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People often ask what it feels like to hear your own work performed. The truth is, it no longer felt like my work alone. Ted had heard rhythms hidden inside my language. Kirwyn had taught me to write for voices instead of pages. Dominick had shown me that collaboration enlarges rather than diminishes vision. The chorus had breathed life into words that, until then, had existed only in the solitude of my notebook.
Octavia McBride-Ahebee
Composer Melissa Dunphy and conductor Dominick DiOrio discuss ‘On the Horizon’, a large-scale cantata confronting climate change through the voices of young singers, and reflect on collaboration, responsibility, and the enduring communal power of choral music.
Nikhil Sardana
The musical styles range from the rather simple and tonal "Crucifixus" by Grayston Ives, to Victoria Vita Poleva's "Et resurrexit" (reminiscent of Arvo Pärt), to the partially 8-part, driving, and heavily polyphonic "Et vitam venturi" by Dominick DiOrio, all the way to the avant-garde "Et incarnatus" by the Japanese composer Keiko Harada.
Forum Kirchenmusik
Recorded live by the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth Youth Choir under Dominick DiOrio, this new cantata by Australian-born composer Melissa Dunphy wastes no time in declaring its intent.
Once the song was over, NOTUS received a four-minute long standing ovation.
Addison Jacoby
There are precious few vocal ensembles in any country that could achieve what DiOrio and NOTUS have in this work—and the others—in this recital.
David DeBoor Canfield
The Philadelphia Orchestra isn’t the only local ensemble to be performing at the top of its game. Dominick DiOrio led the Mendelssohn Chorus in its annual “Feast of Carols” concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill, on Dec. 13. Both performances were sold out at 500 tickets apiece, and both audiences heard selections of holiday music that was beautifully chosen and even more beautifully presented.
Michael Caruso
The final words were set by the American Dominick DiOrio, concluding with an obligatory final fugue and a powerful, impactful ending.
Guido Krawinkel
Of all the many musical holiday traditions that grace the Christmas season in Chestnut Hill, none has become a more cherished event that the Mendelssohn Chorus’ annual “A Feast of Carols.” The concert is so popular that its program must be performed twice to accommodate the large audiences that wish to hear it.
Michael Caruso
The program peaked with I Am, by Dominick DiOrio, a technically demanding piece that requires total control by the singers because of its highly dissonant lines. Its performance was nothing short of virtuosic and one wishes it had closed the program, which was actually finished with two rather pedestrian compositions by Alvaro Bermudez (Padre Nuestro) and Rafael Hernández (Cachita).
Márcio Bezerra
