¡Viva España! – November 2016
Works exploring Spain’s musical influence on Latin America, including pieces by Victoria, Guerrero and Morales, Sumaya’s extraordinary Lamentations of Jeremiah, and lively arrangements of Brazilian folk and popular music. With special guests Kaufman Center’s SMS High School Advanced Women’s Choir, Emily John, Director.

Draw On, Sweet Night – May 2016
Music resplendent with images of night, stars, the moon, and the radiance of evening, featuring Brahms’s  Fünf Gesänge, op. 104, madrigals by Monteverdi and John Wilbye, a world premiere by Los Angeles composer David Stern; and the winner(s) of Cerddorion’s fourth Emerging Composers Competition.

Josquin des Prez:Master of the Notes – March 2016
One of music’s greatest luminaries, Josquin inspired Martin Luther to declare him “master of the notes, which must do as he wishes.” Our program explores the profound scope of this extraordinary composer’s career, including selections from four of Josquin’s mass settings, several motets, and secular works.

Fitful Flame – Music of Love and War – November 2015
Works that explore the depth and volatility of human passion, including madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo and Thomas Tomkins; Clément Janequin’s La Guerre; New York composer Kim Sherman‘s Graveside; and Jeffrey Van’s setting of Civil War poems by Walt Whitman, A Procession Winding Around Me, with guest artist William Anderson, guitar. Watch the televised performance!

ance Rise Up, My Love – Choral Settings of the Song of Songs – May/June 2015
Music spanning five centuries inspired by the abiding, passionate love expressed in these timeless biblical texts. Featuring music of Melchior Franck, John Dunstable, Francisco Guerrero, William Billings, Edvard Grieg and Bengt Johansson, as well as the premiere of new works by Craig Bakalian and Francisco José Carbonell, winners of Cerddorion’s Third Annual Emerging Composers Competition.

Time and Again, a Celebration of Cerddorion’s 20th Anniversary– March 2015
A retrospective featuring mavelous works written for Cerddorion over the past twenty years, as well as world premieres by Martha Sullivan, Joseph Prestamo and Christopher Ryan.

Models of Inspiration – November 2014
Beloved works by Orlando di Lasso and J.S. Bach paired with extraordinary pieces inspired by them. Featuring Bach’s beloved motet Jesu, meine Freude as well as the world premiere of the Beatles Motet “Please Please Me” by Richard Boukas.

The Food of Love – June 2014
Choral settings of Shakespearean texts, including selected readings from the Bard’s plays and poetry alongside music of Vaughan Williams, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Sven Hagvil, and a host of New York area composers: Nancy Wertsch, Joseph Prestamo, Steven Sametz, Robert Applebaum, Martha Sullivan, Matthew Harris, and a world premiere by Cerddorion’s own Christopher Ryan.
Presented in collaboration with New York’s Shakespeare Society.

Language of the Birds – March 2014
Jannequin’s Chant des Oiseaux, music for choir and string quartet by Veronika Krausas, and world premieres from Steven Serpa, Joshua Fishbein and Theo Popov, winners of Cerddorion’s second Emerging Composers Competition.
Presented in collaboration with the contemporary ensemble Face the Music.

Pojďme zpívat! – Let Us Sing! – November 2013
An all-Czech program, featuring Dvořák’s Songs of Nature, Op. 63, works by Petr Eben, Leoš Janáček, and Josef Suk, and an American premiere by Zdeněk Lukáš.

Voices for Today: A Celebration of Poulenc and Britten– June 2013
Selected sacred works of Francis Poulenc, Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and a rare performance of Britten’s Voices for Today, composed for the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations.
With special guests, the Vox Nova Children’s Chorus of the Special Music School, Kaufman Center, Emily John, director.
Watch YouTube video

Mourning and Evening – March 2013
Tomás Luis de Victoria’s exceptionally beautiful six-voice Requiem Mass, Brahms’ serene and deeply moving Drei Gesänge, Op. 42, as well as the Dominick DiOrio’s Absence, winner of Cerddorion’s inaugural Emerging Composers Competition.

ByrdCage– November 2012
William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices, and a 100th Birthday tribute to John Cage, including rarely heard performances of selected vocal works, as well as readings from the composer’s writings.
With special guest, actor Tom Ligon.

Joy Beyond Words– May 2012
A program exploring the power of music to express universal truths beyond the limitations of language, including Jennefelt’s Claviante Brilioso, Rautavaara’s Suite de Lorca, Hindemith’s Six Chansons, Mäntyjärvi’s Four Shakespeare Songs, selected Italian madrigals by Heinrich Schütz, and a newly commissioned work by Pulizer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec.

Music of Solace and Rejoicing– March 2012
Four contrasting works that reflect on the transience of life: Henry Purcell’s funeral anthem Man that is Born of a Woman, Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigal cycle Lagrime d’amante al sepolcro dell’amata, Johannes Brahms’s motet Warum ist das Licht gegeben?, and Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106, accompanied by period instruments.

Joie de Vivre – November 2011
French and English delights, including Debussy’s Trois Chansons, Britten’s Five Flower Songs, as well as works by Saint-Saëns, Lassus, Morley, Batten, Sweelinck, Goudimel, Stanford, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and Scottish composer Hamish MacCunn.

With Harp and Voice– June 2011
Music for the enchanting medium of harp and voice, including Benjamin Britten’s “Choral Dances” from Gloriana (with tenor Kurt Alakulppi), selected works by Stephen Paulus, Johannes Brahms’s Vier Gesänge, Op. 17, William Hawley’s Dies Sanctificatus, James Bassi’s Harpsonnets, and a world premiere for chorus and harp by New York composer David Schober.
Featuring Guest Artist, Emily John, harp.

Toward Eternity– March 2011
Choral works that evoke a spirit of peace, contemplation and serene beauty, featuring Herbert Howells’s profoundly moving Requiem, motets by Josquin, Palestrina and Schütz, Andrew Rindfleisch’s Psalm, Robert Fountain’s arrangement of Deep River, music by Hungarian composer Bárdos Lajos, and Vaughan Williams’s magnificent motet, Valiant for Truth.

A Birthday Garland– November 2010
Music by composers who celebrated significant anniversaries in 2010, including Samuel Barber (Reincarnations), Johannes Ockeghem (Alma Redemptoris Mater), William Hawley (Tre Rime di Tasso), Peter Schickele (Three Choruses from e.e. cummings), William Schuman (Five Rounds on Famous Words), Aaron Jay Kernis (Dorma Ador), motets by Clemens non Papa and Ludovico Viadana, and works by Estonian composer Urmas Sisask.

From Mendelssohn to Tippet – May 2010
Choral works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Jean Absil, Michael Tippett, and Nancy Wertsch, as well as the New York Premiere of Michael Waldenby’s Memento Creatoris tui, composed in 2009.

For Love – February 2010
Motets by Melchior Franck and Edvard Grieg, Monteverdi’s madrigal cycle Lamento d’Arianna, selections from Britten’s A.M.D.G., Steven Stucky’s Cradle Songs, and settings of love lyrics by contemporary Swedish composers Nils and Olle Lindberg.

Magnification – November 2009
An eclectic program covering five centuries of music honoring the Virgin Mary, from Gregorian chant to the choral songs of the Ba-Benzélé pygmies in Congo, including works by Bruckner, Howells, Parsons, Pärt, Stravinsky, Swayne, Tavener, Victoria, Villette and Walmisley.

Stone Soup – May 2009
An assortment of new works created for Cerddorion including a world premiere mini-oratorio by Julie Dolphin, as well as works by Boerger, Dennis, Matsuoka, Noon and Rubeiz.

Ein Spiegel – February 2009
Featuring 19th century German Romantic part-songs paired with contemporary works. Hensel, Mendelssohn, and Brahms are set beside current works by Dennis, Peaslee, Boerger, and Gorecki.

La Contenance Angloise – November 2008
Traces English choral music from liturgical chants through composers Dunstable, Tallis, Byrd, Elgar, Britten and more.

Spectacular Vernacular – May 2008
A melange of vernacular music arranged for the concert stage, drawn from many countries and traditions.
Guest performance by the Macedonian ensemble Izvornotes.

The Place Just Right – February and March 2008
Features sacred and devotional works by tunesmiths and composers from the United States.

Psalmus – November 2007
Features the Excelsior Trombone ensemble in a concert of liturgical works based on Psalm texts. Works by Bach, Brahms, and Bruckner and more.

It Was Good – May 2007
Features Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning with other works by Billings, Weelkes, Levine Monteverdi, Matthew Harris, William McClelland and Ron Jeffers.

Mass Appeal – February 2007
Featuring masses by William Byrd and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and concluding with a composite mass of various composers.

Music Divine – November 2006
Featuring sacred and secular music of the Renaissance masters. Works by Tallis, Byrd, Monteverdi, Luis de Victoria, Hassler, Gabrieli and others.

L’Invitation au Voyage – May 2006
Features a program of well known New York composers in Ned Rorem and John Corigliano; paired with some lesser known New York composers such as Patrick Castillo, Julie Dolphin, Matthew Harris, Martha Sullivan and Robert Dennis.

The Ears of my Ears – February 2006
Featuring the previously performed commisions for Cerddorion by Lisa Bielawa, David Lang, and Elliot Z Levine, with other works of Billings, Desprez, Praetorius, Palestrina, Weelkes and Johnathan David.

Prophets and Kings – November 2005
Featuring works by Robert Dennis, William Walton, William Billings as well as several Hebrew texts and settings from Hebrew scripture.

Again – May 2005
Featuring the complete performances of Lisa Bielawa’s Lamentations and Elliot Z Levine’s Un prodigio les canto, alongside choral favorites for Cerddorion’s 10-year anniversary.

A Path of Good Things – February 2005
Featuring several settings of Psalm 23 by Elliot Z Levine, Bobby McFerrin and Gregg Smith, the first movements of Levine’s Un prodigio les canto, and works by Poulenc.

Prophecy and Light – November 2004
Featuring settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Tomás Luis de Victoria, the world premiere of Cerddorion’s first commission, “Lamentations for a City” by Lisa Bielawa, and works by Eric Whitacre, Brahms, Bielawa, and Ian Moss.

If This Be Death – May 2004
Featuring a Mass setting by Tomás Luis de Victoria and the Requiem of Ildebrando Pizzetti.

Exaudi – February 2004
Featuring song settings by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Psalm settings by Igor Stravinsky, Aarvo Pärt, Jaako Mäntyjärvi, and David Lang.

Wunderbare Harmonie – November 2003
Featuring early sacred polyphony of Schütz, Schein, and Hassler; and secular laments and triumphs of Haydn, Mendelssohn, Distler, Rheinberger, Brahms, Isaac, and Senfl.

Regenerations: Ancient Tunes Revisited – May 2003
Featuring ancient compositions and contemporary recompositions by Ayres, Bach, Bingen, Dennis, Ferko, London, and Purcell.

Sospiros – February 2003
Featuring settings of poems by Federico Garcia Lorca composed by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and folk song arrangements by Vaughan Williams, Holst, and Yumiko Matsuoka.

Im Herbst – November 2002
Featuring Brahms’ “Funf Gesänge” and Schönberg’s “Drei Volksliedsätze,” along with “Mass for Men’s Voices” by Peter Schickele and works by Sallinen and Finzi.

Monteverdi and the Moon – April 2002
Featuring Monteverdi’s “Messa a quattro voce di cappella”, along with “Man in the Moon” by New York based composer Robert Dennis and the world premiere of “See the Moon”, by Boston based composer Tom Shake.

Mass in a Time of War – November 2001
Works by Monique Gabus, Willaert, as well as Taverner’s “Western Wynde” Mass and contemporary composer Giles Swayne’s “Missa Tiburtina”.

Flora & Fauna– May 2001
An evening of lambs, lions, lilies, gladioli, and more, featuring the music of Benjamin Britten, Jacques Arcadelt, Irving Fine, Paul Hindemith, Pierre Mercure, John Tavener, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Chantons! – February 2001
Secular French music ancient and modern, featuring the Chansons Françaises of Poulenc.

Madrigalean Evolutions – November 2000
Secular works by Marenzio, Gesualdo, Palestrina, Schatz, Monteverdi, and Lauridsen.

Sacred Masterpieces – May 2000
Including Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices and J.S. Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude.

101st Birthday Celebration – February 2000
Featuring works by Poulenc, Randall Thompson, and Duke Ellington, all born in 1899.

Gentle on the Spirit: Romantic English Fare – November 1999
A Vaughan Williams Mass, as well as works by Elgar, Britten, and Delius.

Gothic Echoes – May 1999
Featuring Ockeghem’s Missa “L’Homme Armé,” Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, and Stravinsky’s Mass.

Genius Youth – February 1999
Featuring masses by Schubert and Mozart.

German Romantic Soul – November 1998
Songs by Brahms and Schubert, and Rheinberger’s Mass in E-flat.

Josquin: Princeps Musicorum – March 1998
Featuring Missa Pange Lingua, other sacred works, and secular songs by Josquin Desprez.

Two Choirs From Heaven – November 1997
Baroque masterworks for double choir, with Charis Chamber Voices.

Now Sing New York! – May 1997
Works by James Bassi, Lisa Bielawa, Elliot Z. Levine, Ned Rorem, Gregg Smith, and other contemporary New York City composers.

Monteverdi: Musica Spirituale e Madrigali – February 1997
Including Memento, Domine and Sestina: Lagrime d’Amante al Sepolcro dell’Amata.

Dying to Live – November 1996
Hymns of early America, spirituals, and folk song settings.

Winter, War, and Flowers – June 1996
Paul Hindemith and his influential contemporaries (performed under Cerddorion’s prior name, Galatea).

Rich English Fare – March 1996
Post-Romantic works inspired by nature (performed under Cerddorion’s prior name, Galatea).