Downtown Voices

Praised by The New York Times for its “incisive, agile strength,” Downtown Voices is a Grammy-nominated, semiprofessional choir conducted by Stephen Sands. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary season, the ensemble was founded as a high-level chorus committed to performing great choral works across genres, eras, and traditions.

Downtown Voices has premiered several new works, including Stephen Main’s The Image at Trinity Church; Reena Esmail’s Malhaar: A Requiem for Water at St. Paul’s Chapel; Luna Pearl Woolf’s Number Our Days at the Perelman Performing Arts Center; Zachary Wadsworth’s Spire and Shadow at St. Paul’s Chapel; and Benedict Sheehan’s Akathist, an expansive oratorio recorded with Trinity Choir, Artefact Ensemble, Trinity Youth Chorus, and NOVUS. Akathist was nominated for the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. 

In 2022, the choir made its Carnegie Hall debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta in the Lukas Foss Centennial Celebration. Downtown Voices performed Foss’s Psalms and Randall Thompson’s Alleluia, which New York Classical Review called “a marvel of well-supported tone, lucid diction, and . . . smart, détaché articulation.” The choir returned to Carnegie Hall in 2024 as the featured ensemble in a concert presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York.  

Other notable collaborations include Verdi’s Requiem with the Dessoff Choirs, “Musical Multitudes” with Amor Artis, “Unconventional Wisdom” with Tenet Vocal Artists, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Camerata Notturna, L’Allegro with Mark Morris Dance Group, “Voices over Tallinn” presented by the Estonian Consulate, and holiday performances with Andrea Bocelli at Madison Square Garden.

The ensemble’s wide-ranging repertoire reflects a deep commitment to musical diversity—from classical canon works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Dvořák, Rachmaninoff, Fauré, and Duruflé, to 20th-century masters such as Britten, Martin, Howells, Orff, Pärt, Janáček, Glass, and Undine Smith Moore, and contemporary voices including Reena Esmail, David Lang, Ola Gjeilo, Jenni Brandon, and Jessica French.

Downtown Voices can be heard on Philip Glass: Symphony No. 5, released by Orange Mountain Music; and on Akathist by Benedict Sheehan, co-produced by Trinity and released in August 2024 on the Bright Shiny Things label.

Anthems

Downtown Voices and the NOVUS NY string quartet presented works by Undine Smith Moore, Jessie Montgomery, Jenni Brandon, and David Lang in selections that explore composers' takes on an “anthem,” or a song that represents ideals.

Downtown Voices Concert on April 24, 2022

Lux Aeterna

Lux Aeterna celebrates the persistence of light through times of darkness. Downtown Voices presented this illuminating spring concert with masterpiece requiems of solace and beauty by Duruflé and Fauré.

Downtown Voices singing Beethoven's Mass in C in St. Paul's Chapel

Beethoven Mass in C

In celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, Downtown Voices performed his tranquil yet dramatic Mass in C, plus Brahms’ Geistliches Lied and Zwei Motetten, Op. 74.

Downtown Voices singing Lessons and Carols in St. Paul's Chapel

Festival of Lessons and Carols

A cherished holiday tradition for congregations around the world, the service of Lessons and Carols for Advent tells the Christmas story through readings and musical illuminations.

Downtown Voices singing Part and Poulenc in St. Paul's Chapel

Pärt and Poulenc

This concert features iconic works of two of the most compelling and influential composers of the 20th century: Arvo Pärt and Francis Poulenc.

Downtown Voices singing Carmina Burana in St. Paul's Chapel

Carl Orff's Carmina Burana

At their final concert of the season, Downtown Voices and NOVUS NY performed two folklore-inspired works written in 1937: Orff’s epic Carmina Burana and Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.

Rehearsals

Downtown Voices rehearses on Wednesday evenings, 6:30–9pm, with occasional rehearsals extending to 9:30pm, from September through June at Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan. Choir members must attend at least 80% of rehearsals and are required to attend all dress rehearsals and concerts. Please contact the chorus manager if you have questions.

Contact

If you would like more information about Downtown Voices, please contact the Chorus Manager at dtvtws@gmail.com.

Testimonials from Downtown Voices Singers

“Downtown Voices is the group I've been looking for for years -- one in which I feel challenged without feeling left behind. Every rehearsal with the Trinity professionals is like a master class.”

“The collaboration with The Choir of Trinity Wall Street has been an incredibly rewarding and enriching aspect of being in this group. It's amazing to have the opportunity to sing alongside some of the most talented and accomplished choral singers in New York City.”

“The repertoire performed by Downtown Voices has been incredibly fulfilling for me to sing. It is challenging, diverse, exciting, and innovative. The performance quality and collaboration opportunities with Trinity's instrumental ensembles are outstanding. Being able to rehearse in Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel has been inspiring and extremely rewarding, especially having grown up visiting and admiring these two spaces. I could not be more grateful or happy to be a part of Downtown Voices.”

Hear More Testimonials

Image of Downtown Voices member Sarah Merten