Melodia Women's Choir of NYC Announces 2018 Fall Season 'Where Shadow Chases Light'

Melodia Women's Choir of NYC, led by artistic director Cynthia Powell, is thrilled to present as part of the program Where Shadow Chases Light the world premiere performance of Red Bird, a tribute to Native-American musician, writer and activist Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938), from London-based composer and winner of Melodia's 2017 Women Composer Commission Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian.

"I am so grateful to the Melodia Women's Choir of NYC for being the first U.S. ensemble to perform my work and commission me," said Horrocks-Hopayian. "It moves me that my first piece for America will be for its women," performed by Melodia and an all-female string quartet accompaniment.

The New York premiere and title piece Where Shadow Chases Light, by Melodia competition finalist Deanna Witkowski is also on the bill, and brings to life a text from 20th-century Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore in a thrilling work for women's chorus and piano.

The choir performs Memorial Rag, a work for women's voices and string quartet from another exciting contemporary female composer, Elena Kats-Chernin, based out of Sydney, Australia, as well as stirring and emotive works by Eric Whitacre, Gustav Holst, and Romanian-born Hungarian composer György Orbán.

Speaking about this season's concert, Conductor Powell said, "This program will have all the elements I love--exciting original premieres as well as well-loved favorites, mind-blowing harmonies, a diversity of musical voices, and absolutely divine musicianship from our all-female ensemble of singers, pianist and string quartet." PERFORMERS Melodia Women's Choir led by Cynthia Powell, Taisiya Pushkar (piano), and an all-female string quartet.

• Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian, Red Bird. World premiere commission
• Deanna Witkowski, Where Shadow Chases Light
• Gyorgy Orban, Mass No. 6
• Eric Whitacre, Five Hebrew Love Songs
• Gustav Holst, Ave Maria
• Elena Kats Chernin, Memorial Rag

MORE ABOUT MELODIA, NEW YORK'S PREMIERE WOMEN'S CHOIR, AT WWW.MELODIAWOMENSCHOIR.ORG

DETAILS

NOV 17, 2018 @ 7:30 PM Holy Apostles Church 296 Ninth Avenue (@ 28th Street) Chelsea, New York, NY NOV 18, 2018 @ 3 PM West End Collegiate Church 245 West 77th St (@ West End Ave) Upper West Side, New York, NY

$20 adv ($25 door) $15 adv (students & seniors) www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/5998 Tel: (212) 252-4134 More at melodiawomenschoir.org

ABOUT CEVANNE HORROCKS-HOPAYIAN

Anglo-Armenian composer, singer and harper Horrocks-Hopayian is the winner of Melodia's 2017 Composer Commission Competition. Recently the composer-in-residence with the London Symphony Orchestra at the National Trust property (2015-2017) and the Handel & Hendrix in London (2012-2014), she is also a winner of a 2017 British Composer Award. Her other commissions include works for the London Jazz Festival and BBC Radio 3. She has recently written for Trish Clowes' 2017 album and Emulsion Sinfonietta; the BBC Singers; and for Clarence Adoo's latest HighNote technology. cevanne.org

ABOUT CYNTHIA POWELL

Cynthia Powell celebrates her 15th season with Melodia. A graduate of Westminster Choir College, she has served on the guest faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, led the St. George's Choral Society in NYC, and was a guest conductor at the International Choral Festival in Havana, Cuba. She is also the Artistic Director of the Stonewall Chorale, and currently serves as Director of Music and Organist at West End Collegiate Church in NYC, and Organist/Choirmaster of Temple Sinai in Tenafly, New Jersey. melodiawomenschoir.org/the-choir/