Distinguished Concerts International - New York

Singers from City of Bath Back Choir To Perform at Carnegie Hall

November 2007

City of Bath Bach Choir web site

Singers from The City of Bath Bach Choir will perform Karl Jenkins' Requiem at Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall on Monday, January 21, 2008, at 8 p.m. Also on the program will be Dr. Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. Dr. Jonathan Griffith, Co-founder and Artistic Director of Distinguished Concerts International New York, will conduct the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International and guest soloists.

The program, which takes place on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, honours the life of the great pacifist and civil rights leader. The composer, Karl Jenkins, will be in residence in New York during the rehearsals and the concert. Dr. Griffith says: "This will be the first time that both the Requiem and The Armed Man have been performed on the same concert in the United States. Since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of peace and of international stature, I felt this particular music of Karl Jenkins would be most appropriate for this important holiday."

The singers from the City of Bath Bach Choir will be rehearsing from now until their arrival in New York. Joint rehearsals with other singers performing on the program will begin three days in advance of the concert for a total of 9-10 hours. The singers will join with other choristers from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Although the performance is the singers' primary purpose for being in New York, there will be time for the performers to partake of the culture of New York. If local community members want to help support the ensemble's trip to New York, they should contact Helen Roberts, manager, 01749 841 086, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dr. Karl Jenkins, OBE, Composer, was raised in Penclawdd, Gower, in Wales. He was educated at Gowerton Grammar School before reading music at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He then commenced postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Recent commissions include works for the Royal Ballet, BBC Proms in the Park, the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Bryn Terfel, Leslie Garret, Evelyn Glennie, and The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace, commissioned by the Royal Armouries and premiered at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Over 100 performances of this work have taken place in the UK in the past 18 months, while the CD, featuring the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, has gained Gold Disc status in the UK. In recent years, he has been made both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honor, and has been awarded fellowships at Cardiff University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen, and Swansea Institute. He was awarded an OBE, by Her Majesty The Queen, in the 2005 New Years Honors List; and a Doctor of Music by the University of Wales in 2006.

Dr. Jonathan Griffith, Conductor, Co-founder of Distinguished Concerts International New York and its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, is an active conductor, educator, lecturer, and consultant. His conducting credits in this country and abroad include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Salt Lake City; Manhattan Philharmonic and New England Symphonic Ensemble, both in performances at Carnegie Hall; The European Symphony Orchestra, Spain; Bohuslava Martinu Philharmonia and Philharmonia Chorus, Virtuosi Pregensis Chamber Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and Dvorák Chamber Orchestra, Czech Republic; Bialystok State Philharmonic, Poland; and several regional orchestras and choruses in the U.S. As the conductor of the World Premiere of Earnestine Rodgers Robinson's The Nativity in Carnegie Hall, he was featured in an interview which aired on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and also appeared in two recent documentaries about Ms. Robinson and her music - "Hidden Treasure" and "Sounds of a Miracle." He made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1989. His 45-plus Carnegie Hall appearances span the major works of the classical repertoire and include the U.S. premieres of Taneyev's Upon Reading a Psalm, Czech composer Miloš Bok's Missa Solemnis, Luigi Boccherini's Villancicos, and Eugčne Goossens' re-orchestration of Handel's Messiah, as well as numerous world premieres, including Eric Funk's Pamelia, Seymour Bernstein's Song of Nature, and Robert Convery's The Unknown Region and I Have a Dream. He has served as chorus master for the Utah and Portland Opera companies; founded the Kansas City Chorale and the Jonathan Griffith Singers; and was a member of the faculties of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Wichita State University, Marylhurst University, and Warner Pacific College, the last two in Portland, Oregon. A native of St. Louis, he received his B.M.E. from the University of Kansas, an M.M.E. from Wichita State University, and his D.M.A. in Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Distinguished Concerts International New York was founded in early 2007 by Iris Derke, General Director; and Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. DCINY provides opportunities for choral, instrumental, jazz, and chamber ensembles, as well as conductors and soloists, to perform at such venues as Carnegie Hall/Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Town Hall in New York City. A strong component of DCINY's mission is to enhance the concert experience through educational programs and incentives. These include support in meeting performance standards, optional master classes and seminars, and the freedom to make their own travel and hotel arrangements.

Performers participating in The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace represent: Canberra Choral Society (AU); Lord Williams' Festival Chorus (Buckinghamshire, UK); Salisbury Community Choir (Wiltshire, UK); Pro Cantu Youth Choir (Bellville, RSA); Crystal Coast Choral Society (Jacksonville, NC); Westlake United Methodist Church Chancel Choir (OH); Young People's Chorus Concert Chorus and Young Men's Chorus (New York, NY); and Jonathan Griffith Singers (US and CAN). Other choirs performing Requiem are Hilo Community Chorus (HI); University Showcase Singers (Hilo, HI); Young People's Chorus Cantare and Young Men's Chorus (New York, NY); and Scarsdale High School Chamber Choir (NY).

For information about performing on DCINY's series or about purchasing tickets to scheduled concerts, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit www.DCINY.org.