The City Choir of Washington’s 2022-2023 Season with Erin Freeman, Artistic Director

July 2, 2022

PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The City Choir of Washington’s 2022-2023 Season with Erin Freeman, Artistic Director

Washington, D.C. (Friday, July 1, 2022) - The City Choir of Washington (TCCW) is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 season under the direction of incoming Artistic Director, Erin Freeman. Following in the tradition of choral excellence and creative programming, TCCW will present four concerts with themes of joy, peace, and light, featuring over 20 composers in four different venues around the Metropolitan D.C. area. Partnerships with D.C area organizations, composers, and soloists will highlight TCCW’s deep connections to the Washington, D.C. artistic scene. 

The season opens with Gioacchino Rossini’s grand Petite Messe Solennelle. This monumental piece, which pays homage to Palestrina, Bach, and Mozart, all while referencing the humor of Rossini’s comic operas, will highlight the voices of TCCW and the artistry of their pianist Peter Uhlir. In January, TCCW will present a New Year's concert, honoring three different renewal traditions, including the Winter Solstice, the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, and a Viennese soirrée. March brings a concert of music by GRAMMY-winning film composer Sharon Farber paired with the mournful-turned-triumphant Cantata BWV 21 by Johann Sebastian Bach. The season rounds out with a celebration of American music old and new in June. To the set of Old American Songs by Aaron Copland, TCCW will add commissions of “New American Songs” by D.C. Area composers, including Armando Bayolo and TCCW’s own Robert Shafer. 

Full season outline is below.

Of her inaugural season, Erin Freeman states: “I’m excited to explore this music with these singers who are so devoted to the art of choral singing, and to enhancing the Washington, D.C. region with moving and exciting concerts. From Rossini’s epic (and at times irreverent) Petite Messe Solennelle to Bach’s monumental cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis to John Corigliano’s Fern Hill, the music is rich and absolutely a treat to sing. With music by Florence Price, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and living composers Sharon Farber, Gilda Lyons, Ola Gjeilo, Armando Bayolo, Chen Yi, Huang Ruo, and our own Bob Shafer, this season will highlight the breadth and depth of musical expression inherent the American choral tradition.”

In addition to four flagship concerts, TCCW’s outreach ensemble, City Singers, under the direction of Assistant Conductor Kathleen Jagielski, brings TCCW’s love of music and singing to audiences who are not able to attend series concerts. City Singers performs a variety of repertoire throughout the year, from holiday music and pop tunes to jazz and classical, at assisted living facilities, military retirement communities, medical facilities, and homeless shelters. 

Auditions for all voice parts for new members will take place on July 11, August 6, and August 22.  Auditions will consist of singing an excerpt from the Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, as well as demonstration of some basic musicianship and language skills. Audition material is posted on the TCCW website at https://www.thecitychoirofwashington.org/auditions. To sign up for an audition and take part in this exciting and eclectic season, singers should contact [email protected]. Rehearsals take place at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Monday evenings late August through May from 7:15 - 9:45 p.m.

2022-2023 Season

Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 5 p.m.

Rossini’s Sublime Transgressions

National Presbyterian Church

Gioacchino Rossini: La Passeggiata, I Gondolieri, and Petite Messe Solennelle

Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 5 p.m.

Peace and Promise in the New Year

George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Special Guest: Arianna Zukerman, soprano

Celebrating the year of the Rabbit with music of Ola Gjeilo, Florence Price, Elaine Hagenberg, Huang Ruo, Chen Yi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss, Jr, and Giuseppe Verdi.

Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 5 p.m.

From Grief to Hope

Temple Sinai

The City Choir of Washington - Chorus and Orchestra 

Sharon Farber: Mother’s Lament and Ashkina

J.S. Bach: Cantata, BWV 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis

Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 5 p.m.

Old and New American Songs

Schlesinger Concert Hall

The City Choir of Washington - Chorus and Orchestra

Catrin Davies, mezzo-soprano

Gilda Lyons: Love Is When

Samuel Barber: Reincarnations

John Corigliano: Fern Hill

Old and New American Songs by Aaron Copland, Armando Bayolo, Bob Shafer, and more 

For more information, visit www.thecitychoirofwashington.org

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Media Contact:

David Flaxman, President, the City Choir of Washington

(301) 651-6269

[email protected]