The City Choir

About The City Choir of Washington

Since their debut performance at Schlesinger Hall in November 2007, critics and audiences alike have praised The City Choir of Washington and its Artistic Director Robert Shafer for consistently beautiful choral tone, clear diction, and exquisite attention to musical detail.  Stephen Brookes of The Washington Post hailed the group’s 2007 performance of Handel’s Solomon as “a virtuosic performance.”  Their inaugural also featured A Baroque Christmas at Schlesinger Hall, and Marian Vespers of 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi in the Music Center at Strathmore, with the Shenandoah Conservatory Choir and Blue Ridge Choristers from Winchester, Virginia, and the Children’s Chorus of Washington. The City Choir performed in the U.S. premiere of The Fellowship of the Ring, conducted by Ludwig Wicki, at Wolf Trap in May 2008, and a performance of Candide with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Lord, in July 2008.

The City Choir opened its 2008- 2009 season with a performance of Handel’s Israel in Egypt in November 2008. The Washington Post reported, “Galvanized by Shafer, The City Choir imbued Handel’s complex fugues and double choruses with emphatic energy, precision and palpable emotion.”  In December 2008, The City Choir performed REJOICE! Music for Christmas before two enthusiastic audiences. Their April 2009 concert marked the debut of The City Choir of Washington at The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, where they performed Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, the Duruflé Requiem, and the world premiere of Robert Shafer’s Lux Aeterna. In addition to their regular season concerts, The City Choir performed twice at Wolf Trap during their Summer 2009 season, with The National Symphony Orchestra in “Broadway ROCKS!” on August 1 and in a return engagement for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on August 28-29. 

The City Choir began its third season in October 2009 by performing the Mozart Requiem and John Tavener’s Little Requiem for Father Malachy Lynch to a capacity audience at National Presbyterian Church.  In November 2009, members of The City Choir performed in The Music of the Music Man with The National Symphony Orchestra with Shirley Jones, Rebecca Luker, and Patrick Cassidy, under the direction of Marvin Hamlisch at The John F. Kennedy Center. In February, the City Choir presented The Sound of France at Arlington’s radiant Cathedral of Saint Thomas More as part of its Cathedral Concerts Series.  Hallelujah! Handel, The City Choir’s April 2010 concert featured a collection of spirited music composed by Handel when he was a young man.  The Choir completed their third season by performing the Choral Fantasy as part of the Beethoven Found Concert Gala on June 14 in The John F. Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

During its upcoming 2010-2011 season, The City Choir will appear at Wolf Trap in September for The Return of the King, The Kennedy Center Concert Hall for The Defiant Requiem in October and the NSO Pops Happy Holidays concerts in December.  They will also present three subscription concerts at The National Presbyterian Church: Music for Christmas (December 2010), Haydn: Mass in the Time of War (February 2011), and the Bach B Minor Mass (May 2011.)

The City Choir of Washington dedicates itself to inspiring singers and audiences to discover the boundless musical and cultural heritage of great choral music.  Through their performances and education and community outreach projects such as the City Singers, Partners in Song, and the Young American Artists Program, The City Choir is committed to nurturing the next generation of performers and audience members.