Commissioned Works and DC Premieres
A new generation of American composers has been taking the choral world by storm with fresh and innovative compositions that are inspired by and reflect the increasingly global and diverse society in which we live. For the past three decades, the Congressional Chorus has had a proud tradition of introducing many of these adventurous contemporary American choral works to Washington audiences by commissioning new works and presenting Washington DC premiers. Our ability to promote and advance the creation of new American music is made possible by the generous support of our donors and commissioners - we thank you!
Gaayatri Kaundinya
World Premiere - November 2022
Chalo Re Mhaare Des
This piece is about the Indian-American struggle behind identity and belonging. The friend (soprano solo) singing in Hindi is calling the diaspora (alto solo) home, fearing it will forget its identity. After migrating to a foreign land, now it doesn't know what country to call homeland. The friend calls out asking the diaspora not to forget its identity, and the diaspora responds with love saying the friend is what is it's home - meaning, friends, family, culture, dear ones - are what will always be identity and home.
Jenni Brandon
Washington, DC Premiere November 2019
At our Nevertheless She Persisted concert, California-based composer Jenni Brandon conducted the DC premiere of her America Belongs to Us, a work for SATB chorus and flute choir. This piece explores the idea of immigrants leaving behind all that they know, including family and friends, to move to an unfamiliar country to hopefully make a better life for themselves and for their children and grandchildren. Ms. Brandon was a guest artist on our stage just four days after conducting her new opera, 3 Paderewskis at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts here in Washington, DC.
Crys Matthews
November 2019
Virginia-based singer/songwriter/social activist Crys Matthews, performed two songs from her critically acclaimed new album Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers at our Nevertheless She Persisted concert. Crys Matthews was named grand-prize winner in the 2018 NewSong Music Competition and won the People Music Network’s Social Justice Songs contest at the 2017 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance. Matthews blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies and punctuated by honest, original lyrics.
John Trotta
Washington, DC Premiere November 2018
At our Poets, Painters, & Dream Concert, Congressional Chorus presented For a Breath of Ecstasy, John Trotta’s 2018 seven-movement song cycle for chorus, string quartet and oboe, a serene musical setting of seven poems by Sara Teasdale. Each of the movements chronicles Teasdale’s search for solace amidst life’s many storms. Trotta’s work draws on texts from Love Songs, the anthology of Teasdale’s poetry, and was commissioned to celebrate the centennial of her winning the first Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1918. Gramophone described Trotta’s A BREATH OF ECSTASY as “tender harmonies and a palette of glowing vocal and instrumental colors”
William Averitt
Washington, DC Premiere November 2018
At our Poets, Painters, & Dream Concert, Congressional Chorus Congressional Chorus presented the Washington, DC premiere of Where Dreams Fly, a seven-movement work which offers a musical peek into the fantastical visual world of artist Marc Chagall via poetry by Robert Bode and music by William Averitt. Its seven poems are imaginative reflections on seven paintings by the legendary Russian-French painter. Scored for chorus and piano four-hands, this eclectic score opens with an explosive hymn to the morning sun, and continues in a jazzy 1920s-style, two songs of love (sacred and secular), a view of nature at flickering sunset, and a visit to the world of dreams. It concludes with a series of good-humored musings on some of history's greatest geniuses, set in ragtime and bolero styles.
Mark Hayes
Washington, DC DC Premiere November 2017
At our concert, WE WILL RISE! The Search for Equality, Justice & Freedom in Song, Poetry & Dance, the chorus presented the DC premiere of Mark Hayes’ Like Dust I Rise. This powerful piece sets the indelible words of American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou to create an inspiring four-movement choral work conveying a message of social justice and personal fortitude, setting the poems “On the Pulse of Morning,” “Caged Bird,” “Equality,” and “Still I Rise.” Hayes’ music is found in the music libraries of churches and universities around the world. His compositions and arrangements are known for their unique American sound, drawing from such diverse musical styles such as gospel, jazz, pop, folk and classical.
Christopher Tin
Washington, DC Premiere November 2016
As part of our NEW HORIZONS: Music Without Borders concert to celebrate our 30th season, we presented the Washington, DC premiere performance of Calling All Dawns, Chinese-American composer Christopher Tin’s Grammy Award-winning song cycle in twelve languages! A work whose genesis was with music written for the video game Civilization IV, Tin’s masterwork has moved the boundaries and changed the sound of choral music around the world. It is a lush, pulsating, and cinematic musical adventure that has been called “pure and absolute musical hedonism.” It is the ultimate example of “music without borders.”
Chris Urquiaga
Commissioned Work, Premiered November 2012
In celebration of our 25th anniversary the Chorus commissioned Dreams by exciting up-and-coming composer Chris Urquiaga. Dreams is a melismatic and triumphant three-movement work set to poems by African-American poet Langston Hughes. Throughout the three movements, passages alternate between the chorus and child and soprano soloists, as it implores the audience to never cease to dream. The third and final movement encourages the young people to social activism with Hughes’ timeless poetry set to victorious and exultant music. Urquiaga, who made his Kennedy Center, Blues Alley and Signature Theatre debuts in 2017, praises Congressional Chorus for giving young American composers a platform to showcase their music and their desire to promote social progress through their music.
Joan Szymko
Commissioned Work, Premiered June 2012
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, music for SATB chorus, soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, and chamber orchestra by composer Joan Szymko from Portland, Oregon is based on a 2004 poem by Mr. Kim Stafford, which expresses the uncertainty and violence in the world, but resolves to find peace through song. Ms. Szymko is one of the most prominent and sought after composers of choral music with a social conscience. She has received the Raymond Brock Commission Award, the American Choral Directors Association’s most prestigious award. She has over 60 published octavos in print and her works have been performed all over the world, including at the IFCM World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, Japan.
Connaitre Miller
Commissioned Work, Premiered November 2012
Premiered at our November 2012 concert, Connaitre Miller’s A GREAT NATION DESERVES GREAT ART, is a work for SATB chorus, alto and tenor soloists, and jazz combo. Connaitre Miller is Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Vocal Jazz Studies at Howard University and founder of the award winning vocal jazz ensemble Afro Blue. Ms. Miller spent six years in Adelaide, South Australia, where she built a well-respected jazz voice program at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide. She has appeared as a guest lecturer at the 4th World Symposium on Choirs and Choral Music in Sydney, Australia and The Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing Conference in Brisbane, Queensland.