The Cathedral of St. John the Divine Reveals the Thirteenth Season of Great Music in a Great Space

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), presents the 2023-2024 season of Great Music in a Great Space.  Under the direction of Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music and Organist, this thirteenth season of choral, orchestral and organ performances encompasses a broad spectrum of repertoire, from chant and medieval organum to world premieres. Collaborations with Musica Sacra and Rose of the Compass complete a season of culturally and musically diverse offerings.

Concerts take place inside the Cathedral’s gothic interior, including performances held under Divine Pathways, a site-specific textile art installation by Anne Patterson. Another site-specific concert will be Musica Sacra’s Re:Soundings, a surround-sound immersive experience taking place in the Cathedral’s Great Choir.

The season opens on October 17 with a 360° surround-sound concert in the candlelit atmosphere of the Cathedral, featuring the Musica Sacra Chorus conducted by Kent Tritle. From the end of March, 2024, the Cathedral’s Great Organ comes back into play after a five year hiatus due to a fire in the crypt.  An April 20 concert with the Cathedral Choirs and Orchestra will include the Great Organ; Artist in Residence David Briggs, the prestigious Juilliard organ department, and artists performing free recitals on Sundays at 5 pm will explore the organ as it comes back to full use. The grand welcome for the Great Organ will take place in the following 2024-2025 season..

Holiday music is a beloved tradition at the Cathedral. Bryan Zaros, Associate Music Director and Choirmaster joins to lead The Joy of Christmas on December 9: a splendid array of music for choir, orchestra and organ, from Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto to Amy Beach’s moving Peace on Earth and J.S. Bach’s sublime “Gloria in excelsis” from the Mass in B Minor. The audience joins to sing carols throughout.

The New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1984, continues this year with music of inspiration and social conscience, including To the Hands by Caroline Shaw, she took his hands by Nicholas Cline, and the world premiere of Voices of Afghanistan by Stanley Grill. Bryan Zaros again joins with Kent Tritle to conduct this moving evening of choral and orchestral music.

Performances continue throughout the spring in the Cathedral’s magnificent acoustic space. Musica Sacra returns before Holy Week for an evening of works by Schütz and Handel on March 19. The early-music and world-music ensemble Rose of the Compass joins the Cathedral Choir for a concert on April 9 in celebration of our magical Planet Earth. And all of the Cathedral’s musical forces join together on April 20 with a joyous program including Mozart’s Coronation Mass, K.317 and Bruckner’s monumental Te Deum.

Tickets will be available on the Cathedral’s website beginning Tuesday, September 5. Students are admitted free to select choral performances with valid school ID. Visit the Cathedral’s website for more information about the 2023-2024 season of Great Music in a Great Space.

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