlem and The Clark Sisters in Glory to Glory: A Revival of Devotional Art.

 Highlights from his 2023-2024 season include a trip to China with The New York Philharmonic Choir for the world premiere of Émigré, An Oratorio with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He returns to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the world premiere of Handel: Made in America with soloists, Latonia Moore, J’Nai Bridges, Noah Stewart, and Davóne Tines. Continuing in his role as Director of The New York Philharmonic Chorus, he prepares the professional choir for the reprise of Émigré, An Oratorio and Mahler 2 with The New York Philharmonic. With the Dessoff Choirs, he conducts Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and two contemporary oratorios about the lives of Sojourner Truth (Valerie Capers) and Anne Frank (James Whitbourn).

Maestro Merriweather’s 2022-2023 began leading The Choir of Trinity Wall Street in three performances (staged) of Considering Matthew Shepard. His new appointment as Director of The New York Philharmonic Chorus launched 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 conducted Duruflé’s Requiem, Bach’s St. John Passion, and motets by Vicente Lusitano, the first Black-published composer. Last season included the long-awaited release of the premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s Credo and Simon Bore the Cross with the AVIE label. His solo baritone engagements included 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 Bach Vespers Choir and Orchestra at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. The baritone has premiered contemporary solo works by Eve Beglarian, John Liberatore, Ju Ri 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 studying with William Weinert and in Vocal Performance from the studio of Rita Shane at the Eastman School of Music. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Syracuse University, summa cum laude.

His professional affiliations include membership 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.

Photo credit: Stephanie Berger