MASS FOR THE ENDANGERED in Philadelphia
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia is thrilled to open our 2024-2025 season with an extraordinary musical journey that celebrates the beauty and fragility of life. Our season will begin with the hauntingly beautiful Missa dolorosa in E minor by Antonio Caldara followed by the main event of the evening: Sarah Kirkland Snider's Mass for the Endangered, a contemporary masterpiece that combines the traditional structure of a mass, original poetry of Nathaniel Bellows, and a powerful message about the importance of protecting our planet's biodiversity. The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia joins Mendelssohn Chorus and the program is jointly conducted by Dominick DiOrio and associate artistic director Heather Mitchell.
upcoming events
friday, october 11 2024
Choir Fenix sings "Endless worlds"
Choir Fenix - Felix van den Hombergh, dir.
In mid-October, choir Fenix celebrates its 25th anniversary with two festive concerts under the title 'Endless Worlds'. Come and listen to the Dutch premiere of the Missa Tagore (in the presence of Estonian composer Pärt Uusberg!) and the world premiere of Chō, written by Felix van den Hombergh, with three special musicians on cello, harp, and marimba. Also includes a performance of Dominick DiOrio's Alleluia for chorus and marimba. More information and tickets.
saturday, october 19 2024
45th Annual Bowling Green New Music Festival
BGSU Collegiate Chorale - Rich Schnipke, director
Rich Schnipke and the BGSU Collegiate Chorale perform my work A Chain is Broken as part of the finale concert to the 45th Annual BGSU New Music Festival. More information here.
thursday, october 24 2024
2024 WSMA High School State Honors Music Project
Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir - Mary Hopper, conductor
Mary Hopper and the Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir perform my work Broken as part of the 2024 WSMA High School State Honors Music Project.
about dominick
Recognized with The American Prizes in both Choral Composition (2014) and Choral Performance (2019, with NOTUS), Dominick DiOrio is an energetic conductor and composer who has won widespread acclaim for his contributions to American music. He is professor of music and chair of the department in choral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he joined the faculty in 2012, and where he serves as director of NOTUS.
DiOrio also serves as the fourteenth artistic director and conductor of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, where he regularly prepares the chorus to sing with The Philadelphia Orchestra, including a "near ideal" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) performance of Carmina burana in March 2024 with conductor Fabio Luisi. DiOrio’s guest conducting appearances regularly feature his original compositions, including in April 2024 when he had the honor of writing original music for William Shatner, part of a spoken-word performance at IU’s Memorial Stadium moments before the total solar eclipse.
DiOrio’s original music has been hailed for its keenly intelligent, evocative style, which shows “a tour de force of inventive thinking and unique colour” (Gramophone). His over 60 published works have appeared at major venues around the world including the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, as well as internationally.
He composes for musicians of all ages and experiences and has completed over 70 commissions in the last decade. Some recent commissioning partners include the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and the San Francisco Symphony, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble & Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and many academic institutions.
DiOrio is deeply committed to strengthening the profession by empowering others, and he recently completed a four-year term as president and president-elect of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (2018-22), for which he was honored with NCCO's inaugural Distinguished Service Award. DiOrio has also served as chair of ACDA’s Composition Initiatives Standing Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors for Chorus America. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music, as well as the M.M.A. and M.M. in Conducting from Yale and the B.M. in Composition summa cum laude from Ithaca College.
selected works
press
Raunchy lyrics and choral shouts of primeval joy rang out through Verizon Hall this weekend, as the Philadelphia Orchestra and three feisty choral groups offered a no-holds-barred performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina burana. Conductor Fabio Luisi and a stage full of genius proved just the right mix for this eagerly anticipated production.
Linda Holt
Carmina Burana is a choral showcase at heart, and the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia was in top shape, with especially fine contributions from the lower-voiced males.
Cameron Kelsall
recent news
Beloved actor William Shatner, an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner best known for his role as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek,” will deliver a spoken-word performance on April 8th at Indiana University's Memorial Stadium before the total eclipse of the sun. Shatner’s spoken-word performance will be a collaboration with students and faculty from the IU Jacobs School of Music. It will include new original music written for the occasion by Dominick DiOrio, performed by student musicians from NOTUS, the Jacobs School’s internationally renowned contemporary vocal ensemble. Read the press release here.
NOTUS has been selected to be one of the performing ensembles for the National Collegiate Choral Organization's 10th Biennial Conference at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia: "Coming Home." DiOrio and NOTUS will present a program of music titled "America in Progress," which includes selections from NOTUS' recent album What Is Ours. Featured composers include Reena Esmail, Moira Smiley, IU alumni Kahan Taraporevala and Alex Berko, and DiOrio's own A Chain is Broken. Read more about NCCO10.
The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music new music chamber chorus NOTUS recently released its second album, “What Is Ours: Music for an America in Progress,” on Navona Records. The recording is available on numerous digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Learn more.
An emotional and collaborative tour de force, Dominick DiOrio’s FETTER & AIR presents the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia’s own words set to a haunting soundscape that explores each member’s innermost hopes, fears, dreams, and desires. The massive undertaking is a skillful combination of 562 audio files comprising spoken word and singing by 61 chorus members, combined into a single piece by DiOrio and sound designer Justin “JG” Geller. The personal thoughts and interweaving arrangements create a raw expressiveness and intimacy, ultimately rendering a reminder of how our own stories echo within us.
Release date: January 28, 2022. Learn more and listen here.