Past Seasons

  • Summer 2024:
    Decadent, Degenerate & Downright Dangerous

    This concert was cancelled due to Covid-19

    "Decadent," "degenerate" and "downright dangerous!" (Sen. Joe McCarthy) are all labels used to describe the music, composers and performers featured on our annual Pride concert. Our program starts in Germany, where the Ambassadors follow the path of musical suppression from 1934 to its inevitable conclusion in World War 2. We'll explore the degenerate sounds of music by the Comedian Harmonists, Hans Eisler, Kurt Weill, Max Bruch and others, including the world premiere of a new arrangement of Unter dayne vayse shtern, written for TRANScend by composer Steve Cohen.

    The Community Chorale cross the Atlantic, where a more diffuse -- but no less strange parallel -- of Nazi artistic repression occurred in America, during the 1950s/60s. This will showcase music by American-Jewish composers Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, as well as folk music from musicians like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Harry Belafonte and more.

    This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program(s) supported by the funding agencies The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

  • Comfort & Joy: A Musical Solstice Celebration with TRANScend

    For millennia, people all over the world have recognized the winter solstice as an important astronomical occurrence and celebrated through rituals to ward off the dark and cold, until the return of the sun. Centuries-old solstice traditions continue to influence the holidays we celebrate now.

    The music we'll be presenting for this concert comes from a broad array of cultural and spiritual traditions, including several wonderful examples of syncretism between cultures. The includes works from First Nations composers Alex Vollant and Russell Wallace, a new work by Reena Esmail, based on the Raag Ahir Bhairav, along with Leonardo Leo's baroque Magnificat, Salamone Rossi's setting of Shir Lama'alot and many others.

    Hear My Voice: A Pride Concert

    Whether evoking delight in spring, the transcendent joy of love or the agony of loss, choral music has beautifully illustrated the human experience for centuries. We’re kicking off Pride Week in NYC with Hear My Voice — a concert celebrating the shared human experience in music with a program that includes new music from our composer in residence, Hannah Cai Sobel, as well as contemporary and traditional pieces from the Western choral canon, including John Michael Trotta, Alice Parker, Dietrich Buxtehude and others. We’ll be joined by singer-songwriter and trans health activist Dallas Denny, singer and actor Kyr Siegel, and film director Shon Keane for an unforgettable evening of queer musical goodness!

  • Season of Light: A Holiday Concert

    The winter solstice, with its dark chill, has produced festivals and holidays centered on light and warmth around the world. Different cultures celebrate in different ways, but they share a common theme: music warms the soul and offers hope for the cold days ahead. Join us for a holiday concert celebrating the solstice, with music from sacred and secular choral traditions for this season of light.

    Sing Me to Heaven: A Pride Concert

    In celebration of Pride, TRANScend offers a choral concert celebrating the moments in life that uplift our spirits and bring us closer to each other. The program includes the world premiere of a new piece, i am mine, by Dylan Trần, as well as music by Tchaikovsky, Uusberg Part and Samuel Webbe.

  • Stations of the Lost: A Trans Requiem

    Premiering for Trans Day of Remembrance, STATIONS OF THE LOST is a secular/gnostic requiem, a new theatre piece created by Dr. Felix Graham in collaboration with TRANScend, New York's trans/gender-expansive vocal ensemble, and Randy Polumbo, visual artist. The requiem, in oratorio form, will be performed alongside an installation of 14 panels, replacing the traditional stations of the cross with commemorative art pieces honoring the lives of trans artists (both past and present).

    Good Night, Dear Heart: Songs for Parting

    From simple goodnights to heartbreaking goodbyes, our rituals of parting are immortalized in music. Transcend's spring sonic landscape explores these traditions from Renaissance to modern times, including lesser known pieces from the Russian Orthodox liturgical tradition and new works from Dylan Trần and David Solomons.

  • Christ's Mass Then & Now: A Millennial Holiday Concert

    A program of contemplative holiday music, featuring motets & carols from a thousand years of Christmas liturgical music. Repertoire includes chant by Hildegard de Bingen, modern settings of ancient melodies, and a new motet from Venezuelan composer Cesar Carillo.