Steve Kass

Ives Psalm 90 is to die for, and the rest of it is damn good, too. You can download DRM-free mp3 files from digstation here. It’s also available on iTunes and some other sites. It will be available as a CD at dessoff.org. An uncommon, fully rewarding look at American choral music.

On Thursday, November 19, and Friday, November 20, the Dessoff Chamber Choir backed up Ray Davies live at Town Hall in New York in a set of songs from the Kinks Choral Collection.

You can see all the tenors in this photograph from a superb collection posted to SmugMug by Arnie Goodman of Bluestormmusic.com and Elmore Magazine:

Tenors, L to R: Jeff Lunden, Andrew Willett, Daniel O’Brien, Steve Brautigam, Erol Tamerman, Tansal Arnas, Douglas Riccardi, Steve Kass

And here’s a YouTube clip of us singing. Friday’s concert was recorded for radio broadcast in early December. Stay tuned for details.

It was a fantastic gig. Ray, the band, and the sound and stage crew were all as nice as could be, and David Temple, the choir director was brilliant. Also brilliant was Dessoff soprano Christine Hoffman, without whom we couldn’t have done this. She prepared us superbly in the weeks before the concerts. Best of all was the crowd, who were wildly appreciative of the choir both during and after the show.

Finally, Dessoff would be happy to meet fans, friends, or supporters at our upcoming CD Release party:

No, it’s not another Philip Glass premiere, but that was a good guess. The correct answer is The Kinks Choral Collection.

I’d love to see my friends come hear me in either or both Dessoff gigs I’m part of this month:

• November 12: Our 2009-2010 concert series begins, with Ernest Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service) at Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the Upper West Side.
• November 19 and 20: We back up Ray Davies at Town Hall on November 19 and 20.

If you can’t make it to one of our shows, you’re not off the hook:

• November 18th: Dessoff appears on The Late Show with David Letterman. A small group of Dessoff singers (not including me) will back up Ray Davies, who’ll be Dave’s guest that day.

November: On Tour with Ray Davies

In November, Dessoff backs Ray Davies in a four-city East Coast tour featuring choral versions of The Kinks’ greatest hits.

Friday 11/18, Montclair  @The Wellmont Theatre
Saturday 11/19, Philadelphia @Temple PAC
Sunday 11/20, New York  @The Beacon Theater
Wednesday 11/23, Boston  @The Wilbur Theater

New Year’s Eve: A Child of Our Time

On December 31, Dessoff will join George Mathew
and the Ubuntu-Shruti Orchestra
at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, performing Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time in the annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace that Leonard Bernstein founded over a quarter century ago.

Tickets on sale soon.

Dessoff’s Midwinter Festival 2012

This season, The Dessoff Choirs inaugurates its Midwinter Festival, a series of concerts and events that frame choral masterworks in a larger cultural and historical context.

The first year’s theme is Refracted Bach. Come and explore how J.S. Bach absorbed myriad musical styles and how later composers have been inspired by his astonishing legacy.   Tickets and discount ticket packages.

January  21  WHY BACH MATTERS A lecture by George Stauffer
February  3  STILE ANTICO The Dessoff Choirs @ St. Paul the Apostle
February  7  Robin Holloway’s GILDED GOLDBERGS @ Weill Recital Hall
February 11 SING-IN: Cantatas Reflected in the B Minor Mass @ Immanuel Lutheran
March 3        Bach’s B MINOR MASS Dessoff & Arcadia Players @ St. Mary the Virgin

May: Lux Æterna, Music for Choir and Organ

The concert season wraps up at The Church of the Epiphany on May 12 with music for choir and organ. On the program, Benjamin Britten’s festival cantata Rejoice in the Lamb, anthems by Purcell and Howells, and more.

A pairing of great subtlety, richness, and power, this combination of Dessoff voices and the “king of instruments” is sure to surprise and delight. Tickets.

Sign up today [click here] to receive the latest updates on Refracted Bach, Ray Davies, and our entire season!

Mark your calendar as Dessoff turns 87 with a year of choral music as varied as the seasons.

* We kick off in November, with Dessoff backing Ray Davies in a four-city East Coast tour featuring choral versions of The Kinks’ greatest hits.

* Ring in the new year on December 31^st at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, as we join George Mathew and the Ubuntu-Shruti Orchestra, performing Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time in the annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace that Leonard Bernstein founded over a quarter century ago.

* Attend the events of our new Midwinter Festival centered on a cornerstone of Western choral music, J.S. Bach’s glorious Mass in B Minor. Building up to the Mass, the Refracted Bach festival includes a lecture by renowned Bach scholar George Stauffer; pianists Steven Ryan and Catherine Venable in recital at Weill Concert Hall; a Sing-In of the Bach Cantatas reflected in the Mass; and Stile Antico, a concert of choral and instrumental works that influenced Bach and that Bach inspired.

* Join us as we conclude in May with Lux Aeterna, a celebration of modern & contemporary works for choir and organ.

Click here to learn more about our concerts or to buy tickets.