RESOUND: A Season of Powerful Choral Experiences with Orlando Sings
Join us for the 2024-25 season, where voices RESOUND with passion, unity, and artistry. Orlando Sings proudly presents an inspiring lineup of concerts that blend the richness of choral tradition with the excitement of innovative performances. Let the power of live professional choral music resonate within you as we explore the depths of the human condition and the stories that define our shared journey of life. Experience the beauty—let your spirit RESOUND with Orlando Sings.
CONCERT DESCRIPTIONS
A SOLARIA SOLSTICE | DECEMBER 21, 2024 | 8:00 PM
SOLARIA SINGERS featuring special guest artist MOIRA SMILEY | Andrew Minear, conductor
The Harriett Coleman Center for Performing Arts (901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803)
Hailed as “exquisite,” “transcendent,” and “…the deepest expression of the cathartic power of music I have ever heard,” A Solaria Solstice will be presented in a fabulous new venue providing more seating while still maintaining the special intimate quality of the Solstice concert experience that has made this an unmissable holiday season tradition for hundreds of Central Floridians. Hear moving poetry and music from Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, as well as compelling contemporary choral works that reflect on this time of darkness, renewal, and the light to come!
NEW for the 2024 program, Orlando Sings has commissioned folk and choral music icon Moira Smiley to compose a brand new solstice-themed choral work, which will receive its world premier performance with the composer in attendance as a featured guest artist performer on stage.
The Solaria Singers is a professional choir comprised of the finest vocalists in Central Florida. Conducted by Andrew Minear, Solaria has been hailed as “mind-blowing… delightful, entertaining and thought provoking”, “moving and magnificent”, and voted Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando for Best Chamber Music Group. Solaria is a 2024 national finalist for The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE GALA CONCERT | FEBRUARY 15, 2025 | 7:00 PM
SOLARIA SINGERS | Andrew Minear, conductor
The Woman’s Club of Winter Park (419 S Interlachen Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789)
Orlando Sings presents the award-winning Solaria Singers in a special performance of love songs ranging in style from jazz, to contemporary classical, R&B, and pop! This Gala Concert includes dinner and will be followed by dancing and a silent auction. Feel the love RESOUND in your heart on this special occasion night!
The Solaria Singers is a professional choir comprised of the finest vocalists in Central Florida. Conducted by Andrew Minear, Solaria performs fresh interpretations of the greatest choral works of history as well as the most adventurous, compelling, and meaningful music composed for vocal ensembles in the 21st century. Solaria has been hailed as “mind-blowing… delightful, entertaining and thought provoking”, “exquisite,” “moving and magnificent”, and voted Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando for Best Chamber Music Group. Solaria is a 2024 national finalist for The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
ORLANDO SINGS CHORAL FESTIVAL 2025
ORLANDO SINGS CHORAL FESTIVAL CONCERT #1: SHEMA KOLEINU (HEAR OUR VOICE) | JEWISH MASTERWORKS | MAY 15, 2025 | 7:30 PM
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS | ORLANDO SINGS HARMONIA | SOLARIA PLAYERS | Andrew Minear and Sandra Shafer, conductors
The Harriett Coleman Center for Performing Arts (901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803)
Jewish choral music has a beautiful and ancient heritage. It said that gregorian chant, the forebear to western classical music, has its own roots in Hebrew chants. The Psalms are indeed songs! The Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus opens this program with the thrilling “Chichester Psalms” by Leonard Bernstein. Then, along with Harmonia present the music of Judith Lang Zaimont, who is internationally recognized for her music’s distinctive style, characterized by expressive strength and dynamism. Harmonia sings “Life Cycle”, an ongoing project of new music for women’s voices to poems by women. Then the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus presents Zaimont’s “Sacred Service”, an epic and powerful work that is complex yet always accessible and expressive. This is the first of three concerts of the 4th Annual Orlando Sings Choral Festival.
Leonard Bernstein Chichester Psalms
Judith Lang Zaimont Life Cycle; Sacred Service
ORLANDO SINGS CHORAL FESTIVAL CONCERT #2: PATH OF MIRACLES | MAY 17, 2025 | 4:00 PM
SOLARIA SINGERS | Andrew Minear, conductor
The Harriett Coleman Center for Performing Arts (901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803)
The Solaria Singers and conductor Andrew Minear present one of the most compelling contemporary American choral works of today. Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles is an hour-long a cappella exploration of the phenomenon of the Camino de Santiago — the ancient Catholic pilgrimage route across northern Spain to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The text comprises excerpts from historical and sacred documents in several different languages, alongside original material by poet Robert Dickinson.
The Solaria Singers is a professional choir comprised of the finest vocalists in Central Florida. Solaria performs fresh interpretations of the greatest choral works of history as well as the most adventurous, compelling, and meaningful music composed for vocal ensembles in the 21st century. Solaria has been hailed as “mind-blowing… delightful, entertaining and thought provoking”, “exquisite,” “moving and magnificent”, and voted Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando for Best Chamber Music Group. Solaria is a 2024 national finalist for The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
Jody Talbot Path of Miracles
ORLANDO SINGS CHORAL FESTIVAL CONCERT #3: BEACONS OF LIGHT: A Journey Through Sound and Spirit | MAY 17, 2025 | 8:00 PM
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS | ORLANDO SINGS HARMONIA | SOLARIA PLAYERS | Andrew Minear and Sandra Shafer, conductors
The Harriett Coleman Center for Performing Arts (901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803)
Join us for “Beacons of Light: A Journey Through Sound and Spirit,” a concert that explores the depths of human experience and the powerful connection between music and emotion. The evening begins with The Lighthouse Keeper by GRAMMY®-nominated composer Jake Runestad, a poignant series of vignettes capturing a life journey of joy, beauty, loss, and renewal. Through personal and universal moments—from the grief of losing a friend in the Sierra Nevada mountains to the excitement of a road trip to Joshua Tree, and the despair and hope found in the landscapes of Point Reyes and Yosemite—this work reminds us that in the end, all we truly have is each other.
After the intermission, immerse yourself in the electrifying energy of Will Todd‘s Mass in Blue, a masterful fusion of driving jazz grooves and powerful choral writing. This dynamic piece, featuring a jazz combo, solo saxophone, string orchestra, soprano soloist, and choir, reimagines the traditional Latin mass as a vibrant and soulful journey. With spiritual sensitivity and a contemporary edge, Mass in Blue promises to captivate and move you in an unforgettable way, offering a unique and inspiring musical experience that resonates with both classical and jazz lovers alike.
Jake Runestad The Lighthouse Keeper
Will Todd Mass in Blue
COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES
Presented by ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA:
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, FEATURING BYRON STRIPLING IN HOLIDAY SWING | NOVEMBER 30, 2024 | 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Byron Stripling, guest conductor and trumpet, ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, members of ORLANDO SINGS
Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801)
Get ready to fill your holidays with joy and be dazzled by the King of Swing, Byron Stripling! Powerhouse trumpeter, conductor, trumpet virtuoso, singer, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will bring his contagious smile and charm to the City Beautiful in a program filled with your favorite holiday music. Featuring carols and sing-alongs with Orlando Sings, this musical holiday jubilee is sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
Presented by NATIONAL CONCERTS:
RUTTER REQUIEM | CORONATION ANTHEM | NATIONAL CONCERT CHORUS | APRIL 14, 2025 | 7:30 PM
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS & GUEST CHOIRS | Sandra Snow, conductor | NATIONAL CONCERT CHORUS | Andrew Minear & Brandon Boyd, co-conductors
Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801)
For soprano soloist, choir, and orchestra, John Rutter’s Requiem is one of the best-loved and most widely performed choral works of the twentieth century. The texts (in Latin and English) are from the Missa pro Defunctis, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Psalms. The seven sections form an arch-like meditation on the themes of life and death. Choral music icon Sandra Snow serves as guest conductor.
Andrew Minear also leads the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus in Baroque master G. F. Handel’s most sparkling and elegant (and rarely performed!) Coronation Anthem composed for Queen Caroline in 1727.
The National Concert Chorus, co-conducted by Brandon Boyd (University of Missouri) and our own Andrew Minear, presents a special performance of an innovative and artistic program brought to life by artistic projection.
John Rutter Requiem
G. F. Handel Coronation Anthem: My Heart is Inditing (HWV 261)
Special Program by the National Concert Chorus
PAST CONCERTS & EVENTS
Presented by OPERA ORLANDO:
DEFIANT REQUIEM: VERDI AT TEREZÍN | SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 | 7:30 PM
ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, OPERA ORLANDO CHORUS, and ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS
Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801)
Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, tells the story of the courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (Terezín) during World War II who performed Verdi’s Requiem while experiencing the depths of human degradation. With only a single smuggled score, they performed the celebrated oratorio sixteen times, including one performance before senior SS officials from Berlin and an International Red Cross delegation. Conductor Rafael Schächter told the choir, “We will sing to the Nazis what we cannot say to them.”
Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín is a concert-drama that was conceived and created by Foundation President, Maestro Murry Sidlin. It combines the magnificent music of Verdi with video testimony from survivors of the original Terezín chorus and footage from the 1944 Nazi propaganda film about Theresienstadt. The performance also includes actors who speak the words of imprisoned conductor Rafael Schächter and others.
LYYRA IN CONCERT | SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 | 5:00 PM
LYYRA (Voces8 Foundation) | ORLANDO SINGS HARMONIA | Sandra Shafer, conductor
Park Lake Presbyterian Church (309 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32801)
In their debut performance in the Southeastern US and Florida, NEW ensemble Lyyra looks set to reach a glittering place in choral music’s constellation – it was created by The VOCES8 Foundation to build support and visibility for upper voices and their potential. The group’s sound combines velvety richness alongside starlike brilliance. With a broad texture and exhilarating range of sound, the group’s members specialize in classical, jazz, pop, and folk music from diverse traditions and backgrounds. Lyyra is the only professional six-voice women’s a cappella group in the US. Lyyra delivers inspirational, uplifting, dynamic performances and has the desire to make change in the world. They will be joined by the acclaimed Orlando Sings Harmonia, the premier choir for auditioned adult soprano-alto voices on the East Coast, for a rousing finale! Harmonia will also present selections from their recording project (to be released early 2025) and from their upcoming performance for the Florida Conference of the American Choral Directors Association.
We can’t wait for the lovely historic venue to RESOUND with the beauty of soprano and alto voices!
ORLANDO SINGS GOES TO THE OPERA | NOVEMBER 15, 2024 | 8:00 PM
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS | ORLANDO SINGS HARMONIA | SOLARIA PLAYERS | Andrew Minear and Sandra Shafer, conductors
The Harriett Coleman Center for Performing Arts (901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803)
Experience the rich and colorful tones of the 120-voice Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus and 60-voice Harmonia RESOUND in a NEW intimate venue in the heart of Orlando. Bask in the melodies and harmonies of some of the greatest stories ever told with every audience’s favorite and most famous opera choruses. In addition to our large ensembles, some of the finest classical singers in Central Florida will also be featured soloists. Bizet, Delibes, Gounod, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, and MORE all in one concert!