Upcoming Concerts
St. Paul’s Chapel
Free
Singing Our Song: Hymns and Anthems from Trinity Church
Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 7pm
Downtown Voices; St. Paul’s Chapel Choir; Trinity Youth Chorus; The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; NOVUS NY Brass Quintet and Percussion
We celebrate the beginning of a new season with a concert led by all the choirs of Trinity Church Wall Street and joined by brass and percussion from NOVUS NY. The concert is co-hosted by conductors Stephen Sands, Melissa Attebury, Janet Yieh, and Trinity’s director of music Julian Wachner.
Pärt and Poulenc
Friday, November 15, 2019 at 7:30pm
Downtown Voices; The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; NOVUS NY; Stephen Sands and Melissa Attebury, conductors
Francis Poulenc – Figure Humaine
Arvo Pärt – Passio
This concert features iconic works of two of the most compelling and influential composers of the 20th century: Arvo Pärt and Francis Poulenc. The monumental work Passio by Arvo Pärt is a meditative setting of texts from the Passion according to St. John and is considered as the apotheosis of his writing. Poulenc’s masterpiece Figure Humaine, written in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943 to poems of Paul Éluard, is perhaps the ultimate Poulenc musical statement. Dedicated to Pablo Picasso, in what is known as Poulenc’s most challenging choral work, the piece embodies great suffering and oppression, juxtaposed with the hope for freedom from tyranny.
Lessons and Carols
Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 3pm
Downtown Voices; St. Paul’s Chapel Choir; Trinity Youth Chorus; Stephen Sands and Melissa Attebury, conductors
A cherished holiday tradition for congregations around the world, the service of Lessons and Carols tells the Christmas story through readings and musical illuminations.
Beethoven Mass in C
Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 3pm
Downtown Voices; NOVUS NY; Stephen Sands, conductor
Brahms – Geistliches Lied
Beethoven – Mass in C
In celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, Downtown Voices and NOVUS NY perform his tranquil yet dramatic Mass in C in addition to Brahms’ earliest accompanied choral works, Geistliches Lied.
Philadelphia Heritage Chorale Exchange
Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 3pm
Downtown Voices; Stephen Sands, conductor; curated by Dr. Donald Dumpson
Downtown Voices collaborates with pedagogue and curator Dr. Donald Dumpson and the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale to present a concert of diverse works ranging from spirituals to beloved classical repertoire.
Downtown Voices first performed at Trinity Church on December 27, 2015, as part of Trinity's annual Twelfth Night Festival.
About
Praised by The New York Times for its “incisive, agile strength,” Downtown Voices is a semiprofessional choir made up of volunteer singers and members of the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street. Directed by Stephen Sands since its inception in 2015, Downtown Voices has performed works by Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Webern, Ginastera, Janáček, James MacMillan, and Philip Glass, in addition to premiering Spire and Shadow by Zachary Wadsworth, a large-scale commission for the 250th anniversary of St. Paul’s Chapel. In the 2018-19 season, the group performed two “Community Carol Sing” concerts, a celebration of the past hundred years of Estonian composition, a program featuring Dvořák’s rarely performed Mass in D and Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, and a season finale concert featuring Orff’s Carmina Burana. Downtown Voices can be heard on the epic Philip Glass: Symphony No. 5 recording released by Orange Mountain Music in August 2019.
Watch Recent Concerts
June 16, 2019 at 3pm
Carl Orff Carmina Burana
Watch Concert
April 28, 2019
Antonín Dvořák Mass in D Major
Watch Concert
December 22, 2018
Community Carol Sing
Watch Concert
November 30, 2018
Voices over Tallinn: Celebrating 100 Years of Estonian Music
Watch Concert
June 2, 2018
TOTAL EMBRACE FINALE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Watch Concert
March 11, 2018
Masterworks for Double Choir
Watch Concert
December 21, 2017
Christmas Concert and Community Carol Sing
Watch Concert
November 12, 2017
Rachmaninoff Vespers - November 12
Watch Concert
November 10, 2017
Rachmaninoff Vespers
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May 20, 2017
Philip Glass Symphony No. 5
Watch Concert
April 8, 2017
Handel’s Israel in Egypt
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January 11, 2017
Zachary Wadsworth’s commission, Spire and Shadow, for the 250th Anniversary of St Paul’s Chapel
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October 23, 2016
October Garden by Julian Wachner and Morten Lauridsen’s Midwinter Songs
Watch Concert
Join Downtown Voices
Now Accepting Audition Requests
Auditions
Downtown Voices will be accepting new high-level volunteer singers in January 2020. If you are interested in auditioning, please fill out the form below and you will be contacted with further instructions. All applicants are required to submit a video sample of their singing and after a screening process, successful applicants will be invited to audition in person. These auditions will include sight-reading from a four-part hymn, singing a prepared choral piece, as well as performing an aria or art song of the singer’s choosing.
Rehearsals
Downtown Voices rehearses on Wednesday evenings, 6:30–9pm, with occasional rehearsals extending to 9:30pm, from September through June in Lower Manhattan. Choir members must attend at least 80% of rehearsals and are required to attend all dress rehearsals and concerts (approximately six per year). Please contact the chorus manager if you have questions.
Contact
If you would like more information about Downtown Voices, please contact Chorus Manager Sandy Sobey at dtvtws@gmail.com.
Apply Here to Audition
Learn More
Learn more about Downtown Voices
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.”
“After graduating from college and joining the rest of corporate America working for a big four accounting firm, I felt a void in my heart where music used to be. I was surrounded by music all growing up and through college where I participated heavily in my college's conservatory programs. Once I graduated, though, I had no outlets to continue my music education and follow my passion of singing… I auditioned for several groups, and nothing seemed quite right. Some programs were too intense for someone who was also a full time working professional, and some programs were too relaxed, where the music wasn't challenging enough and left me wanting more.
Then, I heard about Downtown Voices. Not only did I get to perform in arguably one of the most beautiful places in NYC, but I also get to sing alongside incredibly talented musicians who impress me every day and challenge me to be the best vocalist I can be. I get to experience all of this while having fun and singing music that give me chills every time we perform. What a thrill and honor it is to be a part of such a wonderful music community.”