2025 Music Season

Ophelia’s Ocean

The year is 2080. Human society is loveless and emotionless, and Samantha, a poet intrigued by the mystery of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, excavates the past to seek the truth about her father’s death.  

Ophelia’s Ocean stars four actors in eight roles and is written and directed by Maya M. Workman with music by Reggie Workman. Together, they received a Guggenheim Fellowship to bring the play to life. 

The cast includes Mary Chang (narrator), Ayana Workman (Ophelia/Samantha), Jakeem Dante Powell (Hamlet/Robert), Justin Hofstad (Claudius/Nick), and Nicole Spinnler (Gertrude/Beatrice) with a musical ensemble featuring Reggie Workman (bassist/composer), Hanna Inui (pianist/music director), Elijah Thomas (flute), and Timothy Anguloa (drums/percussion).  

Ophelia’s Ocean

The year is 2080. Human society is loveless and emotionless, and Samantha, a poet intrigued by the mystery of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, excavates the past to seek the truth about her father’s death.  

Ophelia’s Ocean stars four actors in eight roles and is written and directed by Maya M. Workman with music by Reggie Workman. Together, they received a Guggenheim Fellowship to bring the play to life. 

The cast includes Mary Chang (narrator), Ayana Workman (Ophelia/Samantha), Jakeem Dante Powell (Hamlet/Robert), Justin Hofstad (Claudius/Nick), and Nicole Spinnler (Gertrude/Beatrice) with a musical ensemble featuring Reggie Workman (bassist/composer), Hanna Inui (pianist/music director), Elijah Thomas (flute), and Timothy Anguloa (drums/percussion).  

Sunday Afternoon Music: Transatlantic Echoes Across Time

Soprano Sonya Headlam performs music of the African diaspora

Hear parlor songs, art songs, folk music, and spirituals of the African diaspora performed by soprano soloist Sonya Headlam and pianist Martin Néron. This lecture-recital highlights vocal music by composers of African heritage from the 18th century to the present day. 

The program includes pieces by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Peter Ashbourne, and others, as well as a powerful new work by Trevor Weston, Reflections. The latter brings the voice of African composer and abolitionist Ignatius Sancho to life with musical excerpts from his letters.  

Presented by Trinity Congregational Arts Allegro. 

Figure humaine  

Works illuminating the enduring strength of the human spirit

Trinity Choir, led by director Melissa Attebury, presents a stirring collection of works created in the crucible of World War II. Showcasing the power of music to confront tyranny, honor voices of courage, and transform our darkest hours, the program culminates in Francis Poulenc’s choral masterpiece, Figure humaine. Composed in secret during the Nazi occupation of France and set to text by poet Paul Éluard, this hymn to freedom moves from introspective grief to defiant triumph, ending with a resounding final declaration: “Liberté.” 

Program 

Benjamin Britten, Advance Democracy  
Ilse Weber, Wiegala  
Elsa Barraine, Prelude 
Jacob Beranek, Abendgebet  
Francis Poulenc, Un soir de neige 
Kim André Arnesen, Even when He is silent 
Francis Poulenc, Figure humaine 

Trinity Choir; Melissa Attebury, director 

Jazz Icons: Gary Bartz 

Hear a titan of modern jazz

Join us for an epic evening of free jazz with saxophonist Gary Bartz. The two-time Grammy winner was recently named 2024 Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently teaches at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and has made 45 solo albums and performed with an astonishing array of jazz greats. His band includes Marc Cary (piano), James B. King Jr. (bass), Eric Kennedy (drums), and Paul Bollenback (guitar).  

Presented in collaboration with JAZZ HOUSE KiDS

Musical Multitudes

A program of lush, large-scale choral works with Downtown Voices and Amor Artis

Experience two ensembles at the top of their craft performing together. Downtown Voices and chamber chorus Amor Artis take on a set of monumental works: Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, a deeply spiritual and intricate composition; Thomas Tallis’s Spem in Alium, a 40-part Renaissance motet; and Orazio Benevoli’s Missa Tu es Petrus (for four choirs), featuring opulent Baroque textures and counterpoint.

Directed by Ryan Brandau and Stephen Sands. With Trinity Baroque Orchestra. 

Lenten Meditations: Remorse to Redemption 

Beautiful compositions for Lent and Holy Week

Trinity Choir leads the audience through the Lenten journey, from Ash Wednesday’s reminders of human mortality to the redemption of Christ’s death on the cross. Focusing on countertenor, tenor, and bass voices, this performance includes powerful, contemplative works by Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Jonathan Woody, and John Sheppard. 

Trinity Choir; Thomas McCargar, conductor 

Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden  

Trinity Youth Chorus sings a Bach masterpiece

Hear Trinity Youth Chorus take on the challenging and dramatic Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden by Johann Sebastian Bach. Accompanied by the period instruments of Trinity Baroque Orchestra, the young musicians perform Bach’s arrangement of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater for soprano and alto voices, with text from Psalm 51. Trinity’s version is adapted to include the Trinity Youth Chorus tenor and bass voices.  

 Trinity Youth Chorus; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, director 

Sunday Afternoon Music: Emerging Artists 

New talent blooms in this spring showcase

This installment of Sunday Afternoon Music elevates emerging artists. Students from the Dorrill Initiative and the Borough of Manhattan Community College perform works ranging from classical standards to beloved theater tunes. 

Presented by Trinity Congregational Arts Allegro

Verdi Requiem   

The Dessoff Choirs perform Verdi’s transcendent masterpiece and a world premiere by Tania León

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra joins forces with Trinity Choir, Downtown Voices, and NOVUS to take the audience on a soul-stirring journey through Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. The epic work is paired with the world premiere of an exciting new choral work by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Tania León commissioned for Dessoff’s centennial. Leading the powerful performance is Grammy-nominated conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather, director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and music director of The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. 

Angela Meade, soprano; J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano; Won Whi Choi, tenor; Kevin Short, bass-baritone