Parallel lives, shared stories, and transatlantic musical traditions intertwine in this revelatory choral drama. Premiered by H+H in 2023 to sold-out houses, Crossing the Deep explores the resonances and juxtapositions between sacred music by Handel and Negro spirituals by enslaved Africans in America, written at the same time and often using the same Biblical texts. “There should be next performances and then some,” raved The Boston Globe, and we’re glad to deliver: Now, we’re inviting even more Bostonians to join us for this one-of-a-kind emotional journey.

Location:
NEC's Jordan Hall

Dates:
Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 3:00pm

Performed by:
Anthony Trecek-King, conductor and co-creator
Reginald Mobley, countertenor and co-creator
Regie Gibson, spoken word artist
Brianna J. Robinson, soprano
H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Parallel lives, shared stories, and transatlantic musical traditions intertwine in this revelatory choral drama. Premiered by H+H in 2023 to sold-out houses, Crossing the Deep explores the resonances and juxtapositions between sacred music by Handel and Negro spirituals by enslaved Africans in America, written at the same time and often using the same Biblical texts. “There should be next performances and then some,” raved The Boston Globe, and we’re glad to deliver: Now, we’re inviting even more Bostonians to join us for this one-of-a-kind emotional journey.

Location:
NEC's Jordan Hall

Dates:
Friday, January 17, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 3:00pm

Performed by:
Anthony Trecek-King, conductor and co-creator
Reginald Mobley, countertenor and co-creator
Regie Gibson, spoken word artist
Brianna J. Robinson, soprano
H+H Orchestra and Chorus

The second installment of the Divine Muse series features Charles Gounod’s deeply moving but infrequently performed St. Cecilia Mass. Trinity’s adaptation replaces the rare string octobass (there’s only one performing instrument in the world!) with the lowest pipes of the magnificent new organ in the church’s nave. This uplifting celebration of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, also includes Jessica French’s Strengthen for Service and John Gardner’s A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day.  

Brianna J. Robinson, soprano; Steven Caldicott Wilson, tenor; Enrico Lagasca, bass; Downtown Voices; NOVUS; Stephen Sands, conductor 

More at trinitychurchnyc.org.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Ode to Joy

Bonds, Margaret – Montgomery Variations
Beethoven, Ludwig van – Symphony No. 9

Special guests:
Brianna J. Robinson, soprano
Britt Brown, alto
Albert Lee, tenor
Kevin Deas, bass
The Worcester Chorus of Music Worcester – Chris Shepard, Conductor

Beethoven’s “Ninth” is always a momentous event, so we’re thrilled to present two performances of this beloved piece. Known as “Ode to Joy” because of the familiar theme in the symphony’s fourth movement, it’s the first symphony to incorporate vocal soloists and chorus into what was previously a purely instrumental genre. We’re delighted to welcome the acclaimed Worcester Chorus of Music Worcester to our stage along with four outstanding soloists to bring this monumental yet whimsical composition to life. But first, our program opens with an important work by Margaret Bonds, noted as one of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States. Written in 1964 after the composer’s visit to Montgomery, Alabama, the Montgomery Variations fervently examines seminal events from the civil-rights movement.

More at grotonhill.org.

Pioneer Valley Orchestra
Visions of Hope

Saturday, May 11th, 2024 7PM
Greenfield High School Auditorium

Tianhui Ng and Dr. Allegra Martin, Conductors

Pre-concert talk with Dr. David Schneider 6PM

William Grant Still - Song of a New Race
New composition from local composer with the PVS Chorus
Margaret Bonds - Credo with the PVS Chorus

Brianna J. Robinson, Soprano

More at pvsoc.org.

The New Heavens and The New Earth
 with Vista Philharmonic Orchestra and Nashoba Valley Chorale

Hailstork: I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
Read Thomas: Far Past War
Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem

April 21, 2024 at 3:00pm
Groton Hill Music Center
122 Old Ayer Road
Groton, MA  01450

This passionate and engaging program showcases the orchestra and chorus through a diverse group of composers. We begin with an energetic and expressive cantata for tenor, chorus and orchestra by the well-known African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork; this is followed by the New England premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’ Far Past War, a work she says is  “about bringing peace through nature, both to the self and to the world.” The program concludes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ masterwork, Dona Nobis Pacem, featuring Baritone Christopheren Nomura, and Soprano Brianna J. Robinson

More at nvcsings.org.

The Wanderer’s Tethering is a celebration of Black folk songs, Black women in America, and the layered and multifaceted experience of people belonging to the Black diaspora. The program features a Boston Lyric Opera commissioned work, "The Wanderer’s Tethering," which combines poetry by Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and music by composer, vocalist, and multimedia artist Mason Bynes; alongside additional selections including Trevor Weston’s “Juba,” Jessie Montgomery’s “Source Code,” and Florence Price’s settings of familiar Negro folk songs for string quartet. ​Together, they provide a rich tapestry linking the voices of Black creators from the past with those of the present. ​​

Saturday, April 6 2024, 3:00pm @ Prior Performing Arts Center in Worcester, MA | Tickets Available HERE

Castle of our Skins returns to the Brattleboro Music Center for a day-long celebration of composer Adolphus Hailstork complete with masterclasses, discussions, and a capstone portrait concert featuring chamber music from Hailstork's rich body of work.
​

Saturday, March 30, 2024,  7:00pm @ Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro, VT | PURCHASE TICKETS

Including a pre-concert talk from 6:15-6:45pm.

​Ensemble-in-Residence Castle of our Skins returns to the Longy School of Music of Bard College for an immersive three-day residency focused on the music of Adolphus Hailstork. Our fifth residency, we are excited to team up with Hailstork to work with students in master classes, classroom visits, and affinity spaces, and present a capstone portrait concert featuring chamber music from Hailstork’s rich body of work.

Friday, March 29, 2024, 8:00pm @ Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music | FREE! RSVP

Including a pre-concert talk from 7:00-7:45pm and post-concert reception.

Castle of our Skins is a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music. In classrooms, concert halls, and beyond, Castle of our Skins invites Black heritage and culture exploration, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present.

AMASS
A New Mass for Old Instruments
Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 7:30pm
Christ Episcopal Church
120 W. High St., Charlottesville VA
​

​Early Music Access Project offers a world premiere from composer James Dargan that features vocal soloists Brianna J. Robinson, Patrick Dailey, and the composer himself, accompanied by strings and organ. For this new work, AMASS, Dargan has married two musical styles he has grown up singing, embedding the spirituals of the Black churches he attended as a child into the Latin mass tradition of his professional choral singing career, using compositional techniques of the medieval, Renaissance, and baroque periods, as well as period instruments. Works of Bach and Buxtehude have been selected to punctuate key moments of the Mass.

Dona Nobis Pacem | Ralph Vaughan-Williams
Everyone, Everywhere | Daron Hagen
world premiere

Carnegie Hall

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at
57th Street & 7th Avenue

December 16, 2023
Saturday, 8pm

TONY SOLITRO | INTIMACY AND IMAGINATION | FACULTY ARTIST RECITAL

This portrait recital of Tony Solitro’s vocal music highlights collaborations with living poets and librettists and lifts the stories of LGBTQ+ artists, poets, performers, and themes. The centerpiece of the program is “More Beautiful Than Night,” a deeply personal song cycle for tenor and piano featuring the homoromantic poetry of Frank O’Hara.

She’s Fabulous

Clarice: Corrine Byrne
Bethel: Brianna J. Robinson
Piano: Jean Anderson 
Composer: Tony Solitro

More at longy.edu/event/far-tony-solitro/.

Catalyst New Music is hosting a Launch Concert & Reception on Friday, Sept 29 at 7:30pm at the Somerville Armory!

with performances by:

Amanda Densmoor
Laura Intravia
Claire McCahan
Vanessa Naghdi
Omar Najmi
JoAnna Pope
Brianna J. Robinson
Shohreh Shakoory
Brendon Shapiro

Join us for an unforgettable evening of live performances, great food, and exciting announcements about what's to come at Catalyst! We can't wait to share this unbelievably talented line-up of performers with you who will showcase music from our previous projects as well as some mystery ones to come!

General admission: $30

Students: $20

(Complimentary tickets available to those eligible for Mass Cultural Council's 'Card to Culture' program!)

Tickets available at www.catalystnewmusic.com

We think you're in for a real treat! Can't wait to see you on Sept 29.