The Dessoff Choirs Announces its 2026-2027 Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mallory McFarland | Morahan Arts and Media
mallory@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646.378.9386

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The Dessoff Choirs Announces 2026-2027 Season

Symphony in Motion - November 1, 2026
Welcome Yule - December 5, 2026
Messiah Sing - December 10, 2026
United in Song: A Celebration of American Music - February 27, 2027
Missa Solemnis - May 1, 2027

“Full-bodied sound and suppleness” –The New York Times

www.dessoff.org

June 29, 2026 (New York, NY) – The Dessoff Choirs – led by Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather – today announces its 2026-2027 season. For over a century, The Dessoff Choirs has been a fixture on the New York classical music scene, known for introducing unknown, long-forgotten, or newly composed works to American audiences, while Dessoff’s nine music directors have continued expanding founder Margarete Dessoff’s legacy. Malcolm J. Merriweather, Dessoff’s current music director, has used this podium to reintroduce the works of Margaret Bonds, Florence Price, and Valerie Capers, along with commissioning new works. Dessoff’s upcoming season includes performances of Greg Smith’s A Continental Harmonist and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, both with newly created dances; the return of Dessoff’s popular annual holiday concerts, Welcome Yule and Messiah Sing; a show titled United in Song: A Celebration of American Music; and a season grand finale performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

The 2025-26 season marked Merriweather’s tenth year leading The Dessoff Choirs. “As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this season reflects the richness and complexity of American music,” shared Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather. “From the arrangements of pioneering composer William Billings by Gregg Smith to world premieres by Margaret Bonds, these performances celebrate Dessoff's artistic heritage while also expanding the choral canon.”

On Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Paul and St. Andrew Church, Dessoff joins the national 250th celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with its November concert featuring Gregg Smith’s A Continental Harmonist. This work is based on the music of William Billings, who is considered the first American choral composer. Conceived in part by Smith as a ballet, the work features a newly created dance sequence by Freddie Moore and Footprints Dance Company. The concert also includes a performance of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, also with a new dance sequence, and a Margaret Bonds world premiere.

Dessoff then offers its annual holiday concerts: Welcome Yule on Saturday, December 5, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. at The Church of St. Luke and St Matthew, followed by Messiah Sing, which provides audience members the opportunity to join the choir for Handel’s vibrant choruses, with Dessoff and Brooklyn College singers performing the arias on Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at Christ & Saint Stephen’s Church.

Continuing its celebration of the 250th signing of the Declaration of Independence, Dessoff performs United in Song: A Celebration of American Music at Brooklyn College, a celebration of the great American musical theater and cabaret tradition on Saturday, February 27, 2027 at 4:00 p.m. The event is co-produced by Brooklyn College, with three New York City High School Choirs participating.

For its final concert of the 26-27 season, Dessoff presents Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis on Saturday, May 1, 2027 at 4:00 p.m. at Mother AME Zion.

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Program Information

Symphony in Motion: Gregg Smith, Stravinsky & Margaret Bonds
Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
Location: St. Paul & St. Andrew Church | 263 W 86th St | New York, NY 10024
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/symphony-in-motion 

GREGG SMITH: A Continental Harmonist 
IGOR STRAVINSKY: Symphony of Psalms
MARGARET BONDS: World Premiere

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Footprints Dance Company
Freddie Moore, choreographer
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Welcome Yule: Dessoff’s Readings & Carols
Saturday, December 5, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
The Church of St. Luke and St Matthew | 520 Clinton Ave | Brooklyn, NY 11238
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/welcome-yule-2026 

Program to be announced.

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
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Messiah Sing
Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Christ & Saint Stephen’s Church | 219 Buffalo Ave | Brooklyn, NY 11213
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/messiah-sing-2026 

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Messiah

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
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United in Song: A Celebration of American Music
Saturday, February 27, 2027 at 4:00 p.m.
Brooklyn College | 2900 Bedford Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11210
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/american-stage 

Co-produced by Brooklyn College, with three New York City High School Choirs participating

The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
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Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Saturday, May 1, 2027 at 4:00 p.m.
Mother AME Zion | 140-146 West 137th Street | New York, NY 10030
Link: https://www.dessoff.org/events/missa-solemnis 

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis

The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor

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About The Dessoff Choirs
The Dessoff Choirs, one of the leading choruses in New York City, is an independent chorus with an established reputation for pioneering performances of choral works from the Renaissance era through the 21st century. Founded in 1924 by Margarete Dessoff, the chorus celebrated its centennial during the 2024-25 season with programs that reflected music from its rich history and moved us forward into the next 100 years with new collaborations and commissions. 

The ‘s’ in Choirs connotes the group’s various incarnations – from Dessoff’s core group of 50 singers, to the Symphonic Choir assembled for larger engagements, and Chamber Choir selected to present more intimate works. Since its founding in 1924, Dessoff’s mission has been to enrich the lives of its audiences and members by giving voice to new or rarely heard, forgotten music and composers, and to bring great choral works to New York audiences in new ways. Dessoff concerts, professional collaborations, community outreach, and educational initiatives are dedicated to stimulating public interest in and appreciation of choral music as an art form that enhances the culture and life of these times.

With repertoire ranging over a wide variety of eras and styles, Dessoff’s musical acumen and flexibility have been recognized with invitations from major orchestras for oratorios and orchestral works. Last season included a well-received Brahms’ Requiem at Town Hall, Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, and a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in partnership with Trinity Church, which included the premiere of It’s a Journey by Tania León, commissioned by Dessoff to honor its centennial. Other past performances include Britten’s War Requiem and Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with Lorin Maazel in his final performances as Music Director with the New York Philharmonic. Over the course of its near-100-year history, Dessoff has presented many world premieres, including works by Virgil Thomson, George Perle, Paul Moravec, and Ricky Ian Gordon; the first American performance in nearly 100 years of Montemezzi’s opera La Nave with Teatro Grattacielo; and the American premieres of Philip Glass’s Symphony No.5 and John Tavener’s all-night vigil, The Veil of the Temple.

Dessoff's world-premiere recording of Margaret Bonds's Credo and Simon Bore the Cross was released in February 2023 and received rave reviews. WRTI wrote that “Margaret Bonds: Credo, Simon Bore the Cross brings new luster, and the utmost care of execution. Under the baton of Malcolm J. Merriweather, The Dessoff Choirs has a profound simpatico with Bonds’ mature compositional style...” We are also featured on a new album from Roomful of Teeth, Rough Magic, in a recently commissioned Eve Beglarian work, None More Than You.

Other recent discography includes Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs, a debut recording of Margaret Bonds’s crowning achievement, which was cited as a “Best Classical Recording of 2019” by WQXR-FM Radio; Reflections, featuring music by Convery, Corigliano, Moravec, and Rorem; and Glories on Glories, a collection of American song featuring composers from Billings to Ives.

The Dessoff Choirs is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Learn more at www.dessoff.org.

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About Malcolm J. Merriweather
Grammy-nominated conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather is Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and Music Director of New York City’s The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. He is Professor of Music and the Tania León Chair of Music at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

He is a sought-after interpreter of symphonic choral works, most recently conducting grand performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Handel’s Messiah. In addition to core symphonic works, he is known for the world premiere recordings of The Ballad of the Brown King, Credo, and Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) with The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he has conducted the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Novus Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Merriweather opened his season conducting works of Mary Lou Williams at Disney Concert Hall for Solange Knowles' series, Glory to Glory (A Revival For Spiritual and Devotional Art). At the historic Town Hall, he conducted Brahms Requiem for the centennial celebration of the Dessoff Choirs with soloists Will Liverman, baritone, and Joélle Harvey, soprano. He led the Buffalo Philharmonic in performances of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road and Margaret Bonds’s Montgomery Variations. His season concluded with performances of Verdi’s Requiem at Trinity Church, Wall Street with the Dessoff Choirs, Downtown Voices, the Trinity Choir, and NOVUS with soloists Angela Meade, J’Nai Bridges, Won Whi Choi, and Kevin Short.

Highlights from his 2023-2024 season included a return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to conduct choir and orchestra in the world premiere of Handel: Made in America with Terrance McKnight and soloists Latonia Moore, J’Nai Bridges, Noah Stewart, and Davóne Tines. With the Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra, he conducted Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and two contemporary oratorios about the lives of Sojourner Truth (Valerie Capers) and Anne Frank (James Whitbourn). Continuing in his role as Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus, he prepared the professional choir for the reprise of Émigré, An Oratorio, and Mahler 2 with the New York Philharmonic. In China, with the New York Philharmonic Choir, he prepared the ensemble for the world premiere of Émigré with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Maestro Merriweather’s 2022-2023 began leading the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Novus Orchestra in three performances (staged) of Considering Matthew Shepard. His new appointment as Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus launched by preparing the professional choir for three programs throughout the season for Maestro Jaap van Zweden, including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the reopening of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. With the Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra, he conducted Duruflé’s Requiem, Bach’s St. John Passion, and motets by Vicente Lusitano, the first Black composer to have music published. This season included the long-awaited release of the premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s Credo and Simon Bore the Cross with the AVIE label.

He has served on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music and was the founding Artistic Director of “Voices of Haiti,” a 60-member children’s choir in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, operated by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.

Dr. Merriweather has earned degrees from Eastman, Manhattan School of Music, and Syracuse University and was a fellow at Tanglewood. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @maestroweather and at malcolmjmerrweather.com.

Photo at top of release by Dan Wright

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