KC VITAs 2023 Spring Series

The opening concert to the choir’s ninth season, the singers of KC VITAs will bring to life a diverse program of vocal premieres. Featuring composers from all around the globe, the music for this concert was chosen from a pool of nearly 800 submissions the choir received in past calls for scores. The ensemble will present four world premieres: Amy Gordon’s (CA) “Ruminations and Affirmations,” Frank Nawrot’s (KS) “Faded, ”When I Go Back to Earth” by Jackson Thomas (MO,) and Richard Risi’s (NE) “I Am A Vessel” for solo soprano and piano accompaniment. A US premiere, Jee Seo (Korea) brings a fiery and hilarious arrangement of the traditional Korean folk song of “Manyo” for a cappella chorus. Jessie Leov’s (New Zealand) “Let My Country Awake” with text from Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore’s collection of devotional poetry “Gitanjali” will also be presented as a U.S premiere. Regional premieres include Ashi Day’s (Washington D.C.) joyous “Nothing New Under the Sun” for a cappella choir and Ethan Soledad’s “When I Rise Up” (TX) for choir with piano and cello accompaniment. The concert will also include Missouri premiere selections from  Isaac Lovdahl’s (ND) art song cycle “Three Hallucinations of Love” for tenor and piano, and Maxwell Addae’s (NJ)  inventive spiritual arrangement “Sometimes” for the full choir.  The performance is conducted by KC VITAs’ Founder/Artistic Director Jackson Thomas.