New York Choral Society Presents CHRISTMAS AROUND NEW YORK Tonight

The New York Choral Society (NYCS), under the direction of Music Director David Hayes, is taking Christmas Around New York, a festive and unique Christmas program, to new audiences across New York City. The first performance, in Manhattan, is a "rush hour" concert tonight, December 10 at 6:30 pm at Saint Peter's Church, Lexington Avenue at 54th Street; the second, in Staten Island, is a family-oriented matinee performance on Sunday, December 14, at 3:00 pm at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden. The program, performed with brass and organ, is a mix of traditional, classical and contemporary music of the season and includes a traditional Christmas Carol audience sing-a-long. This is a program designed to delight audiences of all ages and musical tastes.

Music Director David Hayes says, "I'm extremely pleased to be entering my third season as Music Director. This season, we are expanding our performances to new venues across New York City while continuing to provide exciting and thought-provoking programming to audiences in Carnegie Hall."

The New York Choral Society (NYCS), founded in 1958, has become known by audiences and critics for the quality of its performances and the diversity of its repertoire, which encompasses well-known choral masterworks as well as many compositions rarely heard in concert halls. The 175-voice symphonic chorus has been widely recognized for its outstanding performances at prestigious music venues around the world.

For more than half a century NYCS has enriched the cultural life of the New York community by performing a rich variety of choral music from classic to contemporary pieces, including newly commissioned works, to some 10,000 people per year; and by fostering interest and participation in choral music through education and community outreach, especially to children. Since 1984 the singers of NYCS have also served as "ambassadors of music" abroad, with concert tours to Italy, Austria, China, France, Israel, Mexico, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Sicily. In 2014, NYCS toured Central Europe and performed in a high mass in St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna, in Mátyás-templom, Budapest, and at Banffy Castle in Romania.

David Hayes, Music Director of the New York Choral Society

David Hayes is a conductor with an unusually broad range of repertory, spanning the symphonic, oratorio/choral and operatic genres. His role as Music Director of the New York Choral Society complements his existing roles as Music Director of The Philadelphia Singers; Music Director of the Mannes Orchestra; and Staff Conductor of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. The 2014-2015 season marks Mr. Hayes' third season as Music Director of the New York Choral Society.

Mr. Hayes has served on the conducting staff of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2001-2011. He has also served as a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic as well as for Sir Andre Previn on the Curtis Symphony Orchestra's 1999 European Tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Recent guest-conducting engagements have included a production of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore for Opera Memphis, conducting Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and the East Coast Premiere performances of Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of Soul for the Opera Company of Philadelphia as well as conducting the finals of the Fulbright Piano Competition with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.

Past seasons have included concerts with such significant ensembles as The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, Curtis Opera Theatre, European Center for Opera and Vocal Art, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Washington Chorus, Louisiana Philharmonic, Berkshire Choral Festival and the Verbier Festival.

Trained as a violinist and violist, Hayes received his Bachelor of Music in musicology from the University of Hartford and a diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He also studied with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School. He served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America from 2000-2009.