Voices of Ascension Announces 2026-2027 Season: 'The Radiant Depths'

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

Eastern

Central

Western

West End

WEST END

UK Regional

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

TV/Movies

Music

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

The New York ensemble will present BACH MASS IN B MINOR and launch a new Choral Visionaries Initiative.

POPULAR

Voices of Ascension , the New York City-based professional chorus dedicated to sharing the transformative power of choral music through performances, commissions, and community engagement, announces its 2026–2027 season.

Throughout history, people have turned to choral music to contemplate themselves and their place in the universe. Voices of Ascension's 37th season, The Radiant Depths, continues that ongoing exploration, celebrating the profound creativity that shapes choral music's legacy and future by inviting listeners into radiant musical landscapes where sound becomes a space for discovery, and the boundary between past and present begins to dissolve.

“The Radiant Depths invites audiences on a journey through the immense range of choral music—exploring what this art form has been, what it continues to reveal, and what it can become,” said Voices Executive Director, Jonathan Bradley. “From Renaissance masterworks to contemporary compositions and new commissions, the season grapples with some of humanity's most enduring questions: mortality and transcendence, our relationship to one another, and our place in an ever-changing world.”

Through a blend of contemporary and historical repertoire, the season spans the Renaissance to newly commissioned works and rarely heard masterworks, reflecting both the breadth of the tradition and the depth of expression that defines it. Across programs ranging from Haydn's Mass in Time of War and Fauré's Requiem to Nativity Cycle, a new Voices of Ascension commission by Nico Muhly written for the Manton Memorial Organ, Voices of Ascension, and internationally acclaimed organist James McVinnie, along with Hugo Distler's Totentanz and Bach's Mass in B Minor, Voices traces a season-long journey through enduring questions about mortality, transcendence, and our relationship to one another. Many of these works emerged during periods of uncertainty and upheaval, asking questions that continue to feel deeply familiar: where we find meaning, how communities endure, and what sustains us through challenging times.

Voices of Ascension opens its 2026–2027 season on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. with War & Requiem , a program that pairs musical grandeur with profound human depth. Composed amid the threat of Napoleon's advancing armies, Haydn's Mass in Time of War transforms the Mass into both a plea for mercy and a rallying cry for courage in the face of uncertainty. Nearly a century later, Fauré's Requiem offers a striking counterpoint. Where earlier Requiems summon fear and judgment, Fauré turns toward grace, tenderness, and light. Together, these works open the season with a meditation on conflict, consolation, and the search for meaning in challenging times.

After three seasons of sold-out performances, Voices of Ascension brings back its beloved Candlelight Christmas Concerts on Thursday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m. Illuminated by hundreds of candles and scores of candelabras, the Church of the Ascension becomes a radiant setting for ancient carols, Christmas choral anthems, seasonal masterworks, and beloved favorites. Beneath candlelight and vaulted ceilings, audiences gather for music that reflects winter, wonder, and shared tradition.

One of the most sought-after organists in contemporary music, James McVinnie joins Voices of Ascension for Sound Out of Silence on Thursday, January 7, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. At the center of the evening is Nativity Cycle, a world premiere by Nico Muhly written for Voices of Ascension, James McVinnie, and the Manton Memorial Organ. Conceived as a companion to Muhly's Seven O Antiphon Preludes, the seven-part cycle draws on the texts and melodies of the Christmas liturgy, reimagining ancient material through Muhly's distinctive contemporary voice.

Framed by Pérotin's Viderunt Omnes and Tristan Perich's Infinity Gradient for organ and 100 loudspeakers, the evening traces a path from the earliest flowering of Western polyphony to the outer edges of contemporary sound. Exploring how music emerges from silence and takes shape in space, the program creates an immersive sonic environment that invites audiences to encounter sound not simply as something heard, but as something physically experienced within and around the body.

This season also marks the second installment of Choral Visionaries, an artistic initiative inviting some of today's most compelling choral conductors to collaborate with Voices as guest artistic leaders, creating original concert experiences and bringing distinctive musical perspectives into conversation with the ensemble's longstanding traditions. Building on the program's inaugural collaboration with conductor Beth Willer, Choral Visionaries creates a platform for bold artistic voices while opening new pathways for the future of Voices of Ascension.

As part of Choral Visionaries, Voices welcomes Director of Choral Activities at the University of Minnesota and Artistic Director of the Minnesota Chorale, Kathy Saltzman Romey, for Requiem Aeternam , a searching meditation on mortality and transcendence on Wednesday, February 17, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. At the center of the evening is Hugo Distler's Totentanz (Dance of Death), a rarely heard work composed in 1934 during the rise of Nazi Germany and later censored under the regime. Presented in a semi-theatrical staging throughout the Church of the Ascension, the work unfolds as a procession in which figures from every walk of life are summoned into a reckoning with mortality and human responsibility. Surrounding Distler's work are Herbert Howells's luminous Requiem, Brahms's Warum?, and Knut Nystedt's Immortal Bach, creating an evening that moves from questioning and reckoning toward reconciliation and transcendence.

Voices of Ascension continues its longstanding exploration of Renaissance masterworks with Sing Joyfully: Tallis & Byrd and the English Renaissance on Thursday, March 11, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Featuring music by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, this program illuminates two composers whose artistry shaped the sound of sacred choral music for generations. Written during the political and religious upheavals of Reformation England, these works emerged from a world marked by shifting allegiances, contested faith, and profound uncertainty. Their music reveals extraordinary beauty and expressive depth while reflecting enduring questions of conscience, identity, and human connection.

Voices concludes its season with Bach's monumental Mass in B Minor , an extraordinary synthesis of devotion and compositional mastery on Thursday, April 18, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Bringing together music Bach composed across decades of his life, the work stands as both a summation of a lifetime's artistic vision and one of the towering achievements of Western music. The season closes with a work that gathers together many of the questions explored throughout The Radiant Depths: faith, humanity, our responsibilities to one another, and the search for transcendence through music.

Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/gco27

Program: Haydn — Mass in Time of War (Missa in tempore belli) Fauré — Requiem in D Minor

Artists: Voices of Ascension Chorus Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor Soloists to be announced ________________________________

Thursday, December 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 10, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Monday, December 14, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/candlelight-christmas-concerts-2026

Program: A vibrant mix of ancient carols, seasonal masterworks, and contemporary reflections on winter and light

Artists: Voices of Ascension Chorus Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor Soloists to be announced ________________________________

Thursday, January 7, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/mcvinnie27

Program: Pérotin — Viderunt Omnes Nico Muhly — Nativity Cycle (Voices of Ascension commission) Tristan Perich — Infinity Gradient

Artists: James McVinnie, organ Voices of Ascension Chorus Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor ________________________________

Wednesday, February 17, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/romey27

Program: Brahms — Warum? Distler — Totentanz (Dance of Death) Nystedt — Immortal Bach Howells — Requiem

Artists: Voices of Ascension Chorus Kathy Saltzman Romey, Guest Conductor ________________________________

Thursday, March 11, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/tallis27

Program: Thomas Tallis William Byrd Additional repertoire to be announced

Artists: Voices of Ascension Chorus Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor ________________________________

Thursday, April 18, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011 Link: https://www.voicesofascension.org/bachmass27

Program: Bach — Mass in B Minor

Artists: Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor Soloists to be announced

Dennis Keene is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Voices of Ascension. Known internationally through his many concerts and recordings with Voices of Ascension as well as his regular guest appearances as conductor and teacher, he is one of the leading choral conductors in the world today.

Recognized early as an exceptional organist, Dennis Keene studied at The Juilliard School, where he earned the BM, MM, and DMA degrees and the coveted Gaston Dethier Organ Prize as a student of Vernon de Tar. Dr. Keene also studied privately in Paris with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, André Marchal, and André Isoir.

In addition to his work with Voices of Ascension, Dr. Keene continues as Organist and Choirmaster of Church of the Ascension in New York City. He served for many years on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, the national service organization for the choral field, which honored him with the first Louis Botto Award for “innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional ensemble of exceptional artistic quality.” He has also served on the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts and on the Music Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts.

From 1998 to 2003, Maestro Keene presented a major summer institute for the training of conductors and singers: The Dennis Keene Choral Festival, in Kent, Connecticut. In 1993, he began his recording association with Delos International, with which he has recorded such best-selling CD's as Beyond Chant, the Duruflé Album, and the Berlioz Te Deum. This series of highly acclaimed recordings with Voices of Ascension has secured international recognition for both conductor and chorus and become the standard for first-ranked ensembles worldwide.

Voices of Ascension is one of New York City's premier professional choral ensem

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Voices-of-Ascension-to-Launch-2026-2027-Season-The-Radiant-Depths-20260602)._