The Dessoff Choirs Will Present B MINOR MASS in Harlem This April
Season finale will mark Malcolm J. Merriweather’s tenth anniversary with the ensemble
The Dessoff Choirs, led by Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather, will conclude its season with a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s MASS IN B MINOR on Saturday, April 18 at 4 p.m. The concert will take place at Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem.
The performance marks several milestones for Merriweather, whose tenth anniversary with The Dessoff Choirs coincides with his tenth year on the faculty at Brooklyn College. The concert will feature soloists and musicians connected to both institutions, including Brooklyn College Conservatory students, alumni, and former Dessoff Choirs assistant conductors.
“Sung by soloists who have stood alongside this ensemble over the years, this performance feels less like a concert and more of a homecoming through shared artistry – including Melissa Attebury, Director of Music at Trinity Church Wall Street, whose mezzo-soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem marked my very first concert with Dessoff at Alice Tully Hall,” Merriweather said. “These artists have helped shape this chapter from its very first notes.”
The event also serves as part of the centennial celebration of the current building of Mother AME Zion Church. “Bach's Mass in B Minor is the perfect way to cap this extraordinary ten-year journey with The Dessoff Choirs,” a representative from Mother AME Zion Church said. “With a chorus of 80 singers and an orchestra of Baroque instruments, Bach's music will resound in what was once called the ‘Carnegie Hall of Harlem.’”
Considered one of the most significant works in the choral repertoire, Bach’s MASS IN B MINOR draws on a range of musical styles. Scholars have suggested that the work may have served as a catalog of compositional approaches known during Bach’s lifetime, from early chant traditions to the emerging galant style.
Program
Johann Sebastian Bach: MASS IN B MINOR
Artists
The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Katie Hyun, concertmaster
Vianca Alejandra, soprano
Melissa Attebury, mezzo-soprano
George Baolin, bass
Patrice Pates Eaton, mezzo-soprano
Jiyu Kim, soprano
Albert Lee, tenor
Nadine Lee, soprano
Mara Montez, soprano
Nicole Osmolovskya, soprano
Tickets
The concert will take place Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 4 p.m. at Mother AME Zion Church, 140 West 137th Street in New York City. Tickets and additional information are available at dessoff.org/events/b-minor-mass.
Videos