NEWSLETTER
New York, N.Y. – Voices of Ascension, the New York City-based professional chorus dedicated to sharing the transformative power of choral music through performances, commissions, and community engagement, brings back its Candlelight Christmas Concerts on Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. (which will be recorded and broadcast on WQXR later in the month), Monday, December 14, 2026 at 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, December 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of the Ascension.
Now in its 37th year, Voices of Ascension’s Candlelight Christmas Concerts have become a treasured annual holiday tradition, gathering audiences in community for music that reflects winter, wonder, and shared tradition beneath the shimmer of candlelight. These family-friendly concerts feature a vibrant mix of ancient carols, seasonal masterworks, and contemporary reflections on winter and light—offering warmth, beauty, and community at year’s end.
Illuminated by scores of candelabras and nearly 600 individual candles, the church’s Neo-Gothic architecture becomes a radiant setting for ancient carols, Christmas choral anthems, seasonal masterworks, and beloved family favorites. This immersive concert offers an unforgettable Christmastime experience for listeners of all ages, with Voices of Ascension, the Manton Memorial Organ, and special guest soloists including “Brilliant, exuberant, and gorgeous” (New York Classical Review) rising young opera star soprano Song Hee Lee.
Voices of Ascension kicks off its 2026–2027 season with Grand Choral Opening: War & Requiem on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Ascension. Joined by sopranos Meredith Wohlgemuth and Sarah Frei, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, tenor Matthew Swensen, and baritone Joseph Parrish as guest soloists, Voices performs Haydn’s Mass in Time of War (Missa in tempore belli) and Fauré’s Requiem in D Minor.
Through a blend of contemporary and historical repertoire, the 2026-27 season, The Radiant Depths, spans the Renaissance to newly commissioned works and rarely heard masterworks, reflecting both the breadth of the tradition and the depth of expression that defines it as Voices traces a season-long journey through enduring questions about mortality, transcendence, and our relationship to one another. Many of these works emerged during periods of uncertainty and upheaval, asking questions that continue to feel deeply familiar: where we find meaning, how communities endure, and what sustains us through challenging times.
Voices of Ascension’s 37th season celebrates the profound creativity that shapes choral music’s legacy and future by inviting listeners into radiant musical landscapes where sound becomes a space for discovery, and the boundary between past and present begins to dissolve.
Program Information:
Candlelight Christmas
Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Monday, December 14, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Church of the Ascension | 36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St. | New York, NY 10011
Link: https://www.voicesofascension.
Program:
A vibrant mix of ancient carols, seasonal masterworks, and contemporary reflections on winter and light
Artists:
Voices of Ascension Chorus
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor
Song Hee Lee, Soprano
Kevin Cobb, trumpet
Daniel Beckwith, organ
About Song Hee Lee
Korean soprano Song Hee Lee is a 2026 Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
Song Hee begins her 2026/27 season appearing with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in Paris and Luxembourg for a program of works by Rameau and Mondonville. Highlights also include her debut with Opera Omaha in The Pigeon Keeper (Orsia) and a return collaboration with the acclaimed early music ensemble Ruckus for a program devoted to the music of Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On the concert stage, Song Hee will tour with Il Pomo d’Oro and Joyce DiDonato in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Belinda), and debut with Boston Baroque in the same work along with John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (Cupid). Song Hee will make her debuts with the Knoxville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah; with New Mexico Philharmonic for Carmina Burana; and with the Helicon Ensemble for Handel’s Apollo e Dafne.
Song Hee’s 25/26 season included her debut with Les Arts Florissants in concerts led by William Christie, as well as with Les Musiciens du Louvre under the direction of Marc Minkowski, both on tour throughout France and Spain. Additional concert engagements included her debuts with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall and with the American Classical Orchestra in Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate. She also made her North Carolina Opera debut in Cendrillon (La Fée).
In the summer of 2025, Song Hee made her debuts at Lincoln Center and Tanglewood in Matthew Aucoin’s Music for New Bodies, directed by Peter Sellars. In the 24/25 season, she starred as Cleopatra in R.B. Schlather’s new production of Giulio Cesare, performed with Ruckus. She also appeared with Juilliard415 in a program of Handel and Rameau arias conducted by William Christie, with The Juilliard Orchestra in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges (La Princesse) led by Louis Langrée, and with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra in scenes from Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie).
About Dennis Keene
Dennis Keene is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Voices of Ascension. Known internationally through his many concerts and recordings with Voices of Ascension as well as his regular guest appearances as conductor and teacher, he is one of the leading choral conductors in the world today.
Recognized early as an exceptional organist, Dennis Keene studied at The Juilliard School, where he earned the BM, MM, and DMA degrees and the coveted Gaston Dethier Organ Prize as a student of Vernon de Tar. Dr. Keene also studied privately in Paris with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, André Marchal, and André Isoir.
In addition to his work with Voices of Ascension, Dr. Keene continues as Organist and Choirmaster of Church of the Ascension in New York City. He served for many years on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, the national service organization for the choral field, which honored him with the first Louis Botto Award for “innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional ensemble of exceptional artistic quality.” He has also served on the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts and on the Music Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts.
From 1998 to 2003, Maestro Keene presented a major summer institute for the training of conductors and singers: The Dennis Keene Choral Festival, in Kent, Connecticut. In 1993, he began his recording association with Delos International, with which he has recorded such best-selling CDs as Beyond Chant, the Duruflé Album, and the Berlioz Te Deum. This series of highly acclaimed recordings with Voices of Ascension has secured international recognition for both conductor and chorus and become the standard for first-ranked ensembles worldwide.
About Voices of Ascension
Voices of Ascension is one of New York City’s premier professional choral ensembles, dedicated to presenting masterworks for chorus and orchestra at the highest artistic level. Founded in 1990 by Artistic Director Dennis Keene, Voices has built an international reputation for its exquisite choral artistry, innovative programming, and commitment to expanding the choral canon.
Performances by the Grammy-nominated ensemble have been praised as “richly colored, impressive, and beautifully balanced” (Wall Street Journal) and “inspired” (The New York Times). The ensemble’s landmark Duruflé Festival, the first-ever complete retrospective of the composer’s works, established Voices as a leader in presenting comprehensive explorations of major choral composers. Since then, Voices of Ascension has continued to champion both historical and contemporary repertoire, with a special commitment to new music, including commissions and premieres—particularly by female composers—in partnership with the Sorel Organization.
Throughout its 37-year history, Voices of Ascension has produced an acclaimed annual concert series, released multiple Grammy-nominated recordings, and engaged in artistic collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival, José Limón Dance, the Mark Morris Dance Group, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and others. The ensemble has also been a longtime partner of The Church of the Ascension, home to the Manton Memorial Organ, the only French-built organ in the United States and a direct link to Voices’ deep engagement with French sacred music traditions.
The organization plays an important role in mentoring emerging artists through its Voices of Promise program, which has supported over 50 young professional vocal soloists, and in creating community connections through Voices of Experience, an initiative bringing choral music to NYC’s senior centers.
About Jonathan Bradley
Jonathan Bradley is Executive Director of Voices of Ascension, where he is helping guide the organization through a period of artistic and institutional renewal. Working in close partnership with founding Artistic Director Dennis Keene and the Board of Directors, he has helped shape a strategic vision rooted in musical excellence, creative risk-taking, and deeper community connection. In addition to leading organizational strategy, Jonathan has played a central role in developing new artistic initiatives and season programming, including Choral Visionaries, Voices’ guest conductor initiative, and immersive projects such as Sound Out of Silence, which brings together world premieres, contemporary artists, and large-scale sonic experiences within the resonant setting of the Church of the Ascension.
Jonathan brings more than twenty-five years of leadership experience across New York City’s cultural landscape. Prior to joining Voices of Ascension, he served as Executive Director of The Crossing, leading the Grammy Award-winning ensemble through a period of transformational growth that doubled its production output and budget while overseeing world premieres, recordings, and collaborations with Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. During his six years there, The Crossing received three Grammy Awards and nine nominations and was named Musical America’s 2023 Ensemble of the Year.
His career also includes a decade at Carnegie Hall, where he co-founded the Hall’s social media program and helped launch new audience engagement initiatives, as well as leadership work at Primephonic, now Apple Music Classical, where he explored new intersections between classical music and digital innovation.
Jonathan earned a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and has been an invited speaker at Yale, Columbia, and NYU.
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