Conductor & Baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather Announces 2024/2025 Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mallory McFarland | Morahan Arts and Media
mallory@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646.241.0899

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CONDUCTOR & BARITONE
MALCOLM J. MERRIWEATHER 
ANNOUNCES 2024/2025 SEASON

Merriweather Continues Role as Music Director of The Dessoff Choirs 
for 100th Anniversary Season Conducting 
Brahms Requiem - November 2, 2024,
Messiah Sing - December 5, 2024 and Welcome Yule - December 7 & 8, 2024,
Florence Price: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight - February 20, 2025, and
Verdi Requiem in Partnership with Trinity Wall Street - May 1 & 2, 2025

Also Continues Role as Director of New York Philharmonic Chorus, Prepares them for
Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé from May 16 to 18, 2025 with the New York Philharmonic,
Plus Concert at St. John the Divine on January 17, 2025

Merriweather Named Inaugural Incumbent of Tania León Chair of Music,
Brooklyn College’s First-Ever Endowed Chair of Music

www.malcolmjmerriweather.com

New York, NY (August 26, 2024) — New York City-based conductor and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather is pleased to announce his 2024/2025 season with concerts in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Charleston. Merriweather continues his roles as director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus, preparing them for Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Bach cantatas, and as music director of The Dessoff Choirs, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in the upcoming season. With Dessoff, he leads works by Johannes Brahms, George Frideric Handel, Franz Schubert, Guiseppe Verdi, Tania León, Florence Price, Vincent Lübeck, Edward Nunn, F.A. Gevaert, Hugo Hermann, and more. Additionally, Brooklyn College has announced the creation of the Tania León Chair of Music, the institution’s first-ever endowed chair of music, with Malcolm J. Merriweather as the inaugural incumbent.

“I am honored beyond words to be named as the inaugural Tania Leo´n Chair of Music,” notes Merriweather. “Tania is a gift, both for her singular music-making and her irrepressibly joyful presence, and her unwavering commitment to mentoring the next generation of talent. I look forward to building upon the extraordinary example she has set, and using this opportunity to develop new ways to guide and support the musical voices of the future.” The chair is named in honor of León, who taught at Brooklyn College beginning in 1985 before becoming Tow Distinguished Professor in 2000 and then eventually retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2019. Additionally, she is a 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner in music and received the Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievements in 2022.

Leading The Dessoff Choirs in the first concert of their milestone season, Merriweather conducts Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 4:00 pm at The Town Hall in New York City. As the inaugural program of the 100th anniversary season, Dessoff is inviting all Dessoff Alumni to join on stage for this beloved work. In addition, Dessoff will welcome back former conductors Kent Tritle, James Bagwell, and Christopher Shepard who will be speaking and conducting some of the Requiem movements. Baritone Will Liverman joins for this concert.

On Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30 pm, Merriweather sings the baritone role in the Charleston Symphony’s presentation of Sanctuary Road. Held at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, SC, conductor Andrew Grams leads the orchestra in an all-American program of music that expresses the pulse of freedom that courses through all of us, from Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to the operatic storytelling of history in Sanctuary Road, created by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell. Additional artists on the program include Laquita Mitchell, Melody Wilson, Joshua Blue, Benjamin Taylor, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

To celebrate the holiday season, Merriweather conducts The Dessoff Choirs in annual seasonal favorites: Messiah Sing on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 7:30 pm at James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary, which provides audience members the opportunity to join the choir for Handel’s vibrant choruses, with Dessoff members performing the arias; and two renditions of Welcome Yule: Willkommen, süßer Bräutigam on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 4:00 pm at James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary and Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 4:00 pm at St. Philips Episcopal Church (Brooklyn). Dessoff continues to honor its past by including three works on the Welcome Yule program first performed under Margarete Dessoff’s baton in 1929: Vincent Lübeck’s Weniachts-Kantate, Willkommen, süßer Bräutigam, Edward Nunn’s Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle, and F. A. Gevaert’s Chanson joyeuse de Noe¨l.

On Friday, January 17, 2025, Malcolm J. Merriweather prepares the New York Philharmonic Chorus for Bach: From Darkness to Light, featuring Bach cantatas, including BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen. Nathalie Stutzmann, music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducts this free concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

On Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Merriweather conducts works from The Dessoff Choirs’ impressive history alongside a cantata by Florence Price at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The performance's first half celebrates Margarete Dessoff and her directorship of women’s choirs. Dessoff programmed Schubert’s Psalm 23 and Brahms’ Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor for her choirs in Germany before introducing the music to her choirs in New York in the 1920s; The Dessoff Choirs brings these works back to audiences on this concert, which also includes a set of variations for women's choir and harp written for Dessoff by Hugo Hermann (premiered on December 19, 1933, in New York). Continuing its mission of unveiling choral orchestra works of Black women composers, Dessoff will additionally perform a new edition of Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight for harp, strings, and organ on the second half of the program.

After singing in Sanctuary Road with the Charleston Symphony in the fall, Malcolm J. Merriweather returns to this oratorio – this time to conduct it on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 2:30 pm with the Buffalo Philharmonic at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY. This evocative program highlights the harrowing journeys made by countless souls along the Underground Railroad, as told through Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s Sanctuary Road. Complementing this narrative, Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations pays homage to Martin Luther King Jr. and the pivotal civil rights movement, weaving a musical tapestry that speaks to the heart of the struggle for justice and equality. Featured soloists include Brittany Renee, Taylor Raven, Norman Shankle, Markel Reed, Benjamin Taylor, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus.

Merriweather closes The Dessoff Choirs’ 100th Anniversary season with Verdi’s Requiem, presented in collaboration with Trinity Church. The performances will take place at 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 1, 2025 and Friday, May 2, 2025 at Trinity Church. Music Director Malcolm J. Merriweather will conduct the Dessoff Choirs, Trinity Choir, Downtown Voices, and NOVUS. In addition to Verdi's Requiem, this performance will include the world premiere of a new choral work by Tania León, commissioned in honor of Dessoff’s centenary.

On Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2:00 pm, Merriweather prepares the New York Philharmonic Chorus for Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, a hypnotic dreamscape and one of the composer’s most impressively orchestrated scores, which Juanjo Mena conducts? ?complete. Also on the program at David Geffen Hall in New York City is the New York premiere of Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light, a work created for and sung here by Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry, based on letters between painter Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

Additionally, Merriweather conducts the Brooklyn College Freedom Concert on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at the Tow Center for the Arts at Brooklyn College in New York. He will conduct the choir in a choral theatre program with excerpts from Les Miserables. From April 10 to 13, 2025, Merriweather appears with Tennessee All-State, conducting the All-State chorus – made up of the best high school singers in the state – in performance. He will be in residency at the University of Southern California from February to March 2025, giving masterclasses and lectures.

Merriweather’s full season can be found at www.malcolmjmerriweather.com.

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Performance Details:

Brahms Requiem
Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 4:00 pm
The Town Hall | 123 W 43rd St | New York, NY
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/brahms-requiem 

Program:
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Ein deutsches Requiem

Artists:
The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Dessoff Alumni
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Kent Tritle, conductor
James Bagwell, conductor
Christopher Shepard, conductor
Will Liverman, baritone
_________________________________

Sanctuary Road
Friday, November 8, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Guillard Center | 95 Calhoun St | Charleston, SC
Link: https://charlestonsymphony.org/event/sanctuaryroad/2024-11-08/

Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Guillard Center | 95 Calhoun St | Charleston, SC
Link: https://charlestonsymphony.org/event/sanctuaryroad/2024-11-09/

Program:
AARON COPLAND: Fanfare for the Common Man
SAMUEL BARBER: Adagio for Strings
AARON COPLAND: Appalachian Spring Suite
PAUL MORAVEC/MARK CAMPBELL: Sanctuary Road Oratorio for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra (libretto by Mark Campbell)

Artists:
Andrew Grams, conductor
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Malcolm J. Merriweather, baritone
Benjamin Taylor, bass-baritone
Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus
_________________________________

Messiah Sing
Friday, December 6, 2024 at 7:30 pm
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway | New York, NY
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/messiah-sing-2024 

Program:
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Messiah

Artists:
The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
_________________________________

Welcome Yule: Willkommen, süßer Bräutigam
Saturday, December 7, 2025 at 4:00 pm
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway | New York, NY
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/willkommen-manhattan 

Sunday, December 8, 2025 at 4:00 pm
St. Philip’s | 334 MacDonough Street | Brooklyn, NY
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/willkommen-brooklyn 

Program:
JOHN FRANCIS WADE (arr. David Willcocks): Carol: O come all ye faithful
VINCENT LÜBECK: Weniachts-Kantate, Willkommen, süßer Bräutigam
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (arr. Daniel Fortune): Carol: Hark the herald angels sing
EDWARD NUNN: Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle
A. GEVAERT: Chanson joyeuse de Noe¨l
FRANZ XAVER GRUBER: Carol: Silent night
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Hallelujah from Messiah

Artists:
The Dessoff Choirs
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
_________________________________

Bach: From Darkness to Light
Friday, January 17, 2025
Cathedral of St. John the Divine | 1047 Amsterdam Ave | New York, NY

Link: https://www.nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/spotlight-jan/ 

Program:
Baroque works including Bach’s BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen

Artists:
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
New York Philharmonic Musicians
New York Philharmonic Chorus
     Malcolm J. Merriweather, director
_________________________________

Florence Price: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 7:30 pm
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary | 3041 Broadway | New York, NY
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/abraham-lincoln 

Program:
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Psalm 23, op. 132, D. 706
RICHARD STRAUSS: Zueignung
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Widmung
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor op. 17
     Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang
     Lied von Shakespeare
     Der Gärtner
     Gesang aus Fingal
HUGO HERMANN: Chorvariationen über die Sonnengesänge des Franziskus von Assisi, op. 85
FLORENCE PRICE: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight

Artists:
The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor & baritone
Steven Ryan, piano
_________________________________

Sanctuary Road
Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Kleinhans Music Hall | 3 Symphony Cir | Buffalo, NY
Link: https://bpo.org/event/sanctuary-road/2025-03-29/

Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Kleinhans Music Hall | 3 Symphony Cir | Buffalo, NY
Link: https://bpo.org/event/sanctuary-road/2025-03-30/

Program:
MARGARET BONDS: Montgomery Variations
PAUL MORAVEC/MARK CAMBELL: Sanctuary Road

Artists:
Malcolm Merriweather, conductor
Brittany Renee, soprano
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Norman Shankle, tenor
Markel Reed, baritone
Benjamin Taylor as William Still
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
_________________________________

Verdi Requiem
Produced by Trinity Church
Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Friday, May 2, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Trinity Church | 89 Broadway | New York, NY 10006
Link: www.dessoff.org/events/verdi-thursday 
www.dessoff.org/events/verdi-friday 

Program:
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Requiem
TANIA LEÓN: New work (World Premiere)

Artists:
The Dessoff Choirs
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Downtown Voices
NOVUS 
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
_________________________________

Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry Sing Kevin Puts
Friday, May 16, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2:00 pm
David Geffen Hall | 10 Lincoln Center Plaza | New York, NY
Link: https://www.nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/fleming-gilfry/

Program:
KEVIN PUTS: The Brightness of Light (New York Premiere)
MAURICE RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé (complete)

Artists:
Juanjo Mena, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano
Rod Gilfry, baritone
New York Philharmonic Chorus
     Malcolm J. Merriweather, director

For a list of additional concerts during the 2024/2025 season, please visit www.malcolmjmerriweather.com 

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About Malcolm J. Merriweather
Grammy-nominated conductor and baritone, Malcolm J. Merriweather, is the Director of The New York Philharmonic Chorus and Music Director of New York City’s The Dessoff Choirs, known for their performances of great choral works from the pre-Baroque era through the 21st century. He is the Tania León Chair of Music and Full Professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He 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.

Merriweather enjoys a versatile career with performances ranging from the songs of Margaret Bonds to gems of the symphonic choral repertoire. The baritone can be heard on the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road (NAXOS). Hailed by Opera News as “moving… expertly interpreted”, Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs and Credo & Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) has earned considerable praise around the world. At the invitation of Solange Knowles, he joined the interdisciplinary studio and creative agency, Saint Heron, for performances with Voices of Harlem and The Clark Sisters in Glory to Glory: A Revival of Devotional Art.

Highlights from his 2024/2025 season include presentations of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé with the New York Philharmonic, preparing the New York Philharmonic Chorus in its complete version; Brahms’ Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem in partnership with Trinity Wall Street’s Downtown Voices, a world premiere by Tania León, and Florence Price’s cantata Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, plus various holiday programming, including Handel’s Messiah, with The Dessoff Choirs, all part of the organizations 100th anniversary season; Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s Sanctuary Road, first with the Charleston Symphony as the baritone soloist and then with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conducting the oratorio; and concerts at Brooklyn College and Tennessee All-State. He is also in residency at the University of Southern California during Spring 2025.

Merriweather’s 2023/2024 season included a trip to China with The New York Philharmonic Choir for the world premiere of Émigré, An Oratorio with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He returned to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the world premiere of Handel: Made in America with soloists Latonia Moore, J’Nai Bridges, Noah Stewart, and Davóne Tines. 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. With The Dessoff Choirs, he conducted Mendelssohn’s Elijah and two contemporary oratorios about the lives of Sojourner Truth (Valerie Capers) and Anne Frank (James Whitbourn).

Previous season highlights of Maestro Merriweather’s include leading The Choir of Trinity Wall Street in three staged performances of Considering Matthew Shepard; preparing the New York Philharmonic Chorus for Maestro Jaap van Zweden in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the reopening of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center; and conducting Duruflé’s Requiem, Bach’s St. John Passion, and motets by Vicente Lusitano, the first Black published composer, for The Dessoff Choirs. Past seasons further included the long-awaited release of the premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s Credo and Simon Bore the Cross with the AVIE label.

Merriweather has been featured as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Dessoff Choirs, the New York Choral Society, Bach Vespers Choir and Orchestra at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City, and the Cincinnati May and Penn Square Music festivals. The baritone has premiered contemporary solo works by Eve Beglarian, John Liberatore, Ju Ri Seo, Douglas Fisk, and James Adler. He has been a fellowship recipient at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Malcolm J. Merriweather holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the studio of Kent Tritle at the Manhattan School of Music, where his doctoral dissertation, Now I Walk in Beauty, Gregg Smith: A Biography and Complete Works Catalog, constituted the first complete works list for the composer and conductor. He received Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting studying with William Weinert and in Vocal Performance from the studio of Rita Shane at the Eastman School of Music. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Syracuse University, summa cum laude.

His professional affiliations include membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Choral Directors Association, and Chorus America.

He was previously Music Director of the West Village Chorale, Organist and Choirmaster at the Church of St. Luke and St. Simon of Cyrene (Episcopal) in Rochester, NY, and, for five years, Associate Choirmaster at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

Connect with him on Instagram @maestroweather and at www.malcolmjmerriweather.com.

Photo at top of release courtesy Malcolm J. Merriweather

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