Music Viva NY Choir Reveals 2023-24 Season

New York City's leading chamber choir, Musica Viva NY, has announced its 2023-24 season. Presented at its homebase, the All Souls (1157 Lexington Avenue) on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the season begins with Mexamorphosis, a multi-cultural project led by Mexican mezzo-soprano and founder Guadalupe Peraza. Mexamorphosis bridges cultures by integrating diverse and often underrepresented musical styles from Mexico with Europe, Asia and Africa.  In December 2023, Musica Viva NY performs three commissioned works by Joseph Turrin, Gilda Lyons and Richard Einhorn, which will also be recorded for future release on Naxos in Fall 2024. Investigating the connections between works by Bach, Beethoven, Gounod, Bierey, and a new commission from first Emerging Black Composers Project awardee Trevor Weston, the Spring 2024 concert “Because” is based on the eponymous song by The Beatles. The season culminates in May 2024 with an unusual pairing of two extraordinary pieces: Mozart's Requiem and the monumental Oceana by Argentinian composer Golijov. (Scroll down for complete program details.)

About Musica Viva NY

Praised by The New York Times as an “excellent chorus”, Musica Viva NY is a chamber choir of 30+ professionals and highly skilled volunteers. Since its founding in 1977, Musica Viva NY has been based in Manhattan's historic All Souls Church. Under the baton of Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, its mission is to bring world-class music to a widening community through its annual concert series, community engagement programs, and an ambitious artistic vision. Musica Viva NY's imaginative programming offers joy, solace and renewal in a complex world. Presenting a broad repertoire of new compositions and classic masterworks, Musica Viva NY emphasizes artistic excellence and transformative interpretations to ennoble the human spirit. Musica Viva NY regularly commissions and premieres new American music and is committed to performing the work of living American composers, women composers and composers of color, including works that are socially conscious and address social, racial or environmental issues. Since 2014, Musica Viva NY has commissioned and performed works by Bora Yoon, Seymour Bernstein, Elena Ruehr, Joseph Turrin, Alexandra T Bryant, Gilda Lyons, Richard Einhorn, Steve Reich, Frank Ticheli, Morten Lauridsen, Florence Price, Frank Ferko, Lori Laitman, Trent Johnson, George Walker, Joel Thompson, Missy Mazzoli, Randall Thompson and Jesse Montgomery, among others. MusicaViva.org 

Ticketing + Program Information:

All concerts conducted by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez.

When: All concerts begin at 5:00 p.m. (pre-concert talk at 4:00 p.m.)
Where: All Souls, 1157 Lexington Avenue, New York City, New York, Train 6 to 77th Street or N/Q/R to 86th Street

Tickets: $50 ($30 for students) are available from MusicaViva.org.

MEXA: Mexamorphosis & Musica Viva NY Soloists

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Musica Viva NY soloists will collaborate with Mexamorphosis, a musical project led by Mexican Mezzo-Soprano and Founder Guadalupe Peraza that bridges cultures by integrating diverse and often underrepresented styles. This concert features a program of multicultural traditional music, infused with chamber polyphonic music from Mexico, Mali and Hindustan. Works TBA.

CRIMSON ROSES: The Musica Viva NY Commissions

Sunday, December 3, 2023

This program of gorgeous music by living American composers Richard Einhorn, Gilda Lyons, and Joseph Turrin highlights one of Musica Viva NY's most important missions: the commissioning of new works. This performance is part of a journey that will culminate in an ambitious professional recording of the pieces presented on this program.

Richard Einhorn The Luminous Ground (2023)
Joseph Turrin Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair (2018)

Gilda Lyons Momotombo (2022)

BECAUSE: Bach, Gounod, Beethoven, Bierey, and a World Premiere by Trevor Weston

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Adaptation is at the center of this beautifully interwoven program. Repurposing harmonies and melodies by composers of the past has often been an inspiring point of departure for creative minds. With works by Bach, Beethoven, Gounod and a new commission based on the song “Because” by The Beatles, this is a program that promises a number of rewarding surprises for the listener.

Charles Gounod, Requiem in C Major, Ave Maria

Bach Prelude No.1 in C major, BWV 846

Beethoven, Adagio sostenuto from Piano Sonata no. 14 in C sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia,” Op. 27, No. 2

Gottlob Benedict Bierey Kyrie

Trevor Weston (b.1967), title TBA world premiere

PERPETUAL LIGHT: Mozart & Golijov

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Mozart's imposing Requiem—a swansong of sorts that has been shrouded in mystery from its inception—has fascinated performers, musicologists, and audiences for almost a quarter of a century. Musica Viva NY pairs Mozart's masterpiece with an equally imposing work by the brilliant Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov.

Osvaldo Golijov Oceana

Mozart Requiem