Voices of Ascension Presents the Music of Brahms, Kodály & Duruflé

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ka
tlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts and Media
katlyn@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646-378-9386

Voices of Ascension Presents the Music of
Brahms, Kodály & Duruflé on February 5 
at Church of the Ascension

Duruflé’s Messe ‘cum jubilo’ Presented for the Third Time Ever with Full
Orchestra in NYC, Led by Dennis Keene, One of the World’s Leading
Interpreters of Duruflé, Plus Rarely Heard Works by Brahms and Kodály

“richly colored, impressive, and beautifully balanced” –Wall Street Journal

“a dynamic concert […] beautifully sung” –I Care If You Listen

www.voicesofascension.org 

January 6, 2026 (New York, NY) — Voices of Ascension, the New York City-based professional chorus and orchestra dedicated to sharing the transformative power of choral music through performances, commissions, and community engagement, presents rarely-heard works from three master composers of the 19th and 20th centuries on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Ascension.

Scored for orchestra and a unison chorus of 30 baritones, Duruflé’s luminous Messe ‘cum jubilo’ anchors the program. This performance marks only the third time the piece has ever been presented with full orchestra in New York City. Interweaving Gregorian chant with Duruflé’s signature harmonic refinement, the Messe also carries deep significance for Voices of Ascension. The ensemble’s early Duruflé Festival, the first complete retrospective of the composer’s works, helped establish Voices as a leading force in New York’s choral landscape and launched its reputation for artistic depth and interpretation. Voices’ Artistic Director and Conductor, Dennis Keene, a protégé of both Maurice Duruflé and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé to whom the work is dedicated, brings a rare direct lineage to this music, offering a performance shaped by an intimate understanding of the Duruflé style that is richly textured and emotionally profound.

“What I find most compelling about this program is the way each composer reveals a distinct inner world,” said Keene. “Brahms, Kodály, and Duruflé speak with entirely different musical voices, and our role is to bring those voices to life with clarity and intention. These works are rarely performed, yet each one is a masterpiece in its own right, and placing them together creates an unusually rich musical portrait. Duruflé’s writing, in particular, has always spoken to me with a quiet radiance. It invites performers to listen inwardly and shape the music with great care. Returning to his work with Voices of Ascension feels like reconnecting with an old friend, and I am continually inspired by how this ensemble brings such sincerity and depth to his music.”

Featured are Brahms’s Nänie, a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s meditation on mortality that glows with warm Romantic textures and dignified grace, and Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, composed in 1923 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Budapest’s unification, that merges Hungarian folk idioms with searing biblical lament. Both works are presented with brand new transcriptions by Keene, specially made for The Manton Memorial Organ – the first French-built organ ever to be installed in New York City, which, following its completion and dedication on May 1, 2011, is now one of the premier organs in the world. With its 6,183 pipes, 95 stops, 111 ranks, 2 consoles, and 7 keyboards, it is the largest French organ built anywhere in almost 50 years.

Voices of Ascension’s next concert, Monteverdi Vespers of 1610, will be held in collaboration with Dark Horse Consort on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Ascension. With a fleet of soloists, double chorus, Early Music strings, recorders, cornetti, sackbuts, theorbos, harpsichord, and organ, Dark Horse Consort and Voices of Ascension join forces in a thrilling intersection of scholarship and expressive brilliance for this pillar of Early Baroque music. Vespers of 1610 is rarely performed at such a large scale – featuring multiple choirs, a full roster of period instruments, and soloists – especially in a sacred acoustic like the Church of the Ascension.

Program Information
Brahms, Kodály & Duruflé
Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011
Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/bkd26

Program:
Brahms - Nänie  
Kodály - Psalmus Hungaricus 
Duruflé - Messe ‘cum Jubilo’

Artists:
Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor
Miles Mykkanen, Tenor
Gregory Feldmann, Baritone
Andrew Henderson, Organ

About Miles Mykkanen
The career of exuberant young Finnish-American tenor Miles Mykkanen was launched with a national win of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2019. He has since impressed with a series of important debuts on the world’s major stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Canadian Opera Company, and Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where The i declared his performance “the most beautiful singing of the evening” and Opera Magazine dubbed it “so striking and brilliant” that “he managed to turn the Steersman into a principal character.”

In a pivotal 25/26 season, Mykkanen stars as Sam Clay in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night gala and house premiere run, conducted by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mykkanen returns to the house later this season as The Groom in the first Met production of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence. Elsewhere, he makes two dual house and role debuts: as Leukippos in Strauss rarity Daphne at Seattle Opera, and as Tamino in Barrie Kosky’s silent film-inspired production of The Magic Flute at LA Opera. He also brings his flexible tenor to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Cleveland Orchestra, led by Franz Welser-Möst, and to Handel’s Messiah with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, conducted by Dame Jane Glover, and the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. He marks his first appearance at the Maastricht Festival in the Netherlands as soloist in a unique Carmina Burana featuring acclaimed piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen, and will be the featured artist in Juilliard’s annual Alice Tully Vocal Recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.

Mykkanen is grateful for the support he has received from the Richard Tucker Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, Toulmin Foundation, YoungArts, and the Juilliard School, where he received a Novick Career Advancement Grant and the Joseph W. Polisi Award. He is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and earned his BM, MM, and Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from Juilliard under the tutelage of Cynthia Hoffmann.

About Gregory Feldmann
Hailed for his "hearty, luxurious baritone" (Musical America), Gregory Feldmann is a rising artist on opera and recital stages alike. Next season, Feldmann will return to Opernhaus Zürich to sing Le Dancaïre in Bizet's Carmen. He will cover the same role in the fall at the Metropolitan Opera. This fall, Feldmann was one of nine winners of the 2025 Sullivan Foundation Awards. This summer, Feldmann made his role debut in the title role of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the Buxton International Festival in the UK. He reprised the role of Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Lismore, Ireland in May 2025. Earlier this year, Feldmann returned to Opernhaus Zürich to make his guest debut as Elviro in Handel's Serse, as well as his role debut as Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Feldmann was a member of Opernhaus Zürich's International Opera Studio from 2022-24. Highlights included appearances as Moralès in Bizet's Carmen, Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a Lord in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. ?

?On the concert stage, Feldmann continues his collaboration with conductor Annedore Neufeld this December, joining the Basler Münsterkantorei for Honegger's Cantate de Noël and Boulanger's Psaume 130. Last season, Feldmann made his debut in the Grosse-Saal of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, singing in Schubert's Missa Solemnis with Neufeld and the Zürcher Bach Chor. He recently joined the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra for Haydn's Creation in April 2025 under Bruce Kiesling. In January 2024, Feldmann appeared with the Ballett Zürich in Timekeepers, singing the bass solo in Stravinsky's Les Noces.  ?

?Feldmann is represented by Callan Coughlan-Davies and IMG Artists. He is a graduate of the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program at the Juilliard School, where he studied with Elizabeth Bishop, Randall Scarlata, and Sanford Sylvan.

About Andrew Henderson
Andrew Elliot Henderson has served on the organ faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 2015 and currently serves as Chair of the department. Dr. Henderson has held the position of Director of Music & Organist at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church since 2005, where he oversees an extensive liturgical and choral program, including the 40-voice Saint Andrew Chorale, the 175-voice New York City Children’s Chorus, in addition to the Saint Andrew Music Society’s Music on Madison concert series. He also serves as the Associate Organist at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El – one of the largest Jewish houses of worship in the world, and as the organ instructor at Teacher’s College, Columbia University.

Dr. Henderson, a native of Thorold, Ontario, holds degrees in music from Cambridge University in England and Yale University. While at Cambridge he held the position of Organ Scholar at Clare College, Cambridge from 1996 to 1999, and at Yale he completed his graduate studies in organ performance on a full scholarship from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. The recipient of a C.V. Starr Foundation fellowship, he was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School in 2007, receiving the Richard F. French prize for the best doctoral document. For ten years he served as an adjunct assistant professor of organ at Westminster Choir College, where he taught graduate courses in organ literature.

A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, his teachers have included John Tuttle, Barrie Cabena, David Sanger, Thomas Murray and John Weaver. Andrew is married to organist Mary Wannamaker Huff, who is the Associate Director of Music at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and Director of the New York City Children’s Chorus.

About Voices of Ascension 
Voices of Ascension is one of New York City’s premier professional choral ensembles, dedicated to presenting masterworks for chorus and orchestra at the highest artistic level. Founded in 1990 by Artistic Director Dennis Keene, Voices has built an international reputation for its exquisite choral artistry, innovative programming, and commitment to expanding the choral canon.

Performances by the Grammy-nominated ensemble have been praised as “richly colored, impressive, and beautifully balanced” (Wall Street Journal) and “inspired” (The New York Times). The ensemble’s landmark Duruflé Festival, the first-ever complete retrospective of the composer’s works, established Voices as a leader in presenting comprehensive explorations of major choral composers. Since then, Voices of Ascension has continued to champion both historical and contemporary repertoire, with a special commitment to new music, including commissions and premieres—particularly by female composers—in partnership with the Sorel Organization.

Throughout its 35-year history, Voices of Ascension has produced an acclaimed annual concert series, released multiple Grammy-nominated recordings, and engaged in artistic collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival, José Limón Dance, the Mark Morris Dance Group, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and others. The ensemble has also been a longtime partner of The Church of the Ascension, home to the Manton Memorial Organ, the only French-built organ in the United States and a direct link to Voices’ deep engagement with French sacred music traditions.

The organization plays an important role in mentoring emerging artists through its Voices of Promise program, which has supported over 50 young professional vocal soloists, and in creating community connections through Voices of Experience, an initiative bringing choral music to NYC’s senior centers.

About Dennis Keene
Dennis Keene is Artistic Director and conductor of the Voices of Ascension Chorus & Orchestra. He is known internationally as one of the leading choral conductors in the world today, a reputation established both through his work with Voices of Ascension as well as his regular guest appearances as conductor and clinician. Recognized early as an exceptional organist, Dennis Keene began musical studies in his native Los Angeles. He moved to New York City to study at The Juilliard School, where he earned the BM, MM, and DMA degrees and the coveted Gaston Dethier Organ Prize as a student of Vernon de Tar. Dr. Keene also studied privately in Paris with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, André Marchal, and André Isoir. He subsequently studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School for Orchestral Conductors, with Charles Bruck in Paris, and with John Nelson at The Juilliard School. His passion for the finest in professional choral music can be traced to his early work as organist with Gregg Smith, Roger Wagner, and Margaret Hillis. In addition to his work with Voices of Ascension, Dr. Keene continues as Organist and Choirmaster of Church of the Ascension in New York City. He served for many years on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, the national service organization for the choral field, which honored him with the first Louis Botto Award for “innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional ensemble of exceptional artistic quality.” From 1998 to 2003 Maestro Keene presented a major summer institute for the training of conductors and singers: The Dennis Keene Choral Festival, in Kent, Connecticut.

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