Trinity Church Announces 2025 Spring Music Season

A season of music forged in hope and resistance.

The enduring power of Bach’s sacred works. The triumph of Poulenc’s Figure humaine. Spirituals of the African diaspora. And vibrant performances by iconic jazz artists. Trinity’s spring programming — all free to the public — builds on our commitment to justice, reconciliation, and community.

NEW YORK, NY — January 10, 2025 – Trinity’s spring 2025 lineup—featuring world-renowned artists and emerging voices—embodies the church’s focus on peacemaking  and celebrates the transformative power of art to inspire change and healing. From uplifting spirituals of the African diaspora to compositions forged in resistance, every performance invites audiences to engage deeply with music’s ability to foster compassion and connect us to a greater purpose.

Trinity’s 2025 spring season of free and accessible concerts will open on February 2 with soprano Sonya Headlam in a program exploring the African diaspora on the Congregational Arts Allegro series Sunday Afternoon Music. Later this season, the Allegro series will feature emerging vocal artists from the Borough of Manhattan Community College and the Dorill Initiative on April 27. On February 13, Trinity Choir led by Director of Music Melissa Attebury presents a stirring program of works born of oppression and resistance that were created in the crucible of World War II. From calls to action to intimate expressions of love and faith, the program culminates in its title work, Figure humaine, Francis Poulenc’s choral masterpiece and hymn to freedom, a work that resonates as a universal cry for justice and hope. “These works renew hope, offer comfort, and present us with deep questions—reminding us of the essential role of music in our lives and the life of our city,” says Attebury.

On February 16 Trinity will host Grammy Award–winning saxophonist Gary Bartz (who was just named 2024 Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts) as a part of its Jazz Icons series. Trinity will also continue its Jazz at One series in May with performances by Camille Thurman, Godwin Louis, Andromeda Turre, Jeremy Pelt, and the Dave Stryker Quartet.

On March 6, Downtown Voices will join forces with chamber choir Amor Artis for Musical Multitudes, a program showcasing the extraordinary range of choral expression and celebrating the power and majesty of the human voice. On March 20, Trinity will present Lenten Meditations: Remorse to Redemption, featuring works written specifically for Lent and Holy Week, sung by the countertenors, tenors, and basses of the Trinity Choir and conducted by Thomas McCargar for his first full-length concert at Trinity. On March 30, Melissa Attebury will lead the Trinity Youth Chorus and Trinity Baroque Orchestra to perform Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, J. S. Bach’s arrangement of Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater.

On May 1 and May 2, Trinity will present two performances of Verdi’s Requiem in collaboration with The Dessoff Choirs, who are celebrating their 100th anniversary this season and will be joined by Downtown Voices, Trinity Choir, NOVUS, and powerhouse soloists Angela Meade, J’Nai Bridges, Won Whi Choi, and Kevin Short. The performance will also include the world premiere of a new choral work by Tania León, commissioned by Dessoff for the centennial.

Trinity’s Pipes at One series will resume on May 6 with international virtuoso organist, pianist, and composer Angela Kraft Cross, continuing on May 13 with organist Mina Marie Jelinek and May 20 with organist Sarah Simko. Alex Leonardi, a current organ scholar at Trinity Church, will perform on May 27, and prize-winning organist Emily Amos will perform on June 3.

Trinity’s beloved Bach at One series will continue in a string of performances from May 7 through June 4, where Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra will perform several works by J. S. Bach under the direction of organist Avi Stein. Some of these same works will be performed again in the Chapel of All Saints (a more intimate setting whose organ differs from the one in St. Paul’s Chapel in that its tuning method is ideal for Western music’s earliest keyboard repertoire) on May 15 and June 5, as part of Trinity’s Tiny Concerts series. Melissa Attebury will direct the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra for Bach at One: Ascension on May 28 to perform Bach’s BWV 11, written in 1738 for the Feast of the Ascension, among other works.

On May 18, Trinity will present a program titled Of Such I Dream, which takes its name from the Langston Hughes poem “I Dream a World.” The concert will include works from the classical and contemporary canon, performed by the Trinity Youth Chorus, led by Peyton Marion.

On June 4, Downtown Voices and NOVUS present the world premiere of Stephen Main’s The Image, in a program with the same title. This new oratorio will be paired with Jessie Montgomery’s powerful work Divided.

“At a critical moment for the essential role of art in building a compassionate and just world, the works we are presenting this spring inspire hope and foster empathy and connection,” says Melissa Baker, Trinity’s director of artistic planning.

Listings

Events are free and open to the public. Registration is highly recommended. Please find more information here. 

February 2, 2pm in St Paul’s Chapel
Sunday Afternoon Music: Sonya Headlam
Transatlantic Echoes Across Time: Parlor Songs, Art Songs, Folk Music, and Spirituals of the African Diaspora
Works by Ignatius Sancho, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Trevor Weston, Peter Ashbourne, and others
Presented by Trinity Congregational Arts Allegro
Sonya Headlam, soprano

Through dialogue with the audience and performances of songs, arias, spirituals, and more, this program highlights music, poetry, and prose of the African diaspora from the 18th century to present day. Particularly significant are the selections from Reflections (2023), a new work by Trevor Weston commissioned by the Raritan Players. Originally scored for soprano and square piano, Reflections brings the voice of Ignatius Sancho into the present through the setting of excerpts from his letters. Sancho’s reflections on humanity, slavery, and Christianity, paired with Weston’s music, create a powerful connection between past and present.

February 13, 6:30pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Figure humaine
Benjamin Britten Advance Democracy
Ilse Weber Wiegala
Elsa Barraine Prelude 
Jacob Beranek Abendgebet
Francis Poulenc Un soir de neige, FP 126
Kim André Arnesen Even when He is silent
Francis Poulenc Figure humaine, FP 120
Trinity Choir; Melissa Attebury, Director

The Figure humaine concert presents music that remembers the past while inspiring a more just and compassionate future. Director Melissa Attebury and the Trinity Choir perform a stirring program of works that showcase the power of music to confront tyranny, honor voices of courage, and illuminate the enduring strength of the human spirit. Offering a call to action in Britten’s Advance Democracy as well as intimate expressions of love and faith in Wiegala and Abendgebet, the program culminates in Francis Poulenc’s  Figure humaine, a masterpiece of choral literature and hymn to freedom that resonates as a universal cry for justice and hope.

February 16, 4pm in Trinity Church
Jazz Icons: Gary Bartz 
Gary Bartz, saxophone; Marc Cary, piano; James B. King Jr., bass; Eric Kennedy, drums; Paul Bollenback, guitar

March 6, 6:30pm  in Trinity Church
Musical Multitudes: Downtown Voices and Amor Artis
Frank Martin Mass for Double Choir
Thomas Tallis Spem in Alium
Orazio Benevoli Missa Tu es Petrus (for four choirs)
Downtown Voices; Amor Artis; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Ryan Brandau and Stephen Sands, conductors

March 20, 6:30pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Lenten Meditations: Remorse to Redemption
Works by Jonathan Woody, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, John Sheppard, and others
Trinity Choir; Thomas McCargar, conductor

Thomas McCargar will make his Trinity conductorial debut with a program of music written for Lent and Holy Week, performed by the countertenors, tenors, and basses of the Trinity Choir. Additional pieces will be interspersed with the works listed above with texts dealing with the theme of loss.

March 30, 3pm at St. Paul’s Chapel 
Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden
Johann Sebastian Bach Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083
Trinity Youth Chorus, Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, Director

 J. S. Bach’s arrangement of Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater for soprano and alto voices, using the text of the penitential Psalm 51. Trinity’s arrangement is adapted to include tenor and bass voices both in chorus and solos.

April 27, 2pm at St. Paul’s Chapel
Sunday Afternoon Music: Emerging Artists
Presented by Trinity Congregational Arts Allegro and NOVUS Renewal
Featuring artists from Borough of Manhattan Community College Choirs and The Dorill Initiative

Trinity Congregational Arts Allegro’s spring concert featuring student-led performances in works that range from classical standards to beloved musical theater tunes.

May 1 & 2, 7pm at Trinity Church
Verdi Requiem
Presented in collaboration with The Dessoff Choirs for their 100th Anniversary
Giuseppe Verdi Requiem, IGV 24
World Premiere by Tania León
The Dessoff Choirs; Trinity Choir; Downtown Voices; NOVUS; featuring soloists Angela Meade, soprano; J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano; Won Whi Choi, tenor; Kevin Short, bass-baritone; Malcolm Merriweather, conductor

May 5, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Jazz at One
Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Quartet

May 6, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Pipes at One
Angela Kraft Cross

May 7, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Bach at One
Johann Sebastian Bach Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, BWV 207
Johann Sebastian Bach Nun is das Heil und die Kraft, BWV 50
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

May 9, 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall
A João Carlos Martins Concert
Works by Bach, Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzolla, John Williams, and others
NOVUS with João Carlos Martins, conductor and pianist

May 12, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One
Godwin Louis

May 13, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Pipes at One
Mina Marie Jelinek 

May 14, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Bach at One 
Johann Christoph Bach Mein Freundin, du bist schön
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

May 15, 5:30pm and 6:30pm in Trinity Church, the Chapel of All Saints 
Tiny Concerts 
Johann Christoph Bach Mein Freundin, du bist schön
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

May 18, 3pm in Trinity Church
Of Such I Dream
Works by André J. Thomas, Ysaÿe M. Barnwell, Bill Withers, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and others
Trinity Youth Chorus; Peyton Marion, conductor

May 19, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Jazz at One
Jeremy Pelt Quintet

May 20, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Pipes at One
Sarah Simko 

May 21, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Bach at One
Johann Sebastian Bach Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn, BWV 92
Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050 
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

May 27, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Pipes at One
Alex Leonardi

May 28, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel 
Bach at One: Ascension
Johann Sebastian Bach Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230
Johann Sebastian Bach Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, BWV 11 (“Ascension Oratorio”)
Johann Sebastian Bach “Sicut erat in principio” from Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191 
Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, Director

June 2, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One
Andromeda Turre

June 3, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Pipes at One
Emily Dawn Amos

June 4, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Bach at One
Heinrich Schütz Musikalische Exequien, op. 7, SWV 279-281
Johann Sebastian Bach Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
Trinity Choir; led by Avi Stein, organ

June 4, 6:30pm in Trinity Church
The Image
Stephen Main The Image (world premiere)
Jessie Montgomery Divided
Downtown Voices; NOVUS; Stephen Sands, conductor

Stephen Main’s The Image draws from the concept of Imago Dei—the belief in the divine spark within each person and the sacred freedom of conscience it entails. With a vivid libretto and sweeping choral and orchestral writing, The Image reflects on humanity’s struggle for liberty and justice across history, warning of the fragility of these ideals in the face of rising authoritarianism. Jessie Montgomery’s Divided for solo cello and orchestra captures the emotional turmoil of a world grappling with racial injustice, discrimination, poverty, and climate change. Together, these works explore the tension between chaos and hope, challenging us to confront issues of our time while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.

June 5, 5:30pm and 6:30pm in Trinity Church, the Chapel of All Saints 
Tiny Concerts 
Heinrich Schütz Musikalische Exequien, op. 7, SWV 279-281
Johann Sebastian Bach Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
Trinity Choir; led by Avi Stein, organ

June 9, 1pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
Jazz at One
Dave Stryker Quartet  

About  Trinity Church

Trinity Church is an Episcopal parish in New York City founded in 1697. We work for justice, serve our neighbors, and bring people together to experience God’s love in community. Trinity’s outreach in the city includes 20 weekly worship services, food assistance seven days a week for people in need, support for asylum seekers, housing for the elderly and people living with disabilities, youth programs, and a wide array of free music and educational events throughout the year. The church also supports communities and ministries serving the world in Africa, Asia, and across the Americas.

About  Music at Trinity Church

Trinity Church’s groundbreaking music program—“the top of musical life in New York” (The New York Times)—has changed the landscape of performing arts in New York City, re-envisioning the impact arts organizations can have, with its peerless ensembles, uniquely broad range of expertise from early to new music performance, long tradition of championing underrepresented composers, and extensive and growing discography.