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The Dessoff Choirs, one of New York City’s leading choruses, is an independent, non-profit organization, not affiliated with any religious or community group. Founded in 1924 by Margarete Dessoff, it has established a reputation for pioneering performances of choral works from the pre-Baroque era through the 21st century. The “s” in Choirs acknowledges the group’s various ensembles, ranging from the large Symphonic Choir that appears with major orchestras, to the smaller Chamber Choir heard during some programs.
In the mid-20th century, Dessoff’s reputation grew throughout the country thanks to a unique and distinguished collection of Renaissance pieces, then little-known, edited by music director Paul Boepple. Many of these pieces were released by the choir on LP. In 1999, Dessoff received the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, for pieces including the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s “Songs of Love and War.” That piece may be heard on Dessoff’s CD Reflections, which also features works by Robert Convery, John Corigliano, and Ned Rorem.
Dessoff is active in New York’s musical life, presenting its own concerts under the baton of Music Director James Bagwell and in collaboration with ensembles ranging from the Kronos Quartet to the New York Philharmonic. In October, 2006, the Dessoff Symphonic Choir performed with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo at Carnegie Hall and at SUNY Purchase’s Performing Arts Center. That was Dessoff’s fourth program in four years with Maestro Ashkenazy. Other recent engagements have been with the American Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and with Tan Dun in his haunting Water Passion after Saint Matthew.
Dessoff has taken part in numerous New York, American, and world premieres, by composers such as Marshall Coid, Philip Glass, and Sir John Tavener. Dessoff has performed frequently at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, with the Lincoln Center Festival, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival, including collaborations with the Mark Morris Dance Group and an appearance in the PBS “Live from Lincoln Center” Emmy-nominated telecast of Mozart’s Requiem. Other major orchestras with which Dessoff has performed include the Cleveland Orchestra, the London Philharmonia, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque, and Opera Orchestra of New York.
James Bagwell, Music Director
James Bagwell maintains an active schedule throughout the United States as a conductor of choral, operatic, and orchestral literature. Mr. Bagwell has trained choruses for a number of major American orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and the Asheville (NC) Symphony. He has worked with such noted conductors as James Conlon, Raymond Leppard, Jesús López-Cobos, Erich Kunzel, Leon Fleischer, Leon Botstein, Christof Perick, Imre Pallo, and Robert Shaw.
In 2000 Mr. Bagwell joined the faculty of Bard College, where he is Associate Professor of Music and directs the orchestral and choral program. Since 2001, he has conducted numerous concerts with the Bard Festival Chorale and the Bard Chamber Players. In October 2002, Mr. Bagwell premiered Cinderella's Bad Magic by microtonal composer Kyle Gann in Moscow, as part of the Alternativa Festival. In 2003, Mr. Bagwell was named Director of Choruses for the Bard Music Festival, conducting and preparing choral works during the summer at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard, and at Alice Tully Hall. In the 2004-2005 season, he prepared the Concert Chorale of New York for three concerts with the American Symphony Orchestra for performances at Avery Fisher Hall. In August, 2006, he conducted a production of Aaron Copland's opera The Tender Land as part of the Bard SummerScape Festival. In 2008, Mr. Bagwell will launch a new graduate program in choral conducting at the Bard Conservatory of Music.
James Bagwell has been Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival Youth Chorus since 1997, conducting regularly during the May Festival, Carolfest, and outreach concerts in the Cincinnati area. For two seasons, he worked as Robert Porco's assistant for the May Festival Chorus. This summer was his ninth season preparing the May Festival Summer Chorus for the Riverbend Music Series.
Mr. Bagwell has received critical praise for his work as Music Director of Light Opera Oklahoma. In 2005, he conducted three new productions and a concert version of La Périchole for the summer festival season, including the company's debut at the OK Mozart International Music Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
James Bagwell is Artistic Director for the New York Repertory Singers and serves as guest conductor for the Berkshire Bach Society. From 1998-2001, he was Artistic Director and Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and the Indianapolis Chamber Singers, a professional ensemble he formed in 1999.
Steve Ryan, Accompanist
Dessoff is honored that pianist Steven Ryan has been its regular accompanist, occasional sectional conductor, and featured keyboard soloist for ten seasons.
Mr. Ryan has performed as an orchestral keyboardist with most of the major orchestras in New York City, including members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He has played celesta with the legendary Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall; piano, harpsichord, and portative organ with The Dessoff Choirs; and synthesizer with the Moody Blues rock band. He has collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Neemi Järvi, Bernhard Haitink, Gerard Schwarz, and Maxim Shostakovich, among others.
Mr. Ryan took first place in the 2001 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. At the close of this international competition he was engaged to perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor at the Sorbonne in Paris. That performance was filmed by the national television network France 2 and broadcast throughout France in 2002. In addition to winning the French competition, Steven took second prize in the 2000 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs.
During the summer of 2004, Mr. Ryan performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Lake Placid Symphonietta. The following autumn, he made his solo debut at Les Invalides in Paris. In the fall of 2005 he played Bach’s fifth Brandenburg Concerto, and later that season he played the Tchaikovsky, both with the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Ryan joined the Greater Trenton Symphony for its New Year’s Eve performance in 2006 of Rhapsody in Blue.
Steven Ryan earned his bachelor of music degree from the University of Minnesota. While in Minneapolis, he had the honor of assisting Sir Neville Marriner as a rehearsal pianist, often working one-on-one with him and his guest soloists. Mr. Ryan also appeared with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Charles Dutoit. He placed second in the Minnesota
Orchestra’s WAMSO competition, playing before a jury that included Pinchas Zukerman and Sir Neville Marriner.
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