Credo Project with Carus-Verlag
The "Credo" text celebrates a major anniversary in 2025, first published 1700 years ago, at the Council of Nicaea in 325. The final form of the Nicene Creed is the only statement of belief accepted by all Christian churches. Carus-Verlag has commissioned a new work to honor this 1700th anniversary. Composers from around the world – including Dominick DiOrio, Keiko Harada, Grayston (Bill) Ives, Marten Jansson, Victoria Vita Poleva, and Martín Palmeri – have each brought their own unique style to this multifaceted piece that represents all the major Christian religions equally, a symbolic work standing for the unity, diversity and solidarity of the global Christian community.
upcoming events
sunday, june 1 2025
Our Wildest Imagining @ Washington National Cathedral
Cathedral Choir & Dr. Thomas Sheehan, Organist and Interim Director of Music
The Washington National Cathedral (The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean) and the Cathedral Choir under the direction of Dr. Thomas Sheehan, Cathedral Organist & Interim Director of Music present the consortium world premiere of Our Wildest Imagining, a new work to honor the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, as part of the afternoon service.
sunday, june 1 2025
Our Wildest Imagining with Gay Men's Chorus of Washington
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington & GenOUT Youth Chorus; Dr. Thea Kano, Artistic Director & C. Paul Heins, Director
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington & GenOUT Youth Chorus (Washington, DC); Dr. Thea Kano, Artistic Director & C. Paul Heins, Director; present the consortium world premiere of Our Wildest Imagining, a new work to honor the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, as part of the International Choral Festival for World Pride. Learn more here.
sunday, june 15 2025
Our Wildest Imagining @ All Saints Pasadena
The Choir of All Saints Church - Weicheng Zhao, organist & director
The Choir of All Saints Church Pasadena (The Rev. Tim Rich, Priest-in-Charge & The Rev. Canon Susan Russell, Associate Priest) with Dr. Weicheng Zhao, Director of Music, Organist-Choirmaster, present the consortium world premiere of Our Wildest Imagining, a new work to honor the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, as part of the morning service.
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
From start to finish, this year’s edition of “A Feast of Carols” was performed at the highest level I can ever remember the Mendelssohn Chorus singing. Ensemble, tuning, blend, diction and balance were consistently immaculate.
Michael Caruso
By the time the concert started, the hall was filled with about 300 audience members for “Voices and Video Games,” the first collaboration between the Music in Games Society and the Jacobs School of Music’s contemporary vocal ensemble, NOTUS.
Emerson Elledge
recent news
My original work A Home Is Found at Christmas will see its Philadelphia premiere performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia on December 14th and 15th, 2024 as part of "The Glorious Sound of Christmas," a series of concerts made famous by Eugene Ormandy's recording of many years ago. William Eddins conducts the performances, with the Mendelssohn Chorus prepared by yours truly.
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.
