Seven Last Words
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
Acts
Participating Groups
Spanish River High School Chorus
Louisburg High School Select Choir
Chrismon Chorale & St Andrew Canticle Choir
North Central University Concert Chorale
Stuyvesant High School Oratorio Choir
Brick Memorial High School Honors and Alumni Chorus
St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Chamber Choir - Castle Rock, CO
The Rockridge Chorale
Calvary United Methodist Church Choir, Colorado, USA
The Evans Choir
Special Guests
Artist's Name
Larry Bach
Artist's Name
Catherine Sailer
Artist's Name
Lauren Lestage
Artist's Name
Mark WinstonPress & Marketing
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Participating Group Directors
Spanish River High School Chorus
Alex Kovalsky
Alex Kovalsky is the Chorus Director at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, FL. Choirs from SRHS consistently receive high ratings at district and state assessments, and SRHS students are regularly accepted into local, state, and regional honor choirs. Alex is an active member of FMEA, FVA, and ACDA, and serves in leadership roles at the district, regional, and national levels. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Montevallo and a Master of Music degree from Kansas State University.
The Spanish River High School Chorus is dedicated to developing the best people and musicians possible through high quality music education that is accessible to all.
Louisburg High School Select Choir
Alison Moore
Alison Moore has directed the Louisburg High School Select Choir for 10 years. She taught elementary music in the Shawnee Mission and Louisburg school districts for 10 years prior to becoming the middle school and high school choir directors in Louisburg, Kansas. She also teaches theatre arts at the high school and is the musical director for both the middle and high school. She and her husband, Tommy have 4 children: Austin, Alyse, Ashton and Adelyn.
The Louisburg High School Select Choir is an audition only group that performs throughout the school year at various school and community. Select Choir members range in grade level from sophomore through senior, but all are active members of their school's extra-curricular programs. These young singers also participate in the following: cross country, football, volleyball, swim, soccer, basketball, wrestling, softball, baseball, track, FBLA, National Honor Society, Student Council, scholars' bowl and the musical. This is the Louisburg High School Select Choir's second appearance with DCINY having previously performed in The Music of Will Todd in 2019.
Chrismon Chorale & St Andrew Canticle Choir
Larry Bach
Larry Bach currently conducts the Minneapolis based Community choir, Chrismon Chorale and the St Andrew Lutheran Church Canticle Choir in Eden Prairie, MN. He recently retired from a long and distinguished career as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at North Central University, where he also led all choral activities. The NCU chorale sang in over 20 countries under Bach’s direction as well as extensive tours through the USA. Bach holds a BA in vocal performance from West Virginia Wesleyan College, a MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Minnesota, and DMA(abd) from the the University of Iowa. Bach sang for many years with the renowned Dale Warland singers, serving several years as associate conductors.
The Chrismon Chorale began as a community choir in Minneapolis MN in 1992. The Choral presents concerts in the Fall and Spring in various churches throughout Twin Cities. The Chorale seeks to present concerts exclusively from the collected works of sacred choral music that comfort, uplift, and inspire, seeking to perform them with the highest level of musicality and artistry, singing as people who personally believe and know the truth of the message that they proclaim, and offering them as a sacrifice to the glory of God.”
North Central University Concert Chorale
Alessio Tranchell
Alessio Tranchell serves as Assistant Professor of Music at North Central University where he directs the Concert Chorale, the Women’s Chorus, and the Festival Choir. Previously, Tranchell worked at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul where he directed the Amata Women’s Chorale and taught courses in music theory and sight singing. Tranchell has also worked as an adjunct faculty at Crown College and Saint Cloud State University while appearing regularly with the Minnesota Opera Chorus. He currently lives in downtown St. Paul with his wife, Caroline and two pugs Tommy and Roger.
The North Central University Concert Chorale is an ensemble of thirty singers and instrumentalists, under the direction of Alessio Tranchell. They’re known for their exciting and passionate music ministry in styles ranging from choral classics to contemporary gospel. The Chorale has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe, singing in churches, schools, and concert halls.
Stuyvesant High School Oratorio Choir
Liliya Shamazov
Liliya Shamazov is a conductor, pianist, and a music educator. She holds degrees in piano performance, music history, and school administration. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including Conservatory of Music Scholarship (Brooklyn College, CUNY), Harvey Lichtenstein Prize in Performing Arts, Laurence Dilsner Memorial Award for Choir Directors and Music Educators, Choral Award (Brooklyn College), and John Challener Award in Piano. Ms. Shamazov has worked with choruses for over 25 years, singing, accompanying, and conducting.
As a piano accompanist, she has worked at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp at Lincoln Center, New York University Chorale, and the NYC High School Honors Festival. She sings and conducts at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Manhattan and has sung with the Slavonic Cappella Ensemble. Ms. Shamazov has served as a Paul Simon Music Teacher Mentor at the NYC Department of Education and currently serves as a Musical Teacher Professional Development Facilitator with the DOE's Office of Arts and Special Projects. Liliya Shamazov is a Music Department Coordinator at Stuyvesant High School, and has worked with the Stuyvesant High School Choruses since 2005.
Stuyvesant High School’s Choruses number over 200 singers drawn from the international community of Stuyvesant High School, encompassing grades 9 through 12. Students accepted into the Oratorio Choir, Men's Chorus, or Women's commit themselves through senior year. Repertoire is varied, representative of masterworks and pieces from the popular canon.
The choruses have performed at the NYC High School Honors Music Festival, the National Chorale's NYC High School Choral Festival, at Choral Fest in Symphony Space, at the River-to-River Festival with Master Voices Chorale, at the Citi Headquarters Plaza and Lobby Opening Ceremony, with the Cornell University Men's Glee Club, and at the 9/11 Glade Dedication Ceremony.
Stuyvesant High School Choruses have sung with DCINY since 2013, performing Handel’s 'Messiah', Verdi’s 'Messa da Requiem', Mozart’s 'Requiem', Orff's 'Carmina Burana', a solo segment in DCINY’s “Songs of Inspiration and Hope,” and in "Reflections of Light" concert.
Brick Memorial High School Honors and Alumni Chorus
Kevin Bettys
Mr. Bettys has been teaching Choral, Vocal Music and Music Theory at Brick Memorial High School for 26 Years. He is an active member of NJ All Shore Chorus, NAFME, and NJMEA. He is a graduate of Trenton State College Class of 1996 renamed The College of New Jersey in 1996.
The Brick Memorial Honors and Alumni Chorus was formed specifically for this performance. The chorus is made up of current and former students who have performed in at least one of and in some cases all of the following ensembles.
Brick Memorial Honors Chorus, NJ All Shore Chorus, NJ All State Mixed Chorus, NJ All State Treble Choir.
St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Chamber Choir - Castle Rock, CO
Donald J. Billings
Donald Billings, lyric baritone and choral conductor, has been the Director of Music and Liturgy at St Francis of Assisi Parish in Castle Rock, CO since 2010. He received his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where he also studied Choral Conducting with Robert D Penn and Dr. Catherine Sailer. He performs regularly with the Evans Choir in Denver, CO. He is also a regular performer and music minister through the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
The St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Chamber Choir is based in Castle Rock, CO. Under the direction of Donald Billings, their mission is to inspire the congregation to raise their voices together to worship and praise God. The chamber choir is comprised of voices from the various musical ensembles inside the parish who come together for large performances and liturgical events. The have performed in Rome and provided music at Mass at St Peters Basilica. This is their third performance with DCINY.
The Rockridge Chorale
Devi de Sam Lazaro-Jameson
Devi de Sam Lazaro-Jameson is the director and the force behind this professionally recognized group. She founded this chorale in 2003 and takes the group internationally every year. Of Indian heritage, she was born in Shanghai and grew up in India where she developed her love of and skills at piano and choral music. After moving to the US she continued studying music and directing church choirs while pursuing her career as a Public School Director, and raising three children. She and her husband live in the Rockridge area of Oakland California and enjoy the company of four beautiful grand children.
The Rockridge Chorale, is limited to 32 well trained singers. The group sings concerts throughout the year in senior centers, hospitals and retirement facilities. Once or twice a year a large choral production is held that is open to the public. The group has on many occasions joined other choral groups and produced larger concerts with the intention of fund raising for needy organizations. The group has raised funds for Darfur, Save the Children, National Assoc. Mentally Ill, and other causes. The group has traveled domestically, and internationally to Bangalore, India, Paris and Chapaize France, to Newcastle and London UK, and Israel to perform. More recently a group of Rockridge Chorale Juniors have joined to produce Multi-generational concerts, that have become very popular. The last concert included child prodigy drummer Yoyoka. The group’s repertoire serves a wide population of audiences, from the popular music of the Beatles, from the musicals Hamilton, Matilda to Faure, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Rutter, Dan Forrest and many other composers and arrangers. In addition to music, the Chorale is a tight supportive group, where every member feels like they belong, and the relationships go beyond music.
Calvary United Methodist Church Choir, Colorado, USA
Stephanie Benton
Stephanie Benton, a choral conductor and pianist, received degrees from the University of Denver, where she studied with Catherine Sailer. She later moved to Colorado Springs, where she was a faculty member teaching music at UCCS and Pikes Peak State College. In 2012, Stephanie moved to Germany, where she conducted the Rheinland-Pfalz International Choir. This choir was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall for a DCINY concert with Catherine Sailer in 2017. She also worked with church, college, and community choirs in northern California, and was a participant in the Chorus America Conducting Academy, studying with Duain Wolfe and other prominent conductors. Currently, Stephanie is a conductor for the Colorado Springs Childrens Chorale, and the Music Director at Calvary United Methodist Church, leading choir, praise team, and handbells.
Calvary United Methodist Church, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had a choir since it began in 1902 as an Evangelical United Brethren congregation. This church started meeting in a tent on the front lawn of the pastor's home in downtown Colorado Springs; now the congregation of about 150 meets in a beautiful building in Northern Colorado Springs. The choir went on hiatus from 2020-2022, and now has 25 talented singers, many who play handbells or participate in the praise team as well.
The Evans Choir
Catherine Sailer
Skillfully navigating between orchestral and choral ensembles, Catherine Sailer serves as Director of Choral Studies at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, Associate Conductor of the Colorado Ballet Orchestra, Conductor of The Evans Choir, and Music Director of the Littleton Symphony Orchestra. Other conducting credits as conductor or chorus preparation include the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Central City Opera, Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, Elmhurst Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Cabrillo New Music Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, and internationally with the Shanghai International Choral League, Beijing Symphony, Lunds Volksensemble (Sweden), Madrigal Vocale (Brazil), Rhineland Pfalz International Choir (Germany), and Vox Anima Choir and Orchestra (England). Sailer has conducted choral orchestral masterwork festivals in Rome, Vienna, Prague, London, Curitiba, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Honors and awards include the Dale Warland Award for Excellence in Choral Conducting, First Place in the American Prize for Choral Performance, Chorus America’s Robert Shaw Fellowship, 2nd Place in the Barenreiter Internation Choral Competition and First Place in the American Choral Director’s Association Conducting Competition. A passionate performer and educator, her ensembles have performed for ACDA and CMEA conferences. Sailer is in demand as a conducting pedagogue, teaching her craft at workshops and universities throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Sailer received her Doctor of Music in conducting from Northwestern University, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance and conducting from the University of Denver, and further studies at Salzburg College (Austria), Oregon Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling, National Symphony Orchestra’s Conducting Institute with Leonard Slatkin, and the Cabrillo New Music Festival with Marin Alsop.
The Evans Choir is a chamber choir made up of professional singers and conductors in the Denver area committed to performing and promoting choral music at the highest level, often in collaboration with other arts organizations. The ensemble is flexible in size and personnel as appropriate to the project and performs a wide variety of repertoire. The Evans Choir has collaborated in productions with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Central City Opera, Asian Performing Arts of Colorado, Colorado Ballet, Christopher O’Reily, Josh Groban, Playground Ensemble, Quattro Mani, Star Wars in Concert National Tour, Joseph Galema, Chance the Rapper, the Eagles, and composers Tan Dun, Guo Wenjing and Morten Lauridsen. Festival appearances include the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, Vox Anima London, and the Aspen Music Festival.