The Manhattan Choral Ensemble

A Ukrainian Christmas

 

 

 

 

Savor the richness of Ukraine’s choral history featuring works by Berezovsky, Diletsky, Bortniansky, and Aleksiychuk. You’ll hear a variety of music appropriate to the season: large choral pieces and traditional carols. We will close with perennial favorite “Carol of the Bells” by Mykola Leontovych.

Fri, Dec 8, 8:30pm

Sun, Dec 10, 2:30pm

St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church

30 East 7th Street (between 2nd & 3rd Avenue)

New York City

2023-24 Composer Competition

The Manhattan Choral Ensemble seeks submissions from composers living within 50 miles of New York City to submit a short (2.5 – 3 minutes) a cappella work for SATB chorus that evokes life in New York City. The work should be a new composition that has not yet been premiered. Works should require approximately three hours of rehearsal to prepare for performance and should not contain individual solos. Click here for examples of the level of difficulty of previous compositions.

We welcome using texts written by living writers. It is the responsibility of the composer to secure permission to use any texts not in the public domain. Previous winners are ineligible. Only one submission per composer.

Three winners will be chosen by a committee comprising MCE Director Thomas Cunningham and Artistic Advisors, George Andoniadis and Rich Campbell. Each winner will receive a $750 award and a performance by the Manhattan Choral Ensemble at its Feb 24, 2024, concert at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Prior to the performance, the composers will be asked to attend a rehearsal to discuss their piece with the choir. Additionally, one work will be voted on by the audience for an additional award on the night of the performance. The composer of the chosen work will receive an additional $750. Submissions must be received by December 15, 2023. Electronic submissions are acceptable. There is no fee to apply. Submissions should be emailed to info@mce.nyc or (if not possible to send electronically) mailed to:

Manhattan Choral Ensemble
PO Box 3852
Grand Central Station
New York, NY 10163-3852

The Manhattan Choral Ensemble Announces the 2023-2024 Season!

Mark your calendars for the MCE’s exciting 2023-2024 season!

Friday, December 8th and Sunday, December 10th
A Ukrainian Christmas
Savor the richness of Ukraine’s choral history featuring works by Berezovsky, Diletsky, Bortniansky, and Aleksiychuk. You’ll hear a variety of music appropriate to the season: large choral pieces and traditional carols. We will close with perennial favorite “Carol of the Bells” by Mykola Leontovych.

Saturday, February 24th
New Music For New York

Our annual emerging composer competition paired with choral favorites in the stunning DiMenna Center

Saturday, May 18th
The Victoria Requiem
Our season closer will be a Renaissance masterwork, the Officium Defunctorum of 1605 by Tomas Luis de Victoria

Interested in auditioning and singing with us? Click here

The Many Hills Songbook

The Many Hills Songbook - Cover ImageIn celebration of the Manhattan Choral Ensemble’s 20th Anniversary Season, we are proud to present The Many Hills Songbook. This collection of compositions from contemporary composers connected to New York City is intended to provide the choral community at large with a shared repertoire of songs that reflect our daily life. We are extraordinarily grateful for the composers who have contributed to this project, and allowed us to share their work with you through a Creative Commons license for free non-commercial use. We hope you will download the songbook, share it with your singing partners, and find joy in the music echoing over the many hills of this world. Learn More & Download FREE »

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About the Manhattan Choral Ensemble

The Manhattan Choral Ensemble is a 40-voice, independent choir dedicated to passionate performance of choral masterworks and contemporary compositions. The MCE performs in historic New York spaces and creates programming in partnership with musicians of diverse backgrounds and genres. Winner of the 2016 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the MCE fosters the musical life of the city through its innovative commissioning project, New Music for New York.

For more information about the choir, explore our website, connect with us on Facebook.com/ManhattanChoralEnsemble or Instagram @ManhattanChoral, and join our mailing list to receive updates on our concerts, benefits, and other events.