Our exciting season of transcendent, world-class choral concerts will be available in person and on livestream. The 2024 choral concerts will be performed for the first time in the Fifth Avenue Sanctuary, as the renovation of Kirkland Chapel gets underway. We look forward to returning to a fully refurbished and more beautifully resonant Kirkland Chapel in 2025.

We promise you transportive and transformative musical experiences to open your mind, stir your heart, and nourish your soul. We look forward to seeing you there!

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

Celestial Songs: In Celebration of Music

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ and piano
Friday, October 20, 2023 • 7 pm, Kirkland Chapel and on livestream
The fall concert offers an uplifting evening of choral music in celebration of sacred song and poetry. Immerse yourself in the dazzling soundscape of Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, a mesmerizing choral tribute to the patron saint of music, performed alongside Francis Poulenc’s delightful setting of the Gloria. The program also features the concert premieres of Jessica French’s majestic new anthem, At Heaven’s Proclamation, and Philip Stopford’s festive Te Deum, commissioned by the Fifth Avenue congregation in honor of Ryan Jackson’s 10th anniversary as music director.

Reserved Seating
General Admission
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. 8 and Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 • 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.

Friday, December 8, 7:00 pm
Reserved Seating
General Admission

Saturday, December 9, 7:00 pm
Reserved Seating
General Admission
Livestream

The Music of Ruth Watson Henderson

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Jackson, with Patrick Kreeger, organ and piano
Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 • Sanctuary and livestream
An evening of enchanting choral music by Canada’s legendary pioneering female composer Ruth Watson Henderson. Henderson is internationally celebrated for her distinctive contributions to choral music, which are characterized by a seemingly effortless blend of immediate appeal and musical sophistication. Featuring sweeping melodies, lush harmonies and innovative vocal textures, Henderson’s choral works reflect her rare gift of capturing the emotional depth of a text through music. Following this performance, the Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir will head to the studio to record this marvelous program for their first professional recording project. Stay tuned for details!

Renaissance Reflections: Music for Lent

The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Jackson
Friday, March 22, 2024 • 7 pm, Sanctuary and livestream
The Fifth Avenue Chamber Choir performs highlights from the Renaissance era, when composers like Byrd, Palestrina, Tallis and Victoria created a golden age of choral music. At the heart of the program is the Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd, one of the period’s greatest masterpieces. Composed during the religious turmoil of Elizabethan England, the Mass showcases Byrd’s tremendous ability to express his deeply held spiritual convictions through delicate strands of polyphony and evocative harmonies. The result is a work of profound faith and exquisite beauty.