Trinity Church Announces
Additional Spring 2026 Programming

Highlights include the New York premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard as part of the PROTOTYPE Festival, the spring presentation of Handel’s Messiah, the world premiere of David Hurd’s Great Awakenings, and major choral performances including Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem.

Additional highlights include the continuation of PIPES, a concert series celebrating the inauguration of Trinity’s historic new organ installation, as well as Jazz at One and Jazz Icons featuring jazz legends including Jon Faddis (Feb 1), Renee Rosnes, and Bill Charlap (May 3).

 

New York, NY – January 8, 2026 – Trinity Church announces its spring 2026 music season, expanding its acclaimed offerings with major premieres, rich choral masterworks, and the continuation of signature series including PIPES, Bach at One, Jazz Icons, and Jazz at One.

The season opens on January 9 with the NYC premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard, presented with PROTOTYPE Festival, featuring NOVUS and conductor Gabriel Crouch. A vivid exploration of the visionary medieval composer and mystic, Hildegard dramatizes the creation of the Scivias manuscript and the powerful relationship between Hildegard von Bingen and Richardis von Stade. The production runs through January 14.

On February 4, Trinity’s PIPES series continues with Messe solennelle, spotlighting the French sacred tradition through works by Vierne, Nadia and Lili Boulanger, and Dupré, performed by the Trinity Choir and organists Avi Stein and Alex Leonardi. On February 24, the Trinity Choir presents Ave Generosa, a luminous Marian and Lenten program that weaves together music from Hildegard von Bingen, Poulenc, Duruflé, Vivancos, Gjeilo, Grieg, and Chesnokov, and contemporary composers including Zanaida Stewart Robles, Ily Matthew Maniano, and Margaret Rizza.

On March 11, Downtown Voices, NOVUS, and conductor Stephen Sands perform Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, a profound meditation on grief and consolation.

From April 13-May 11, Trinity’s beloved Jazz at One series presents leading jazz artists curated in collaboration with JAZZ HOUSE KiDS. The spring series spotlights drummer, composer, and bandleader Shirazette Tinnin, Orrin Evans, Vanisha Gould, and Ted Chubb. The Bach at One series continues from April 15-May 13, with special Easter-season presentations of Handel’s Messiah (Parts II & III) on April 15–16 in Trinity Church, continuing the new liturgical split-presentation tradition.

Highlights of the spring include the April 29 Tiny Concert, featuring works by Buxtehude and Bernhard; a May 6 motet program pairing Bach with Howells and Britten; and the Bach at One season-closer, Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, on May 13.

On May 16-17, the Trinity Youth Chorus continues its celebrated annual programming with We Can Build a Beautiful City:selections from Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell, honoring the 50th anniversary of the musical’s Broadway debut.

The spring season concludes on May 31 with the world premiere of Great Awakenings: John Henry Hobart and America—a notable new Trinity commission by composer David Hurd with text by Christopher Dylan Herbert, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States and celebrating the visionary leadership of Bishop John Henry Hobart. Paired with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, this finale brings together the Trinity Choir, Downtown Voices, NOVUS, and conductor Melissa Attebury.

Sign up for our newsletter for the latest music updates and check back here to reserve your tickets for the Spring.
 

 

Trinity Church Spring 2026 Music Season

January 9-14, 2026 at Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
PROTOTYPE: HILDEGARD  (NYC Premiere) 
*January 9, 10, 14,  7:30pm Performance, January 11 5pm Performance,

Sarah Kirkland Snider Hildegard
NOVUS; Gabriel Crouch, conductor
Ticketed

The year is 1147 and the brilliant, pioneering composer Hildegard von Bingen is receiving visions from God. Despite the constant threat that the church will turn on her as a heretic, she decides to document her visions, enlisting her fellow nun Richardis von Stade to illustrate the manuscript. As their passion project bleeds into passion, the two women are forced to confront the powers that would see them struck from history rather than making it.

 

February 1, 4pm in Trinity Church
Jazz Icons: Jon Faddis

Virtuosic jazz icon Jon Faddis stands among the rare artists whose brilliance radiates across every corner of the music world. An inspirational trumpeter, conductor, composer, and educator, he has shaped both jazz performance and music education with a depth of influence few can match. Following in the footsteps of his mentor Dizzy Gillespie, Faddis launched his career at just 17 with Lionel Hampton’s band, later rising to prominence as lead trumpet in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and a frequent collaborator with preeminent artists including Charles Mingus and Oscar Peterson.

February 4, 6pm in Trinity Church
PIPES: Messe solennelle
Louis Vierne Messe solennelle, op. 16
Marcel Dupré O salutaris Hostia and Tantum ergo
Nadia Boulanger Cantique
Lili Boulanger Psalm 24
Lili Boulanger Vieille prière bouddhique 
Lili Boulanger Nocturne
Trinity Choir; Avi Stein and Alex Leonardi, organ; Melissa Baker, flute; Melissa Attebury, conductor

Hear Trinity Church’s epic new organ with the Trinity Choir in a performance that celebrates the rich legacy of French music through the works of Louis Vierne and his preeminent pupils: Nadia and Lili Boulanger and Marcel Dupré. At one point conceived for full orchestra and choir, Vierne’s stunning and grandiose Messe solennelle captures the incredible versatility of the organ and features Trinity’s Organist Avi Stein and Organ Scholar Alex Leonardi. From the harmonic sophistication of Nadia Boulanger to the ethereal lyricism of Lili Boulanger and the virtuosic writing of Dupré, this performance explores the innovation and enduring power of the French musical tradition.

 

February 24, 6pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Ave Generosa: Marian and Lenten Reflections
Francis Poulenc Litanies à la Vierge Noire
Maurice Duruflé Tota pulchra es
Bernat Vivancos Nigra sum
Ola Gjeilo Ave Generosa 
Zanaida Stewart Robles Karitas á Four 
Margaret Rizza Ave Generosa
Ily Matthew Maniano Ubi Caritas
Edvard Grieg Ave maris stella 
Pavel Chesnokov Svete tihiy
Hildegard von Bingen Ave generosa
Trinity Choir: sopranos and altos; Alcée Chriss III, organ; Melissa Attebury, conductor

Join the compelling treble voices of the Trinity Choir for an evening of choral music celebrating Mary, compassion, and the spirit of Lent. Centered around Hildegard von Bingen’s luminous Ave generosa, the program weaves together Poulenc’s Litanies à la Vierge noire—written after his pilgrimage to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour—with Marian gems by Duruflé, Vivancos, Grieg, and Chesnokov. Newer voices including Zanaida Stewart Robles, Ily Matthew Maniano, and Margaret Rizza add their innovative perspectives to timeless themes of devotion, beauty, and mercy.

 

March 11, 6pm in Trinity Church 
Brahms Requiem
Johannes Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, op. 45 
Moriah Berry, soprano; Brian Mextorf, baritone; Downtown Voices; NOVUS; Stephen Sands, conductor

Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem is one of the most profound choral masterworks ever composed—a timeless meditation on grief, hope, and transcendence. In this performance by Downtown Voices, soloists and NOVUS, Brahms’s setting of biblical texts unfolds in waves of grief and consolation, embodied in richly expressive orchestration and choral melodies. Unlike traditional requiems, Brahms’s masterpiece is not a mass for the dead but a work for the living, offering reassurance and solace.

 

April 13, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One: Shirazette Tinnin

Drummer, composer and bandleader Shirazette Tinnin brings her signature blend of soul, jazz, and global rhythm to our opening Jazz at One performance that pulses with creativity and joy. Tinnin fuses traditional jazz roots with innovative grooves and Afro-diasporic influences, crafting music that is both profoundly personal, and universally moving.

 

April 15 at 1pm in Trinity Church 
Bach at One
George Frideric Handel Messiah, HWV 56 (Parts II and III: Selections)
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, conductor

 

April 15 & 16, 7pm in Trinity Church 
Handel Messiah
George Frideric Handel Messiah, HWV 56 (Parts II and III)
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, conductor
Ticketed

Audiences will revel in the full glory of Easter season as Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra present Parts II and III of George Frideric Handel’s beloved and timeless work, which includes the much-celebrated “Hallelujah” chorus. Hailed by The New York Times as “the gold standard” by which all Messiah performances are measured, Trinity’s historic version has thrilled audiences since 1770.

 

April 20, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One: Orrin Evans

A prolific pianist, Orrin Evans has built a renowned career defined by his extensive sylistic range, blending swing, blues, and avant-garde influences. Acclaimed for pushing the envelope and a fierce independence — none of his 25 records were backed by a major label — Evans, who is also a composer and bandleader, explains himself best: “I like to stretch out. Wherever the music takes me, I’m going there.”   

 

April 22, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Bach at One
Johann Sebastian Bach Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42
Johann Sebastian Bach Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz, BWV 138
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ 

In contrast to the magnificent large choruses of the B Minor Mass or Handel’s Messiah, today’s concert reveals Bach at his most intimate and introspective. Drawing on texts of self-reflection and consolation, these cantatas invite listeners into a deeply personal dialogue of faith, doubt and inner peace – illuminating the human side of Bach’s art.

 

April 22, 6:30pm in Trinity Church
Chanticleer
Ticketed

Hailed as “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, The Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is known around the world for its dazzling virtuosity and impassioned musicianship. This special appearance at the stunning Neo-Gothic Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan features the East Coast premiere of the magnum opus of French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut, one of the leading minds of the Middle Ages. His Messe de Nostre Dame is one of the first multi-movement, large-scale notated compositions to exist in the Western canon and has been called the “genesis of modern music” (Los Angeles Times). The program also includes secular songs of minstrels and bards from the Middle Ages to create an evening of artistry, revelry and dance.

 

April 27, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One: Artist TBD

 

April 29, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Bach at One

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April 30 at 5:30pm & 6:30pm in All Saints Chapel
Tiny Concerts
Dieterich Buxtehude Trio Sonata in A Minor, BuxWV 272
Dieterich Buxtehude Herr, wenn ich nur Dich hab, BuxWV 38
Christoph Bernhard Aus der Tieffen  
Elisse Albian, soprano; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

Having come from a distinguished family of musicians, Johann Sebastian Bach was keenly aware of his place in the musical lineage.  His vast collection of manuscripts, by his relatives, predecessors and contemporaries show that Bach was inspired by a wide variety of repertoire. This program of the rich and intensely passionate music of late 17th century Germany delves into the sound-world from which Bach sprang forth, highlighting the brilliance of Dieterich Buxtehude and his inner circle.

 

May 3, 4pm in Trinity Church
Jazz Icons: Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap

World-renowned pianists Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap bring their dazzling musicianship and husband-and-wife chemistry to Trinity for an afternoon of inspired jazz artistry. Individually celebrated for their unmistakable voices — NPR calls Charlap “one of the finest interpreters of American popular song” and Rosnes, “a modern jazz wizard" — together they create something truly special, as captured on their stunning duo album, Double Portrait.

 

May 4, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One: Vanisha Gould

Vanisha Gould, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, is known for her soulful voice and dynamic presence. She’s performed worldwide, from the Copenhagen Jazz Festival to Smalls Jazz Club in New York City, and teaches songwriting and jazz vocals through the Tribeca Jazz Institute and the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective. Also a bandleader and composer, Gould released her latest album, She’s Not Shiny, She’s Not Smooth, in 2024.? 

 

May 6, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Bach at One
Herbert Howells Take Him, Earth for Cherishing
Benjamin Britten Hymn to Saint Cecilia, op. 27
Johann Sebastian Bach Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230
Johann Sebastian Bach Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228
Trinity Choir; led by Avi Stein, organ

Bach’s intense and passionate motets are a staple of the technical and expressive virtuosity of the Trinity Choir.  These pinnacles of the choral repertoire are complemented by 20th century masterworks - Herbert Howells’ deeply moving homage to JFK, written in the wake of the assassination and Benjamin Britten’s evocative and fantastical ode to the power of music, written during his stay in New York during the Second World War.

 

May 11, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One: Ted Chubb Quintet

Gratified Never Satisfied, Chubb’s latest release, is another showcase for his prowess as a trumpeter and bandleader. But its title also speaks to an obsession with fine-tuning his craft and educating a new generation of musicians. When he is not doing the latter at Princeton and across New York City, Chubb, often with his quintet — Bruce Williams, Oscar Perez, Tom DiCarlo, and Jerome Jennings — can be found everywhere from local clubs to festivals around the world, in addition to his own venue "The Statuary" in Jersey City where he produces a monthly concert series. He’s played with the likes of Christian McBride, Wallace Roney, and Don Braden.?

 

May 13, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Bach at One
George Frideric Handel Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, HWV 76
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein

We close the Bach at One season with Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia’s Day, a colorful and dramatic homage to the power of music. Written for an annual celebration of the muse and patron saint of music Saint Cecilia, this radiant work leads us through the full spectrum of human emotion, from quiet contemplation to boundless joy and the cosmic alchemy of music.

 

May 16,6pm & May 17, 4pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Trinity Youth Chorus: We Can Build a Beautiful City (Selections from Godspell)
Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak Godspell
Trinity Youth Chorus; NOVUS; Peyton Marion, conductor

In honor of the 50th anniversary of its Broadway debut, the Trinity Youth Chorus will present selections from Stephen Schwartz’ Godspell. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, this semi-staged concert brings the story of Jesus to life through a buoyant and evocative pop-rock score. With beloved songs like “Day by Day,” “Beautiful City,” and “All Good Gifts” the Youth Chorus and NOVUS will present this timeless musical parable to close out the Youth Chorus’ 21st season.

 

May 31, 4pm, Trinity Church
Great Awakenings
David Hurd Great Awakenings (World Premiere)
Text by Christopher Dylan Herbert based on the writings of John Henry Hobart
Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring Suite for 13 instruments
Trinity Choir; Downtown Voices; NOVUS; Melissa Attebury, conductor

Great Awakenings: John Henry Hobart and America is a powerful new oratorio by acclaimed composer David Hurd with a libretto by Christopher Dylan Herbert. Exploring the visionary leadership of former Trinity Rector Bishop John Henry Hobart (1775–1830), the work brings to life a pivotal era in American religious and civic history. Through vibrant choral writing and expressive solo voices, Great Awakenings illuminates Hobart’s mission to expand the Episcopal Church, his embrace of education and inclusion, and his steadfast belief in pluralism and democracy as cornerstones of the American spirit. A stirring meditation on faith, conviction, and national identity.

 

About Music at Trinity Church

Trinity Church’s groundbreaking music program – “the top of musical life in New York” (The New York Times)– has changed the landscape of performing arts in New York City, reenvisioning the impact arts organizations can have, with its peerless ensembles, uniquely broad range of expertise from early to new-music performance, long tradition of championing underrepresented composers, and extensive and growing discography.

 

About  Trinity Church

Trinity Church is an Episcopal parish in New York City founded in 1697. We work for justice, serve our neighbors, and bring people together to experience God’s love in community. Trinity’s outreach in the city includes 20 weekly worship services, food assistance seven days a week for people in need, support for asylum seekers, housing for the elderly and people living with disabilities, youth programs, and a wide array of free music and educational events throughout the year. The church also supports communities and ministries serving the world in Africa, Asia, and across the Americas.

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