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Twilight Mass, A World Premiere

Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall

Acts

Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

Gjeilo: Twilight Mass (World Premiere)

Nancy Menk, Guest Conductor

Vivaldi: Gloria

Also Featuring:

Ola Gjeilo, DCINY Composer-in-Residence and Piano

Diana McVey, Soprano

Emily Hughes, Mezzo-Soprano

Participating Groups

The Groton Dunstable Regional High School Chamber Choir

Academic Choir of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun

Meredith Chorale

FFCC International

3 Rivers Chorale

Cantata

Friends' Central Upper School Chorus

Concord Women’s Chorus

Muenchner Frauenchor - Munich Women's Choir

Vocal Latitudes Choir

Moore County Choral Society

Treble Voices from Schoharie High School

Carlsbad Early College High School Choir

Green Level High School Chorus

Virginia Commonwealth University

Southern California Choral Artists

Vocadélys

Cantate'86 Hamm

Herron High School Voces Suprae

Skule Choir

Brooklyn Treble Choir

Members of Saint Mary's College Belles Voix

Sheppard Academy of Vocal Arts

Special Guests

Artist's Name

Jonathan Griffith

Artist's Name

Nancy Menk

Artist's Name

Ola Gjeilo

Artist's Name

Diana McVey

Artist's Name

Emily Hughes

Press & Marketing

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Participating Group Directors

The Groton Dunstable Regional High School Chamber Choir

Timothy Leslie Savoy
The GDRHS Chamber Choir is renowned for their choral performances throughout Massachusetts. The members range from 10th to 12th grade and are admitted through a rigorous audition process. They specialize in a cappella pieces that range from classical to contemporary selections featuring 8 to 14 part harmonies that are primarily at the collegial or professional level. The choir meets for seventy-eight minutes, five days a week with their conductor, Mr. Timothy Savoy, who works with the students to achieve a professional quality of sound. The choir has competed in local, regional and national competitions taking first place for many consecutive years, with over 14 first place AA division championships.
Mr. Timothy Savoy is serving his eighteenth year as the Music Director of Chorus, Chamber Choir, Concert Band, and Jazz Band at the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School in Groton Massachusetts USA. Mr. Savoy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music and Sociology Interdisciplinary Studies from Plymouth State College, a Post Baccalaureate in Music Education from Keene State College, a Masters of Education in Arts Education from Fitchburg State University, a Certificate of Fine Arts Directing from Fitchburg State University, and a GAGS in Fine Art Coordinator Independent Students from Fitchburg State University. As an experienced pianist and vocalist, Mr. Savoy has taught at the elementary, middle school, high school, and adult community arts levels in both public and private school settings for the past twenty-three years. He has conducted and directed the Piano Monsters Concert for the Southern New Hampshire Community School of the Arts, and has lead three different school districts to multiple consecutive first place award winning ensembles. The GDRHS Chamber Chorus under the direction of Mr. Timothy Savoy has performed at the 2012 summer Olympic in London England, Easter Sunday Mass in Padua Italy in 2014 and has performed throughout the USA, England, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, and Spain, and has won over 36 first place, and best overall awards in Local, State, and Regional, and national competitions. Mr. Savoy is proud to be part of the staff at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School where he looks forward to sharing his love of music for many years to come.

Academic Choir of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun

Arkadiusz Kaczynski
The Academic Choir of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun was founded in 1979. It is well known in Poland for performing classical and contemporary works, accompanied by symphony orchestras, pianists, jazz bands, rock bands as well as singing a capella pieces. The choir has performed many times in many European countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and others. In recent years, the ensemble performs, in particular, classical and contemporary music, as well as Polish folk music. The musical direction of the ensemble is held by Professor Arkadiusz Kaczynski, and the organizational direction is held by Mrs. Paulina Olszewska-Janiak, President of the Choir.
Mr. Arkadiusz Kaczynski has been the music director and conductor of the Academic Choir of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun since 2004. On a daily basis, he works as a professor of choral music and vocal education at the Kazimierz Wielki University (UKW) in Bydgoszcz. He is a graduate of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan, as well as his own univeristy.

Meredith Chorale

Dr. Lindsey Bruner Woodcock
Nestled in the oak trees of Raleigh, North Carolina, Meredith College is a historically women’s institution with a strong musical tradition. Meredith Chorale is the college's flagship choral ensemble. The Chorale enjoys exploring treble repertoire from the Renaissance through present-day with refined and thoughtful artistry. They have developed a reputation in The Triangle area for their full, empowered singing. Members of Meredith Chorale represent majors and disciplines from across campus, coming together twice each week to create beautiful art and connect with one another. This performance is Meredith Chorale’s Carnegie Hall debut.
Lindsey Bruner Woodcock is Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Music Education at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She directs three choral ensembles and teaches conducting, secondary choral methods, and elementary music methods. Lindsey holds degrees from the University of Georgia, University of Iowa, and Iowa State University. As a singer and double bassist, she has immersed herself in community music-making and has held leadership roles in numerous civic music organizations. Lindsey’s research focuses on audience engagement and the ways in which interactive performances can enhance the concert experience.

FFCC International

Crystal Kolt
The FFCC International is a chorus based in Flin Flon, Manitoba located in Northern Canada. Derived from the Flin Flon Community Choir, this large chorus alternates between classical masterworks and musical theatre productions which include Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and the original musical theatre production Bombertown. The Flin Flon Community Choir has performed with the WInnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony and is proud and honoured to once again perform under the baton of Jonathan Griffith.
Crystal Kolt has been the Artistic Director of the Flin Flon Community Choir since its inception in 1996. She has led the choir to perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony as well as Distinguished Concerts International. In addition she has produced many many musical theatre productions for northern audiences to enjoy.

3 Rivers Chorale
Kate Campbell
3 Rivers Chorale, based in Grants Pass, Oregon, was founded in 2004 by singers wishing to learn challenging and beautiful choral music and share it in concert with friends and neighbors in Josephine County. They perform four concerts per year, half of those as rural outreach performances which are free to the public. They enjoy collaborating with members of their local community, including instrumentalists, poets, dancers, young composers and guest musicians.
Kate Campbell has been the Director of 3 Rivers Chorale in Grants Pass in Southwest Oregon since 2009. She is a lifelong Oregonian who is thrilled to offer quality choral music to audiences in this rural corner of the state. Kate is a piano teacher, composer and music arranger. In addition to 3 Rivers Chorale, she also conducts choirs at Rogue Community College and Bethany Presbyterian Church in Grants Pass.

Cantata

Marta Drózda-Kulkowska
For 37 years, the Cantata Choir – led by a professional choirmaster conductor, Marta Drózda-Kulkowska – has brought together enthusiasts of choral singing. Operating at the "Cantata" Music Lovers Association, under the auspices of the Academies Medical and Applied Social Sciences, it boasts a number of awards won in national and international competitions. The choir presents various facets of choral music: from sacred works, through folk music, to innovative arrangements of popular music evergreens. The choir presents a new artistic program every year, establishing cooperation with respected composers, arrangers and musicians. It participates in artistic projects together with the Elbląg Chamber Orchestra.
Marta Drózda-Kulkowska completed her MA studies in musicology at the Catholic University of Lublin in 2003, and then choir masters studies at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz in 2006. In 2003, she founded the Bel Canto Youth Choir in Elbląg, which merged with the Cantata choir in 2008. Marta took the position of conductor and artistic director of the new choir and has held this function to this day. In her numerous artistic achievements, she can boast many awards and distinctions won at national and international choir competitions.

Friends' Central Upper School Chorus

Michele Zuckman
Friends’ Central School is an independent, coeducational college-preparatory Quaker school in Wynnewood, PA. Friends’ Central’s Upper School Chorus is a mixed-voice ensemble that performs several concerts a year and sings at various community events. This is their fifth DCINY performance.
Michele Zuckman is Friends’ Central’s vocal music teacher and choral program director. A soprano, conductor, and board member of the Chestnut Street Singers in Philadelphia, Michele earned a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University and an MM at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Her previous experience includes Princeton Singers (Soprano), Hopewell Valley Chorus (Artistic Director/Conductor), and Lehigh Valley Charter Arts High School.

Concord Women’s Chorus

Jane Ring Frank
Concord Women’s Chorus is a 45-singer ensemble fostering the power of women’s voices through song. Singers hail from the Greater Boston area. Artistic Director Jane Ring Frank conducts the chorus performing a wide variety of choral music, ranging from early music to contemporary repertoire, with an emphasis on works written for women’s voices. CWC’s commitment to the mastery and performance of a dynamic repertoire for women transforms the act of choral singing into an instrument for collaboration, education, and connection. The ensemble features confident singers who care deeply about creating, through women’s voices, a source of strength and inspiration for themselves, the audience and the world around us.
Jane Ring Frank is one of Greater Boston’s most acclaimed choral conductors. She brings an unerring ear for intonation and sound color, a command of conducting, uncompromising scholarship, and a love of connecting with listeners. Ring Frank has conducted at Harvard, served as Director of Chapel Music at the Episcopal Divinity School, and served on the faculty of Emerson College. She was also conductor of Philovox, E.C. Shirker’s resident professional recording chorus, and Founding Director of the innovative Boston Sucession, producing two significant recordings. She has toured in the United States and Europe, and is Minister of Music and Worship Arts at the First Congregational Church of Winchester.

Muenchner Frauenchor - Munich Women's Choir
Katrin Wende-Ehmer
The Munich Women’s Choir conducted by Katrin Wende-Ehmer has been enriching the Bavarian choir landscape since 1989 with original choral music for female voices, a genre that hadn’t been cultivated much before. The choir is known for its warm and full sound, its diverse and compelling concert repertoire, and its performances of contemporary orig-inal compositions. The singers’ continuous vocal training plays an important role in the choir’s activities. The choir therefore works with two vocal coaches who conduct vocal training according to Katrin Wende-Ehmer’s tonal concept. In addition to giving concerts in Bavaria and abroad, the Munich Women’s Choir regularly participates in national and international competitions and took part in Germany’s choir competition 2023.
In founding the Munich Women’s Choir in 1989, Katrin Wende-Ehmer fulfilled a life-long dream of creating a women’s voices ensemble and has since shaped it into one of Germany’s leading women’s choirs. In addition to her studies at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg from 1978 to 1983, she has successfully completed numerous vocal training and conducting courses as well as professional seminars. She is a fierce promoter of lay choir music as a member of the German Federation of Young Choirs (AMJ) and the music committee of the Bavarian Choral Association. In 1998, she received a grant from the German Music Council for her choral work.

Vocal Latitudes Choir

Frank Rackow, Director Emeritus
Vocal Latitudes is a mixed voice, community choir based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The choir sings everything from Renaissance and classical pieces, to gospel, jazz pop and global Indigenous music. Vocal Latitudes prides itself on singing in a wide variety of languages and styles and on being a welcoming and joyous choral community. Founded in 2005, the choir has performed at Calgary concert venues big and small, and has collaborated with a number of well-known Canadian singers and instrumentalists.
Frank Rackow is the founding conductor of Vocal Latitudes, a community choir in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has also conducted Voix Des Rocheuses, the city's French community choir and worked as a choral director in Montreal. As a saxophonist and clarinetist, he has performed and recorded with a wide variety of jazz and global music artists and projects at clubs and festivals across Canada. He studied music at Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal.

Moore County Choral Society

Anne Dorsey
Begun in 1975 as a small group, the Moore County Choral Society is now in its forty-ninth season with a membership of 80+ singers. It has a proud mission to present choral masterworks and increase public awareness and appreciation of choral art in the community it serves. In further service to the community, MCCS offers two scholarships to area young people pursuing degrees in music.
Anne Dorsey is a 1977 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While there she sang in the Carolina Choir and UNC Women's Glee Club under the direction of Dr. Lara G. Hoggard. She studied voice with Martha Z. Flowers. Upon graduation, Ms. Dorsey enjoyed a thirty two year public education career, serving as choral director for middle and high school aged students. She also served nine years as a church choir director. For the past twenty two years, she has served as Artistic Director and Conductor for the Moore County Choral Society.

Treble Voices from Schoharie High School

Carrie Styles
These students are members of our soprano and alto sections in both Schoharie Central School's high school choir and in Leading Tones, Schoharie's auditioned select ensemble.
Carrie Styles is the choral director at Schoharie Jr/Sr High School in Schoharie, NY. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from The College of Saint Rose and a Master's Degree in Music Education from SUNY Buffalo State. Mrs. Styles is a recipient of a Governor’s Empire State Excellence in Teaching Award and her ensembles have performed for a variety of audiences, including the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s (NASDA) annual meeting and as an opening act for the band Foreigner at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Carlsbad Early College High School Choir

Robin Irving
The Carlsbad Early College High School Choir was created in 2015 by its current director, Mrs. Robin Irving, and serves as a curricular, self-selected, 9th-12th grade choral ensemble on campus and the heartbeat of the school. CECHS is the flagship Early College program in the state of New Mexico and the first model in the state to have a choral program. Service to the school and the community are core values. Honors of the CECHS Choir members include frequent selection for the New Mexico All-State Mixed and Treble Choirs, Carnegie Hall Honors Performance Series, and the NAfME All-National Honor Choir.
Mrs. Robin Irving is the director of the Carlsbad Early College High School Choir in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Upon completion of her Master's from the University of Northern Colorado in 2001, Mrs. Irving embarked on a fulfilling teaching and performing career across Colorado and New Jersey. In 2010, with her amazing husband, Aaron, they began a new adventure in New Mexico by renovating a geodesic dome in the desert to call both home and a music studio. After recognizing a need in her community to provide quality music education for all students, Mrs. Irving established the choir program at CECHS.

Green Level High School Chorus

LeeAnn Faust
The Green Level High School Chorus is a community of student musicians who strive to blend skill and artistry to share their most authentic and expressive musical interpretations with each other and all who listen to them sing. Founded in 2019, this young chorus has represented itself well within the choral community. Every choir in the program has consistently earned all superior ratings on stage and in sight reading. In addition, its members also regularly earn places in the North Carolina Music Educators Association Honors Chorus, the All-Carolina Select Choir and NC Governor’s School. And while the singers and their director work incredibly hard to bring high quality choral performances to every audience, kindness is the heart of this choir. This performance will mark the Green Level Chorus Carnegie Hall debut.
LeeAnn Faust, originally from Miami, Florida, is an accomplished pianist, singer, and conductor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Stetson University and has invested 16 years as a music educator. Ms. Faust began her career teaching middle and high school choir in Florida, and later served as the Associate Conductor for the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio. Most recently, she spent a year as a conductor and accompanist for the Raleigh Boychoir, (now the Raleigh Youth Choir), and is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Green Level High School with Wake County Public Schools in North Carolina. Prior to moving to Wake County, Ms. Faust spent several years as the choir director at Fayetteville Academy in Fayetteville, NC. Under her direction, the FA choirs earned many awards and accolades, toured nationally and consistently received invitations to perform with organizations such as the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Methodist University Chorale. In addition to her work in the choral field, Ms. Faust’s love of musical theatre has led to a tremendous amount of experience as a music director, vocal coach and pianist.

Virginia Commonwealth University

Christopher Hansen
The Virginia Commonwealth University ensemble comprises four passionate and talented individuals from the esteemed Music Education Department. The group's mission is to spread the joy of music through harmonious melodies, captivating performances, and a dedication to nurturing the musical potential of every member.
Christopher Hansen is a choral conductor, clinician, educator, and researcher interested in choral performance adjudication, effective choral rehearsal methods, and exploring the social fabric of singing communities.

Southern California Choral Artists

Eric Rea
Southern California Choral Artists was founded in 2021 as a non-profit arts organization. We are an auditioned chamber choir of 30-40 members who love sharing the joy of choral singing with each other and our community. Our regular season consists of at least 4 concerts featuring a variety of musical genres and styles. Because we seek to create meaningful musical experiences, we value interaction and education in our performances. Our audience members often tell us how much they love learning about the music from our director’s comments, which help them more fully enter into the music and enjoy it.
Eric Rea is a music educator, church musician, singer, and choral director. He is the music department chair and tenured, full-time music faculty at Mt. San Jacinto College, where he directs choir, and teaches music theory, ear training, music appreciation, and private voice lessons. He has previously conducted the Riverside Master Chorale and the Temecula Valley Symphony Chorus and founded Southern California Choral Artists in 2021. Eric serves as the deacon for worship at Grace Bible Church of Murrieta. He is thankful to God for the many opportunities to intersect with people’s lives through shared musical experiences.

Vocadélys

Pierre-Olivier Bigot

Vocadelys is a vocal choir composed of 18 singers, coming from different departments of Pays-De-Loire region in France. We sing an eclectic register of works by European classical composers like Mozart, Fauré, Shubert... and by contemporary ones like Gjeilo, Whitaker, Lauridsen, Mealor, Rutter... Our name comes from "Voca" (voice in latin) and "Délys" (delights), sounds like vocalize.

Pierre-Olivier Bigot is a young French conductor, choirmaster, and singing teacher in the Chateaubriant Conservatory in France. For twenty years, he conducts several classical and variety choirs in the Pays-De-Loire region. He's the owner of a master's degree in musicology and choir direction's master diploma in Creteil.

Cantate'86 Hamm

Werner Granz
Cantate`86 is a choir of the evangelical church community of Hamm/Westfalen. Musically, the emphasis is on the spiritual chorus of different epochs and different styles. The choir performs regularly in church services and concerts. Concert tours through Switzerland, as well as to Estonia, France, USA and Poland were the highlights so far. 10 participations in “Deutschen Evangelischen Kirchentagen” and “Ökumenischen Kirchentagen” allowed the choir to travel all over Germany. The choir also received important impulses by participating in various competitions. The annual highlight is the Christmas concert in Hamm with famous national and international artists. After 2018, this concert is the 2nd collaboration with DCINY.
Werner Granz (born in 1950) completed the study of church music and for teacher at primary and secondary schools with a focus on "music". From 1977 to 2016 he was active as a teacher for singclasses and choral director at the “Städtische Musikschule Hamm / Westfalen”. Since 2007, he has been the coordinator of the project "Jedem Kind ein Instrument". In a Protestant church of Hamm, he founded, amongst others, the youth choir "Cantate'86".

Herron High School Voces Suprae

Scott M. Riley
Herron High School is a top rated, public, college-prep, classical, liberal arts high school in the heart of Indianapolis. Voces Suprae is Latin meaning higher voices reflecting our schools classical philosophy in education. Voces Suprae is one of three choirs at Herron High School. This group has gained much success performing at various events including ISSMA Ensemble and Choral contests, St. Mary's College Treble Chorus Festival, and Tlaxcala Canta, an international festival of choirs in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
Scott Riley has directed Herron High School Choirs for 11 years. He is a graduate of Butler University(BA '94) and University of Indianapolis(MA '06), both in Indianapolis. Mr. Riley also teaches Piano, Music Appreciation, and Music Theory courses. Outside of school, he plays bass guitar and keyboards in his church contemporary praise team.

Skule Choir

Lauren Levorson-Wong
Skule Choir is the choral ensemble representing the engineering faculty of the University of Toronto. It accepts members of every faculty and skill level, and performs a variety of music from both the traditional choral cannon and from global popular musics. Skule Choir is excited to be returning to New York with DCINY for the second time.
Lauren Levorson-Wong is a choral and ECM educator from Toronto. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Music Education from University of Toronto, specializing in Early Childhood Music, Choral Conducting, HealthApplications in Music and Global Popular Musics. Lauren is an instructor with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and has been the conductor of Skule Choir for seven years.

Brooklyn Treble Choir

Liz Geisewite
Brooklyn Treble Choir is a multigenerational community ensemble dedicated to excellence in choral singing. Performing a varied, vibrant, and timely repertoire, with an emphasis on music by contemporary women and other underrepresented composers, their music reflects a broad range of human experience. Founded in 2001 by Jessica Corbin as Bella Voce Singers, the choir has continuously strived to create a welcoming and safe space for women and gender minorities from all backgrounds and levels of musical knowledge. BK Treble is dedicated to building a shared vision of inclusion, community, and justice.
Liz Geisewite has been Brooklyn Treble Choir’s Artistic Director since 2019. She is the Director of Choral Education for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and teaches choral conducting classes at Manhattan School of Music. Additionally, she is the current Treble Choir Repertoire and Resources co-chair for NY-ACDA. In 2009, she co-founded Accord Treble Choir, which performed at the 2012 and 2020 ACDA Eastern Division conferences. A student of the Kodály method, Liz has taught Kodály musicianship classes for the National Children’s Chorus and studied Kodály methodology at NYU, the British Kodály Academy, and the International Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary.

Members of Saint Mary's College Belles Voix

Dr. Nancy Menk
Saint Mary’s College Belles Voix regularly commissions and performs new works for women's voices. An outgrowth of this emphasis is the publication of the Saint Mary's College Choral Series, published by earthsongs of Corvallis, Oregon, and their series of recordings on the ProOrgano label. The Choir has performed throughout the United States and has appeared before state, division and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. The Choir tours nationally every other year, and regularly performs with the University of Notre Dame Glee Club in joint performances of major works with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.
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Sheppard Academy of Vocal Arts

Bettina Sheppard
Sheppard Academy of Vocal Arts (SAVA), based in NYC, is a home for singers of all levels. Classes, workshops, and individual lessons provide training, development, and support for successful careers in music, while maintaining a safe, supportive, non-competitive environment of community and professionalism. With an emphasis on healthy vocal technique and all aspects of musicality, SAVA students work professionally on Broadway, TV and film, concerts, regional theatres, clubs, and recording contracts for those studying songwriting and composition. SAVA Singers have performed in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, City Center, and have recorded music for the W.H.O.
Bettina Sheppard is a Welsh/American composer, performer, and arranger of music for classical, film, theatre, commercial, and dance pieces. Specializing in vocal and choral music, she is the founder and Artistic Director of Sheppard Academy of Vocal Arts (SAVA). Performances include theatre, classical choral, the swing jazz trio, Satin Dolls (founder), Celtic/Afro band and recording (Solus) under her Welsh name, Brythonwen. NYC-based, with graduate degrees in classical composition and media/film scoring, her compositions have been performed internationally. Sheppard is on faculty at City College of New York, CUNY, and is author of the book, The Everything Singing Book.