Volume 10, Issue 1 | November 4, 2024 | |
Free parking | Tenleytown Metro | Projected Titles | |
Save with Season Subscriptions | |
The City Choir of Washington’s 2024-25 Season may be “By the Numbers” but it is certainly not by the book. With its signature fresh take on the classics, presentation of rarely heard works, and guest appearances by the Washington National Opera Orchestra and soloists from Wolf Trap Opera, City Choir’s season will have choral music lovers on cloud nine.
Don't miss a minute of the City Choir of Washington’s 2024-25 season with a season subscription. Not only will you save 15% on season subscriptions–and any individual tickets purchased at the same time–but City Choir is offering special new subscriber benefits.
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The season features special guest appearances by the Washington National Opera Orchestra, soloists from Wolf Trap Opera's Studio Artist program, and some of the Washington area's most exciting emerging voices.
You’ll hear Haydn, Bach, Beethoven, and Bonis in the inspiring and resonant National Presbyterian Church (by Tenleytown Metro, with free parking); festive opera classics in Alexandria’s flagship Schlesinger Concert Hall (15 minutes from Georgetown, with free parking); and an evening of American music in the acoustic glory of the historic Church of the Epiphany (just half a block from Metro Center).
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New this year: special subscriber perks! Season subscribers will receive access to exclusive Zoom talks with Artistic Director Erin Freeman ahead of each concert, and an invitation to attend orchestra rehearsals.
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Dashiell Waterbury Puts the
"Light" in "Enlightenment"
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Artistic Director Erin Freeman shares: "Recently, I talked with Dashiell Waterbury about his role in our upcoming performance of Haydn’s Creation. Dash will not only be our tenor soloist, singing the part of the archangel Uriel, but he is creating and executing extra-musical elements for our production. These minimal staging elements will enhance the message of the piece and bring to the forefront the power of a community to come together with hope and clarity towards a more beautiful future. Topics in this conversation run the gamut from the inventive music of Haydn to his concept of this work as a masterpiece of the Enlightenment."
Please click on the play button below to watch the conversation.
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Featuring the
Washington National Opera Orchestra
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You don't need to venture to the Kennedy Center to hear the incredible musicians of the Washington National Opera Orchestra—just come to the City Choir of Washington's first two concerts of the season! The Washington National Opera Orchestra will be featured in both November's The Creation and January's "Carmen at 150 – Opera Choruses & Scenes."
Ashley Stonebraker, Director of Orchestra Personnel & Operations for The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera Orchestra, says, "The Washington National Opera Orchestra is thrilled to be making music with the City Choir of Washington this season, and we look forward to combining the excellent artistry of both organizations into beautiful performances for the community."
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Left to right: Esther Tonea, soprano; Dashiell Waterbury, tenor; Andrew Adelsberger, bass-baritone; Washington National Opera Orchestra | |
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City Choir of Washington audiences may remember soprano Esther Tonea's bravura turn in last year's Carmina Burana with the Richmond Ballet. If you missed her ravishing solos at Wolf Trap or Richmond, you will delight in hearing her as both the angel Gabriel and Eve in The Creation.
Dashiell Waterbury, tenor and stage director, is making a splash in the DC music scene with both his singing and directing skills, and local audiences may recognize bass-baritone Andrew Adelsberger from InSeries Opera, Bel Cantanti Opera, and the Annapolis Opera.
Please click here to read Artist Bios
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"A Game of Telephone" – Erin Freeman on Translations of The Creation
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"Have you ever played a game of telephone? You know the one: someone thinks of a phrase and whispers it to the next person in line who whispers it to the next, and so on. By the time you get to the end, you have a garbled, nonsensical sentence.
"Well, the story of the English libretto of Franz Joseph Haydn’s The Creation is kind of like that."
Click here to read Erin's notes about The Creation's journey from English to German and back again and her thoughts on Philip Moody's elegant new English translation that City Choir will perform on November 24.
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Get Ready for Giving Tuesday on Dec. 3 | |
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Unleash generosity on Giving Tuesday, and take a break from the bustle of Black Friday and holiday shopping to participate in this global movement of generosity and support your favorite causes. We hope the City Choir of Washington will be among them!
Stay tuned for more information—Giving Tuesday is just four weeks away.
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...And, City Choir Tickets Make the Best Holiday Presents!
Give the gift of music this holiday season with tickets to the City Choir of Washington's concerts.
Please click here for more information.
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Become a 2024–25 Season Underwriter | |
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The City Choir of Washington Season Underwriters are a group of special individuals willing to underwrite a portion of our concert seasons. For a pledge of $5,000 or more in new money between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, you will be entitled to a few additional perks and have the satisfaction of putting the City Choir of Washington on a firmer financial footing. You may also become a half underwriter for $2,500.
Becoming a 2024-25 season underwriter does not require an immediate one-time payment. Once you submit your pledge form you will immediately be recognized as a Season Underwriter. The next step is to make your actual payment(s), and the timing of this donation is completely up to you—some Underwriters prefer to make their donation in installments; others contribute through Donor Advised Funds; and many take advantage of IRA Required Minimum Distributions. Treasurer Ben Tsai (tsai.benjamin@yahoo.com) is always happy to answer your financial questions.
Season Underwriters are entitled to a number of special perks, including complimentary season tickets, and invitations to the “Conversations with the Conductor” Zoom events, the annual Spring Gathering of Underwriters (April 6, 2025 at the Gibson Island Club), and more.
If you are interested in joining this group of top-tier donors, or know of someone we should approach, please contact Barbara Greene, Liaison to the Season Underwriters. An online pledge form is available here.
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City Choir Welcomes Your Support | |
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Would you like to support the City Choir of Washington's mission to uplift and inspire audiences and singers alike through performance and community engagement? Please consider a tax-deductible donation to support the City Choir of Washington.
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The City Choir of Washington is grateful for your support! Please click the button below to donate,
or visit citychoir.org/support.
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Join the City Singers on December 22 | |
The City Singers, the engagement ensemble of the City Choir of Washington, will be performing an uplifting set of holiday music and singalongs in the lobby of The Willard InterContinental Washington, DC Hotel on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The performances, at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. are free and open to the public. We hope to see you there! | |
The City Singers, with director Katie Jagielski (far left) at the Willard Hotel | |
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Supporting emerging soloists is an important part of the City Choir of Washington's mission, and we are pleased to continue our collaboration with Wolf Trap Opera for a third year. We are thrilled to highlight some of the fantastic accomplishments of the talented singers who have appeared with us as soloists:
Mezzo-soprano Winona Martin (Elgar, The Music Makers, June 2024; Rossini Petite Messe Solonnelle, November 2022), a Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist, has just finished a run as Rosina at Annapolis Opera and will appear as Laurene Powell Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Washington National Opera in May 2025. Soprano Tiffany Choe (Viva Italia! fundraiser, February 2024) is just finishing a triumphant run at Washington National Opera as Marzelline in Fidelio; Sopranos Tessa McQueen and Jazmine Saunders (Mozart Grand Mass in C Minor, January 2024) have both began their tenure as Lindemann Young Artists at the Metropolitan Opera. Tenor Travon D. Walker (Rossini Petite Messe Solonnelle, November 2022) is currently thriving in his second year at the Chicago Lyric Opera's Ryan Opera Center. We are very excited to welcome back baritone Adam Partridge (Mozart Grand Mass in C Minor, January 2024) to City Choir for our January 2025 concert, where he will embody Escamillo and other operatic characters in "Carmen at 150 - Opera Choruses & Scenes."
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In addition, we are happy to share a special offer from Vocal Arts DC for City Choir of Washington patrons (who may have caught Lunga Eric Hallam's spine-tingling tenor solo in the Richmond Ballet's Carmina Burana): "You loved tenor Lunga Eric Hallam in Carmina Burana—now don’t miss his Kennedy Center debut with Vocal Arts DC on November 18, featuring GRAMMY Award-winning pianist Craig Terry! The City Choir of Washington audience members can enjoy 30% off tickets! Use code DCARTS at checkout!" Tickets and information available here.
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Don't Miss Our Next Concert:
Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 5 p.m.
| Don’t miss this special Saturday evening event celebrating the 150th anniversary of Georges Bizet’s popular opera Carmen—and much more! Although we won’t have actual bull fights, we will share with you some of the great opera choruses of all time, plus guest appearances by soloists from the Wolf Trap Opera Studio Artist program and the Washington National Opera Orchestra. All of this at Alexandria's flagship Schlesinger Concert Hall (just 15 minutes from Georgetown), with supertitles. | |
The City Choir of Washington is sponsored in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities | |
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Allegro: The City Choir Newsletter
Editor: Emily Hantman Tsai
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The City Choir of Washington is a tax exempt organization under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent provided by law. You may obtain a copy of our financial statement by writing The City Choir of Washington, P.O. Box 9673, Washington DC 20016 or by calling us (202) 495-1613. The financial statement may be obtained from the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs upon written request and, for the cost of copying and postage, from the Secretary of State of Maryland. | | | | |
