Choral Arts Presents Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Gustav Holst’s Two Psalms in concert April 18 at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2026

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Choral Arts Presents Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Gustav Holst’s Two Psalms in concert April 18 at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall

Between the two works there will be a guided discussion with Peter Loge, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University

Washington, DC — Choral Arts, under the direction of conductor Marie Bucoy-Calavan, will present “From Darkness to Light” on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center (4915 E Campus Dr, Alexandria, VA) on the NVCC campus.

Choral Arts offers a powerful journey from turmoil to hope through one of the most profound statements in 20th-century English choral music. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem is a sweeping plea for peace, drawing on texts from the Mass, Walt Whitman, and the Bible to create a work of urgency and deep emotional resonance. Featuring symphonic chorus and orchestra, soprano Amy Broadbent and bass-baritone Edmund Milly, the piece is unified by the haunting, insistent refrain: “Give us peace,” a cry that feels as urgent today as ever.

Midway through the program, a unique guided discussion will invite the audience into conversation with George Washington University Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs Peter Loge. This interactive segment will explore the timely message of Dona Nobis Pacem, its resonance in today’s world, and how music can help us process conflict and imagine a path forward.

“Music has always been a way for communities to process difficult moments together. Vaughan
Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem asks timeless questions about war, peace, and our responsibility to
one another,” said Bucoy-Calvan.” Creating space for a guided conversation during the
performance allows the audience not only to hear the music but also to engage with its message, with each other, and realize its relevance in our world today.”

The performance will conclude with Gustav Holst’s Two Psalms (1912), offering a striking contrast between the introspective Psalm 86 and the jubilant, hymn-like Psalm 148, featuring the symphonic chorus, strings, tenor Allan Palacios Chan, and organist Matthew Steynor.

Event Details

Choral Arts — From Darkness to Light
Date: April 18, 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, 4915 E Campus Dr, Alexandria, VA
Tickets: $30–$70 | Purchase here
Photos

ABOUT PETER LOGE
Peter Loge has more than 30 years of experience in politics and communications, including a presidential appointment at the Food and Drug Administration and senior positions for Sen. Edward Kennedy and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs.

Loge has led and advised a range of campaigns and organizations, put the first member of Congress on the internet, lobbied for “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and served as a senior policy advisor for health care in the House of Representatives during the debate over the Affordable Care Act. His eclectic career also includes a solo-show of his sculpture in a Washington, D.C. gallery, and appearances as a political satirist on NPR, His 2018 book Soccer Thinking for Management Success: Lessons for Organizations from the World’s Gam debuted as at #1 new release on Amazon, and his 2020 edited volume Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice has been called “essential” and a “much needed resource.”

Prior to joining the full-time faculty at SMPA, Loge served as a senior advisor to the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in the Obama administration, a presidential appointment. In this role, he developed and helped lead the strategic communication efforts for some of the top White House and FDA health priorities including the Cancer Moonshot, the Precision Medicine Initiative and combating the opioid crisis.

From 2013 – 2015, he was the first vice president for external relations at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) where his portfolio included congressional relations, intergovernmental affairs, communications, development and the Global Peacebuilding Center. He was also part of the organization’s senior management team and the interim liaison to the USIP board.

Before USIP, Loge was the founder and principal at the legislative strategy firm Milo Public Affairs LLC, where his clients ranged from AmericaSpeaks and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” to the World Wildlife Fund and WickedCoolStuff.com.

In 2009, he took a leave of absence from Milo Public Affairs to serve as a senior adviser to former Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) on health care reform. Peter helped Rep. Kagen, a doctor and second- term Democrat from a Republican district, shape and promote his health care agenda. Peter also managed the Congressional Business Owners Caucus, a group of over 50 Democratic representatives who owned businesses before coming to Congress.

Before launching Milo Public Affairs he was a senior vice president at M R Strategic Services, a national public affairs and political consulting firm. At M R, Loge directed the media relations team and provided strategic counsel to a wide array of clients including the Save Darfur Coalition, Human Rights First, and the Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors. Before joining M R, he served as the first director of The Justice Project, which helped redefine the national death penalty and criminal justice debate.

Loge has extensive experience in communications and political strategy including serving as a regional field director for the Concord Coalition, as the chief of staff, press secretary and campaign manager for Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), director of constituent services to former Rep. Sam Coppersmith (D-Ariz.), and deputy to the chief of staff to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). Peter managed Sherman’s first re-election campaign, made Coppersmith the first member of Congress with a presence on the internet in 1993, and, while working for Sen. Kennedy, coordinated the first online chat with a federal elected official.

Loge was an adjunct instructor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University for more than a decade before joining the faculty full time. He regularly lectures on strategic communication and ethics at national and international universities and organizations, and is featured in the political documentary “Split: A Divided America.”

He regularly appears in national and international media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, AP, Fox, Al Jazeera, and elsewhere. His writing has appeared in The Hill, Campaigns & Elections, Media Ethics, the Drake Law Review, the edited volume Wounds that Do Not Bind: Victim Perspectives on the Death Penalty, the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations and elsewhere. He earned his bachelor's degree from Emerson College, holds graduate degrees from Syracuse University and Arizona State University, and has an honorary doctorate from Shepherd University (WV). 

Loge is an Associate Fellow in Timothy Dwight College at Yale University and a senior fellow at the Agirre Lehendakaria Center in Bilbao in the Basque Country in northern Spain. He also serves on the Emerson College Board of Trustees.

ABOUT CHORAL ARTS
At Choral Arts, we sing the music we love as a balm to frenzied days, an antidote to solitude, a union in an often-fractured world. We sing for a city with little time and high expectations, which compels us to transform a night out into a lifelong memory. Founded in 1965 by Norman Scribner (1936-2015), Choral Arts has a rich history of bringing the power of the human voice to audiences large and small, advancing the story of choral music by partnering with a myriad of musicians, composers, and ensembles.

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