PostClassical EnseMble Presents AMAZING GRACE: IN PARADISUM

PostClassical Ensemble (PCE) rings in 2024 with their annual Amazing Grace concert on January 10th at 7:30pm at The Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. This new year, PCE invites DC-born composer, Jeffrey Mumford, to serve as special guest curator. 

“Amazing Grace,” perhaps the most universal of folk hymns, has inspired people all around the world for centuries. Amazing Grace: In Paradisum features works by George Walker, Gustav Mahler, Margaret Bonds, Luciano Berio, and the DC premiere of Jeffrey Mumford's extraordinary cello concerto with soloist Annie Jacobs-Perkins, winner of the 2023 Pierre Fournier Award. The evening will conclude with the audience joining the orchestra, chorus and soloists to sing “Amazing Grace.”  ‍

As a special tribute, PCE will also present Mr. Mumford with their second annual American Roots Artist Award for Mumford's outstanding contributions to American music. 

Joining PCE Music Director and Conductor Angel Gil-Ordóñez on stage for Amazing Grace will be the aforementioned Jacobs-Perkins on cello, soprano Katerina Burton, pianist Andre Leonard, and the CAAPA Chorale.

“Each year our Amazing Grace program focuses on a specific inspiration. In this case, our subtitle, In Paradisum, refers to the ethereal atmosphere of Mumford's concerto that led to our building the concert around music that reflects a heavenly and celestial ambience,” says Gil-Ordóñez. “In Paradisum is taken from the last movement of Fauré's Requiem. These themes are also reflected in the last movement of Mahler's Symphony no 4, which depicts an angel talking about life in heaven, as well as Walker's Lyric for Strings and Berio's O King, an homage to MLK that is very atmospheric.”

This concert is part of PCE's American Roots Initiative, a commitment to telling stories that provide a deeper understanding of the rich diversity of American music and culture. Since its inception in 2008, this series has been dedicated to exploring little-known and forgotten chapters in the history of American music, especially the contributions of BIPOC musicians and composers.

Tickets to Amazing Grace are available online through the PCE website. Tickets start at $45. For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Kennedy Center Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540. 

*This performance is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.

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