In addition to our seasonal Advent and Lent concerts, this year’s fall and winter concerts have been conceived as a complementary pair of seamless, genre-bending musical experiences. Taking the worldly trinity of nature, humanity and spirituality as inspiration, these programs blend more traditional choral music with the songs and sounds of jazz, musical theater, folk and pop to create a musical tapestry—reflective, in some small way, of the diversity of creation itself.

We hope these concerts will nourish your spiritual life in the coming year.

Ryan Jackson
William S. Perper Director of Music & Fine Arts Ministries

To the Hands: Songs of Compassion

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir and Instrumentalists, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ and piano
Friday, Feb. 10, 2023 • Kirkland Chapel and livestream
“God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.” —Desmond Tutu

This concert features a powerful, genre-defying selection of music that sings of the blessings and challenges of human connection in the modern world. Selections include pop standards by Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel, as well as new choral music and art song by Saunder Choi, Daniel Ficarri, Jessica French and Gilda Lyons. At the heart of the program, and the inspiration for this concert’s title, is To the Hands, a stirring, modern-day masterpiece for choir and strings by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw.

TICKETS

Reserved Seating
General Admission
Livestream

Duruflé Requiem

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir and Orchestra, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ
Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1, 2023 • Kirkland Chapel
A work of tremendous beauty and spiritual depth, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem is a pinnacle of 20th-century choral music. An orchestra joins the Fifth Avenue Choir for the Lent concert, which also features From Darkness to Light, a striking cantata by the celebrated Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson. Saturday’s performance will be available on livestream.

TICKETS

Friday Reserved Seating
Friday General Admission

Saturday Reserved Seating
Saturday General Admission
Saturday Livestream

Carols by Candlelight: The Advent Concert

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ and piano, and Jeanne Lehman, reader
Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 • 7 pm, Kirkland Chapel
Step away from the bustle of Christmas preparations for an hour of choral music and congregational carols in the candlelit beauty of Kirkland Chapel. Broadway star Jeanne Lehman reads seasonal poetry as the Chamber Choir performs a selection of familiar music and new treasures that illuminate the wonder and majesty of Jesus’ birth.

In the Beginning: Songs of Creation

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ and piano
Friday, Oct. 21, 2022 • 7 pm, Kirkland Chapel
Our fall concert offers music celebrating the beauty of our natural world and the beloved stories of its origin. Featuring In the Beginning, Aaron Copland’s vibrant a cappella showpiece, this immersive program blends traditional choral music with the songs and sounds of jazz, music theater, folk and pop, to create a musical tapestry reflective of the diversity of creation itself. In addition to the Copland, the concert also includes genre-defying selections from Dolly Parton and Godspell, as well as jazz vocals by Rich Saunders and Hilary Gardner. It promises to be a unique musical experience you will not forget.

With its warm, intimate ambience and fine acoustics, the beautiful, Gothic-style Kirkland Chapel is an ideal venue for music and the arts, weddings and other events. Designed by the renowned architect James Gamble Rogers and built in 1925, the Chapel is named for the Rev. Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland, senior pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church from 1962 to 1987. Learn more about the Chapel here.