NO MAN'S LAND tells the story of a Faustian bargain made by a young farm girl during the Great Depression in Oklahoma's panhandle, exploring American desperation during the Dust Bowl: one of the top man-made climate disasters of all time.

Tilly dreams of going to college and escaping rural domestic life. She is gifted a golden locket from the family’s migrant worker, Santi, as a promise he will come back for her. When Tilly’s sister falls ill with dust pneumonia, Tilly gives away her golden heart to a suitcase farmer who promises her he can save Sissy’s soul. This bargain creates a never ending rain, until Sissy must make the ultimate sacrifice for her family.

MA | ERIN SCHWAB

PA | BENJAMIN HOWARD

TILLY | KAYLA RODRIGUEZ PÉREZ

SISSY | SARAH GOLDRAINER

SANTI | KEVIN ARRATIA-DIAZ

THE DEVIL | SHANE BROWN

LORAINE JONES | MAKAYLA MCDONALD

MISS BESSIE | ANGELA BORN

DOCTOR CHAMBERLIN | AARON PIERCE

EARL JONES | SHAFIQ HICKS

Learn More

NO MAN'S LAND tells the story of a Faustian bargain made by a young farm girl during the Great Depression in Oklahoma's panhandle, exploring American desperation during the Dust Bowl: one of the top man-made climate disasters of all time.

Tilly dreams of going to college and escaping rural domestic life. She is gifted a golden locket from the family’s migrant worker, Santi, as a promise he will come back for her. When Tilly’s sister falls ill with dust pneumonia, Tilly gives away her golden heart to a suitcase farmer who promises her he can save Sissy’s soul. This bargain creates a never ending rain, until Sissy must make the ultimate sacrifice for her family.

MA | ERIN SCHWAB

PA | BENJAMIN HOWARD

TILLY | KAYLA RODRIGUEZ PÉREZ

SISSY | SARAH GOLDRAINER

SANTI | KEVIN ARRATIA-DIAZ

THE DEVIL | SHANE BROWN

LORAINE JONES | MAKAYLA MCDONALD

MISS BESSIE | ANGELA BORN

DOCTOR CHAMBERLIN | AARON PIERCE

EARL JONES | SHAFIQ HICKS

Learn More

Steeple Concerts’ annual spring concert, featuring the St. Paul’s Choir with Orchestra, showcases Verdi’s heart-pounding masterpiece, described by NPR as “one of the most sublime and terrifying works in the repertoire.”

The Basking Ridge Oratorio Choir performs Philip Stopford’s Missa Deus Nobiscum, directed by Chris Fortin.

Bach Family and Friends will bring together the music of J.S. Bach and his closest musical colleagues. The centerpiece of the program is J.S. Bach’s most profound motet, Jesu, meine Freude. Works by Buxtehude, Telemann, and Johann Michael Bach will complete the picture of how Bach found his voice as a composer, and how he inspired others. This concert will be accompanied by strings and organ, featuring players from the Adelphi Orchestra.

Bronx Opera presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.

Peter:  Brian J. Alvarado / Nicholas LaGesse
Gertrude:  Samantha Long
Hansel:  Manya Gaver-Holmes
Gretel:  Sophie Thompson
The Gingerbread Witch:  David Smolokoff
Sandman, the Sleep Fairy:  Erin Schwab
Dewman, the Dew Fairy:  Stephanie Krasner Strutt

Bronx Opera presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.

Peter:  Brian J. Alvarado / Nicholas LaGesse
Gertrude:  Samantha Long
Hansel:  Manya Gaver-Holmes
Gretel:  Sophie Thompson
The Gingerbread Witch:  David Smolokoff
Sandman, the Sleep Fairy:  Erin Schwab
Dewman, the Dew Fairy:  Stephanie Krasner Strutt

In medieval times, the boar was a symbol of evil, the “king” of the great forests, and a ferocious menacing animal to man. The presentation of the boar’s head at Christmas symbolized good over evil. The church endowed this custom with symbolic meaning, transforming it to the worship of God, and the triumph of Christ over evil. The ceremony of the boar’s head became a part of Christmas celebrations in the great manors throughout the Middle Ages. At the United Reformed Church of Somerville, they have made this festival into one of their favorite Christmas traditions.
The sanctuary will be transformed into an English manor with candlelight, banners, trees, and crests. The Lord and Layde of the manor will welcome guests to share in this festive celebration and the story of the Nativity.

Trinity’s holiday extravaganza of carols and other festive works features the combined power of all Trinity’s vocal groups — Trinity Choir, Trinity Youth Chorus, St. Paul’s Chapel Choir, and Trinity’s Downtown Voices — in addition to NOVUS brass and percussion, The Choirs of the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), and, of course, Trinity’s congregation.

Rise Up Chorus is presenting its first ever Christmas concert, celebrating some of the greatest music of the season. This concert will feature some of your favorite guest performers from Rise Up Chorus's first 7 seasons, including  Markos Kandilis (tenor), Grant Mech (baritone), Erin Schwab (soprano), Jordan Smith (saxophone), Nate White (double bass), Brenda Day (organ), and Florence Simons & Hannah Han (piano) performing old familiar tunes as well as some that will be new to audience-goers. In true "Rise Up style", the audience will become part of the performance and be invited to sing along to common Christmas Carols accompanied by St. Matthew's grand organ.

Riverside Choral Society’s Fall 2024 Concert: Franz Schubert's Mass in E Minor, Johannes Brahms’ Nänie, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy!

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 

Dominus Vobiscum by Sydney Guillaume

PROTESTRA is partnering with director Jennifer Williams to bring her latest devised opera, Dis/Inform, to life at OPERA America on May 17, 2024. The performance will be an immersive experience with visual art installations by Jungah Han.

Dis/Inform is a devised opera about the global disinformation crisis told through an intimate, human perspective. Devised music is a collaborative compositional process in which an ensemble of devising artists generates a performance through structured improvisation. A devised opera has a plot line, dramatic arc, and characters, which are generated collaboratively within a determined structure. This structured improvisation adds to the repertoire in a sustainable way because it is not fully improvised; the central story and musical structure remain the same; so, the premiere of Dis/Inform will differ from future performances in collaboration with each partner, but Dis/Inform retains its central story and musical structure.

Dis/Inform is about a fictional character who is inspired by real-life, anonymized testimonies of individuals in rural America who have been drawn into the alternate realities of disinformation. The story traces how they became alienated from their trusted outlets, the fear and isolation that drove them to alternative spheres, and how disinformation reshaped unexpected dimensions of their life.

Jennifer Williams is a hybrid artist. She tells stories by blending music and theater with diverse artistic forms, including immersive performance, site-specific installation art, digital media, interactive technologies, and devised performance. Her devised opera Grounds won grants from Brooklyn Arts Council and New York State Council on the Arts. The Foundation for Contemporary Arts awarded Williams an e-grant in 2020. Her professional affiliations include the Nederlandse Reisopera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Beth Morrison Projects, and Center for Contemporary Opera. The U.S. Department of State recently appointed her an Arts Envoy. In 2022, Harvard University invited her to teach a workshop on her creative practice. A Fulbright scholar, Williams holds a Ph.D. in performing and media arts from Cornell University and an A.B. in interdisciplinary studies in humanities from the University of Chicago.

The development of Dis/Inform received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers: Discovery Grants program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Dis/Inform Devising Artists
Jennifer Williams, director
Jungah Han, visual artist
Erin Schwab, soprano
Shanyse Strickland, horn
Kayla Williams, viola
Anthime Miller, cello
Morgan Parker, percussion

Space is limited - if you RSVP and find out you can no longer attend the performance, please notify team@protestra.org as soon as possible so that we can open up more seating.

Click here to learn more about the United Vision Project, a nonprofit organization which inspired the the development of Dis/Inform.

The live performance will be recorded and made available for viewing at a later date.

Join Downtown Voices and Stephen Sands, conductor, on March 24, at 8pm, in St. Paul's Chapel for Compline by Candlelight, an ancient rite of prayers to end the day.

Ars Musica Chorale proudly presents An Afternoon at the Opera, featuring some of America’s finest operatic soloists. This concert will include opera choruses and arias from across the centuries by composers such as Puccini, Verdi, Gershwin, and Beethoven. Accompaniment will be provided by pianist Diana Hughes and string quartet. Opera and choral lovers alike will find this concert full of drama, laughs, and beautiful singing.

Join all of Trinity's vocal ensembles on December 17, at 3pm, in Trinity Church for a holiday extravaganza full of Christmas carols and other festive songs, featuring The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Youth Chorus, St. Paul’s Chapel Choir, Downtown Voices, NOVUS NY Brass, and the Choirs from the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). Free.

This annual Ars Musica Chorale tradition features beautiful choral music and seasonal readings, with organ, brass, and percussion accompaniment, to create a spectacular musical experience that is a perfect way to celebrate the holidays. This year’s program will feature music by composers such as Sally Beamish, John Rutter, and Dan Forrest.

Featuring Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with organ, percussion, and harp accompaniment.

Also presenting exciting new works by Nico Muhly and John Luther Adams, along with Kenneth Lampl’s Jerusalem.

On December 7, at 7pm, Trinity and TENET Vocal Artists present Unconventional Wisdom in St. Paul's Chapel. This concert celebrates music from 17th century Italian nuns and features women from Downtown Voices with Elena Williamson, conductor, and Jolle Greenleaf, artistic director. Ticketed.

On November 11, at 6pm, in Trinity Church, experience the world premiere of Benedict Sheehan’s oratorio, Akathist, an epic meditation on choosing gratitude, in collaboration with Artefact Ensemble. Featuring The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Artefact Ensemble; NOVUS NY; Downtown Voices; Trinity Youth Chorus; and Elaine Kelly, conductor. Free.

On November 10, at 7:30pm, in Trinity Church, experience the world premiere of Benedict Sheehan’s oratorio, Akathist, an epic meditation on choosing gratitude, in collaboration with Artefact Ensemble. Featuring The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Artefact Ensemble; NOVUS NY; Downtown Voices; Trinity Youth Chorus; and Elaine Kelly, conductor. Free.