Judith Clurman and Essential Voices USA to SING CHRISTMAS at Feinstein's/54 Below This Dec

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, will present SING CHRISTMAS, a sing-along of traditional carols and holiday songs by Broadway's finest, on December 3 at 9:30pm at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

Works by Lynn Ahrens, Chad Beguelin, Irving Berlin, Ralph Blane, Jerry Bock, Cy Coleman, Stephen Flaherty, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Herman, Frank Loesser, Hugh Martin, Joe Raposo, Matthew Sklar, Meredith Willson and David Zippel will be performed. In addition, they will sing highlights from their new CD (released October, 2015), Holiday Harmonies: Song of Christmas. Pianist Tedd Firth will join in the fun and perform with the chorus. The program will also include newly arranged works by David Chase, Judith Clurman, and Tedd Firth. Audience members will be provided with text sheets. A special bonus will be everyone singing a world premiere performance together - a new arrangement of "Silent Night" by Tedd Firth and Judith Clurman. Soloists from the chorus include Joseph Beutel, Amy Justman, and Nicholas Sotack.

Judith Clurman says, "I am thrilled to celebrate the holiday season and the release of Essential Voices USA's new CD, Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas. Join us at Feinstein's/54 Below in a Sing- Along of traditional Christmas carols and beautiful holiday melodies by Broadway's finest."

Tickets available at Feinstein's/ 54Below.com or by calling Call 646-476-3551. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is widely regarded as one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles. It comprises a highly talented roster of both seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers. Within this group, Judith Clurman has created a dynamic choral model in which the size of the ensemble is dictated by the unique needs of each project. EVUSA performs regularly on the Carnegie Hall subscription series with The New York Pops and at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. The ensemble was in residence with National Public Radio during the month of February 2011. That same year, the ensemble launched The Composer Speaks, a popular series of informal concerts in workshop format designed to encourage dialogue with composers and lyricists and moderated by Judith. In 2011 and 2012, EVUSA "rocked the rock" on NBC's national broadcasts of the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. A highlight of the 2012-2013 season was EVUSA's participation in the Presidential Inaugural activities, including a sing-along of the "Sing Out, Mr. President" song cycle at the "Church of the Presidents" in Washington, D.C. The ensemble's CD was also featured on NPR on Inauguration Day 2013. They performed on July 4th Macy's 2014 Spectacular Fireworks broadcast on NBC television. EVUSA has recorded three CDs for Sono Luminus: Celebrating the American Spirit, Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit and Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas.

Judith Clurman is an Emmy and Grammy nominated conductor, vocal educator, and choral specialist. She conducts Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), collaborates with the Omaha Symphony on their Sacred Voices and Community Concerts and the New York Pops on their Carnegie Hall subscription series, and maintains an active vocal studio. She recently conducted the Österreich Festival Orchestra and the Music Celebrations Chorus at the Mozarteum Grosser Saal, Salzburg and the nationally televised July 4th Macy's Fireworks Spectacular. Her new Sono Luminus CD, Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas, with her Essential Voices USA, soloists Jamie Barton and Maureen McKay, features traditional carols and new works written for her by Jennifer Higdon and Nico Muhly. Judith has worked with many of the world's finest symphonies and has commissioned and premiered works by over fifty prolific American composers, received an Emmy nomination for her work as Associate Music Director for Season 39 of Sesame Street, and conducted the World Premiere of a newly-discovered canon text by Mozart for Lincoln Center's Mozart Bicentennial, and a Leonard Bernstein arrangement of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. She served as Director of Choral Activities at The Juilliard School from 1989-2007, as Co-Director for Harvard University's Leonard Bernstein: Boston to Broadway Festival, as a faculty member and vocal specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts/Columbia University Institute of Classical Music. She edits choral editions for G. Schirmer, Schott and Hal Leonard and she is a member of ASCAP, ASCAP's Special Classification Committee, and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.