Musica Viva NY, New York City’s Leading Chamber Choir, Reveals 2026-27 Season

New York, NY (For Release 06.18.26) — Erinn Sensenig, newly appointed Executive Director of Musica Viva NY, today announced its 49th season spanning September 2026 through May 2027. Featuring a world premiere by Richard Einhorn, daring works by contemporary composers such as Gilda Lyons, and choral masterpieces by Arvo Pärt, Eric Whitacre, and more, New York’s leading chamber choir presents four concerts at All Souls NYC on the Upper East Side. At the helm of Musica Viva NY is the intrepid Artistic Director-Conductor Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez.  (Please scroll down for complete season details.)

“Our goal this season is to create a dialogue between the past, present, and future,” Sensenig stated. “With each upcoming concert, Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez’s programming skill is on full display as he pairs repertoire from across eras to draw audiences into a richly unified narrative experience. I’m particularly looking forward to the world premiere of Richard Einhorn’s The Radiant, a Musica Viva NY commission which pairs taiko drumming ensemble with choir.”
 
About Musica Viva NY
Musica Viva NY is a non-profit arts organization that was established nearly 50 years ago. Its mission is to bring world-class music to a wide community through an annual concert series, an active community engagement program, and an ambitious artistic vision. Under the baton of Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez since 2015, Musica Viva NY strives to offer joy, solace and renewal in a complex world by presenting new compositions and classic masterworks in transformative interpretations that ennoble the human spirit.
 
Musica Viva NY’s superb chamber choir and world class collaborating instrumentalists make their concert home in Manhattan’s historic All Souls NYC. It regularly combines its presentation of the classical repertoire with less widely known works, as part of its commitment to perform the works of living American composers, women composers and composers of color, including works that address social, racial or environmental issues. Composers whose works have been featured in recent Musica Viva NY performances include Florence Price, Alexandra T Bryant, Steve Reich, Frank Ticheli, Missy Mazzoli, Alice Walker, Joel Thompson and Jesse Montgomery. Musica Viva NY has commissioned and premiered numerous works by contemporary composers including Bora Yoon, Seymour Bernstein, Elena Ruehr, Joseph Turrin, Bruce Saylor, Jean-Louis Petit, Eugenio Toussaint, Gilda Lyons, Richard Einhorn, Trent Johnson and Trevor Weston.
 
Beyond high-quality concert performances, Musica Viva NY also serves the communities of New York City through a variety of rich community engagement programs. Currently, Musica Viva NY partners with New York city public schools, New York Public Library branches and the All Souls’s Monday Night Hospitality dinner program, offering free performances, artist clinics, interactive workshops, and more. Musica Viva NY has nurtured young artists throughout its half century of existence. Great musicians who have been Musica Viva NY singers and soloists include the Metropolitan Opera star Renée Fleming, and Broadway’s Aladdin, Michael Maliakel.
 
Its discography’s latest addition Crimson Roses: Contemporary American Choral Music (Naxos) features a crowning performance by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. An indispensable recording of contemporary American choral music by Joseph Turrin, Richard Einhorn, and Gilda Lyons, Crimson Roses is hailed for its “warmth, vitality and cohesion (Gramophone),” and “superbly articulated, tonally rich and keenly balanced exceptional performances (Fanfare).”
 
The organization was founded as an annual concert series in 1977 by Walter Klauss, who directed the group for 38 years, and adopted the name “Musica Viva” in 1985. Under Walter Klauss’ baton the choir toured in Paris (2004), Germany and Czechoslovakia (2006) and Italy (2012). In 2026, the choir initiated a new trans-Atlantic alliance, touring Spain under the auspices of Teatro Real of Madrid.
 
2026-27 Season at a Glance:                                                                          
All concerts are held at 5:00 p.m., at All Souls NYC, 1157 Lexington Avenue, New York City. 
 
Sunday, September 27, 2026
RISING STARS: Musica Viva NY Presents Opera’s Next Generation
Musica Viva NY presents the young artists of two of the world’s great opera houses for an extraordinary evening of emerging talent. Bringing together artists from the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Teatro Real’s Crescendo Program, this unique collaboration offers a glimpse of opera’s future through its most promising voices. Continuing Musica Viva NY’s tradition of introducing audiences to exceptional artists on the cusp of international careers, this electrifying evening offers a rare chance to experience extraordinary talent up close.
 
Sunday, December 6, 2026
LUMINOSITY
An exploration of light in its many forms, this program features the world premiere of The Radiant, the newest Musica Viva NY commission from Richard Einhorn. Einhorn daringly combines choir with the athleticism and brilliance of Japanese taiko drum ensemble. Hear James Whitbourn’s Luminosity alongside choral masterworks by James MacMillan, Eric Whitacre, Arvo Pärt as choir, organ, viola soloist, trombones, tanpura, and taiko drums are woven together into a program of shimmering color and radiant power. 
 
James MacMillan — The Strathclyde Motets: O Radiant Dawn
Eric Whitacre – Lux Aurumque
Arvo Pärt – Annum per Annum
James Whitbourn – Luminosity
Pärt – Spiegel im Spiegel
Morten Lauridsen — O Nata Lux
Teiko Drummers 
Richard Einhorn – The Radiant world premiere

Sunday, March 7, 2027
THE SACRED VEIL
This contemplative program invites the listener into the potent liminal space where the veil between worlds grows thin. Songs of Lament and Praise for solo soprano by longtime Musica Viva NY collaborator Gilda Lyons reflects on motherhood and loss, while works by John Tavener and John Williams offer meditations on soul’s journey. At the center of the evening is Eric Whitacre’s monumental The Sacred Veil which merges choir, cello, and piano with the sacred fragility of human life from first breath to final farewell. 
Gilda Lyons – Songs of Lament and Praise
John Williams – Main Theme from Schindler’s List
John Tavener – Threnos
John Tavener – Song for Athene
Eric Whitacre – The Sacred Veils
 
Sunday, May 16, 2027 
THE RIVER OF LIFE
George Crumb’s The River of Life transforms familiar American hymns into a mesmerizing landscape of sound, featuring vocal soloists propelled by an astonishing array of over a hundred percussion instruments. The journey culminates in Carl Orff’s bold and exhilarating Catulli Carmina, a rarely heard masterpiece for choir, four pianos, and percussion that is every bit as thrilling as its more famous companion, Carmina Burana. 
 
George Crumb – American Songbook No. 1: The River of Life
VIII. Nearer, My God, to Thee
I. Shall We Gather at the River?
VII. One More River to Cross
III. Amazing Grace!
IX. Deep River
Carl Orff – Catulli Carmina