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The 2022-23 Season, our first with incoming Artistic Director Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, is packed with performances that showcase the choral classics we know and love while ushering in a new generation of classics.
Expect to be awed by a season that reawakens the spirit and transcends beyond the walls of the concert hall.
Saturday, November 19, 2022 | 7:00 pm
Washington National Cathedral
Symphonic Chorus
This program is a tribute of gratitude for the DC Community. We honor composers, their works, and pieces with significant ties to the DC metro area. Join us as we love on our city through song
Monday, December 19, 2022 | 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 24, 2022 | 2:00 pm
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Symphonic Chorus, Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, conductor
Youth Choir, Brandon Straub, conductor
Choral Arts Orchestra
Embrace the magic of the Christmas season from the sheer excitement of a morning in community with one another to the snowy lilts of a lullaby. The radiant voices of the Chorus return to the Kennedy Center accompanied by the lush sound of a full orchestra. Capture the serene and the joyous with the season’s vibrant treasure-trove of winter carols and Christmas classics.
Saturday, December 24, 2022 | 11:00 am
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
with special guests Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph
Symphonic Chorus
Choral Arts Brass
Bring the kids for an unforgettable holiday experience as the Choral Arts Chorus fills the concert hall with holiday classics just for them! We’ll take you on a merry tour of Christmas favorites that will have your family singing all the way home. Expect a visit from Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph! This one-hour concert is perfect for children ages 5 and up.
Sunday, February 5, 2023 | 7:00 pm
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Washington Performing Arts Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel
Michele Fowlin, Artistic Director
Theodore Thorpe III, Artistic Director
The Choral Arts Society of Washington
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, Artistic Director
The long-running, ever-popular tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to the Kennedy Center as the combined choirs of Washington Performing Arts Gospel Choirs and Choral Arts celebrate the power of music, collaboration, and the human spirit. The program transcends race, age, and gender to unite all who honor his ideals with songs that unite our spirits.
Saturday, May 6, 2023 | 4:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Live! at 10th & G
Chamber Singers
The most recent collaboration between Eric Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri, The Sacred Veil tells an intimate story of life, love and loss.
Sunday, June 11, 2023 | 5:00 pm
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Symphonic Chorus
Choral Arts Orchestra
THE PROGRAM:
Joseph Haydn: Missa in angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times/Lord Nelson Mass)
Florence Price: Song of Hope
Dominick DiOrio: Solaris
Explore the beauty that flourishes when we reject preconceived notions. These three works illuminate how we navigate the inner workings of being present, the importance of self-determination and tenacious hope, and what is possible when we choose ourselves and our authenticity, regardless of societal pressure.
All performances are conducted by Artistic Director Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan unless otherwise indicated.
ALL attendees, regardless of age, must have a ticket including children who will sit in a lap.
By purchasing tickets, you accept the risk of attending a live performance.
To learn more about supporting our season journey, email JoinUs@ChoralArts.org.
All programs, artists, dates, times, prices, and content are subject to change.
35th Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Co-presented with Washington Performing Arts
BUY TICKETS
Ticket Package renewals and purchases available now! Tickets for individual concerts available September 22, 2022. Join our email list for updates.
The long-running, ever-popular tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to the Kennedy Center as the combined choirs of Washington Performing Arts Gospel Choirs and Choral Arts celebrate the power of music, collaboration, and the human spirit. The program transcends race, age, and gender to unite all who honor Dr. King’s ideals with songs that unite our spirits.
Choral Arts will present the 2023 Humanitarian Award to an individual who shows incredible leadership through their dedication to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recent recipients include LaTosha Brown (2022) and Sherrilyn Ifill (2020).
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Shawn Yancy, Host
Father John Adams, 2023 Choral Arts Humanitarian Award Recipient
Ralph Alan Herndon, soloist
Washington Performing Arts Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel
Michele Fowlin, Artistic Director
Theodore Thorpe III, Artistic Director
The Choral Arts Society of Washington
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, Artistic Director
PROGRAM:
We Cannot Be Silent | Kurt Carr
Ezekiel Saw the Wheel | arr. Dawson
Pass Me Not | arr. Ramsey Lewis
I Dreamed a World | Andre Thomas
Music in the Air | Ryan Murphy
O Glory | Evelyn Simpson-Curenton
Sing to the Lord | Melvin Bryant, Jr.
Matthew 28 | Donald Lawrence
Prelude to Worship/We Offer Praise | West/Bryant
There is a Balm in Gilead | arr. Raymond Wise
Rockin’ Jerusalem | Andre Thomas
Sunday Morning Medley | arr. Ralph Herndon
Expect Your Blessings | arr. Ralph Herndon
Ride on King Jesus | arr. Hogan
If I Can Help Somebody | arr. Thurston
PERFORMANCE TIMING:
90 minutes, no intermission
The Choral Arts Society of Washington gratefully acknowledges its season sponsors:
To learn more about supporting our season journey, email JoinUs@ChoralArts.org.
ALL attendees, regardless of age, must have a ticket including children who will sit in a lap. By purchasing tickets, you accept the risk of attending a live performance. All programs, artists, dates, times, and content are subject to change.
Live! at 10th & G
BUY TICKETS
Ticket Package renewals and purchases available now! Tickets for individual concerts available September 22, 2022. Join our email list for updates.
What if our departed loved ones are not truly gone, but are closer than we think? How can we mourn those we have lost while still moving forward? We have all experienced the loss, in one way or another, of someone or something we have loved deeply. How do we know when it’s time to move forward?
The most recent collaboration between Eric Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri, The Sacred Veil tells an intimate story of life, love and loss. Silvestri’s wife, Julie, died of ovarian cancer at age 36 in 2005, leaving two young children. Including texts from Silvestri, Whitacre, and Julie herself, the intimate, compelling score tells a story of courtship, love, loss, and the search for solace. Although inspired by this extraordinary and moving friendship, the piece does not mention Julie by name and shares a very human journey –one that so many of us can relate to.
THE PROGRAM:
Eric Whitacre: The Sacred Veil
1. The Veil Opens
2. In a Dark and Distant Year
3. Home
4. Magnetic Poetry
5. Whenever There Is Birth
6. I’m Afraid
7. I Am Here
8. Delicious Times
9. One Last Breath
10. Dear Friends
11. You Rise, I Fall
12. Child of Wonder
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, conductor
Chamber Singers
PERFORMANCE TIMING:
60 minutes, no intermission.
The Choral Arts Society of Washington gratefully acknowledges its season sponsors:
To learn more about supporting our season journey, email JoinUs@ChoralArts.org.
ALL attendees, regardless of age, must have a ticket including children who will sit in a lap. By purchasing tickets, you accept the risk of attending a live performance. All programs, artists, dates, times, and content are subject to change.
Haydn’s Mass for Troubled Times | Price’s Song of Hope | DiOrio’s Solaris
The Kennedy Center Concert Hall
BUY TICKETS
Ticket Package renewals and purchases available now! Tickets for individual concerts available September 22, 2022. Join our email list for updates.
Explore the beauty that flourishes when we reject preconceived notions. Artistic Director Jace Saplan has chosen three works that illuminate how we navigate the inner workings of being present (DiOrio’s Solaris), the importance of self-determination and tenacious hope (Price’s Song of Hope), and what is possible when we choose ourselves and our authenticity, regardless of societal pressure (Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass).
THE PROGRAM:
Dominick DiOrio: Solaris
Florence Price: Song of Hope
Joseph Haydn: Missa in Angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times) “Lord Nelson Mass”
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, conductor
Symphonic Chorus
Choral Arts Orchestra
PERFORMANCE TIMING:
First Half: 45 minutes | Intermission: 15 minutes | Second Half: 45 minutes
The Choral Arts Society of Washington gratefully acknowledges its season sponsors:
To learn more about supporting our season journey, email JoinUs@ChoralArts.org.
ALL attendees, regardless of age, must have a ticket including children who will sit in a lap. By purchasing tickets, you accept the risk of attending a live performance. All programs, artists, dates, times, and content are subject to change.