Program

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

Allan Laiño, conductor
Andrew Vu, pianist

What a Wonderful World

WORLD PREMIERE

Music and Text by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss
Arranged by George Stewart
Commissioned by Congressional Chorus

A Green Voice

Music by Mari Esabel Valverde
Text by James Hearst

Song of the Rain

WORLD PREMIERE

Music by Emily C. Mason
Text by Khalil Gibran
Commissioned by Congressional Chorus

Emily C. Mason, harp

AMERICAN YOUTH CHORUS
(4pm)

Jonathon Hampton, artistic director
Dr. Iris Cheng, pianist

Be Like the Bird

Music by Abbie Betinis
Text by Victor Hugo

De Colores

Traditional Mexican

Many and Great

Traditional Native American
Text by Joseph Renville

Earth Song

Music and text by Michael Jackson

Rainbow Connection

Music and text by Paul Williams & Kenneth Ascher

Open House Nov 29, Dec 6 & 13, Jan 3. Visit our website to learn more and to support.

NORTHEAST SENIOR SINGERS
(7:30pm)

George Stewart, music director
Deloris Agee, program director
George Stewart II, bass & drum machine

Everybody Loves the Sunshine

Music and text by Roy Ayers

Kissed by Nature

Music and text by Eliane Elias

Sing for the Beauty of the Earth

WORLD PREMIERE

Sing a Song — Music and text by Maurice White & Al McKay
For the Beauty of the Earth — Music by Conrad Kocher, Text by Folliott Pierpoint
Take Me Home, Country Roads – Music & text by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver

Arranged by George Stewart 

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Water Fountain

Music and text by Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner (Tune-Yards)
Arranged by Kristopher Fulton

Ely Merenstein, water jug
Hayley Fleming, metal water bottle
Daniela Gomez, plastic water bottle

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

Allan Laiño, conductor
Andrew Vu, pianist

Big Yellow Taxi

Music and text by Joni Mitchell
Arranged by Matt and Adam Podd

Choose Something Like a Star

Music by Randall Thompson
Text by Robert Frost

There Will Come Soft Rains

Music by Matt Podd
Text by Sara Teasdale

Earth Song

Music and Text by Frank Ticheli

COMBINED CHOIRS

Allan Laiño, conductor
Andrew Vu, pianist

Let the River Run

Music and text by Carly Simon
Arranged by Craig Hella Johnson

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

Soprano

Samy Arunkumar

LuTisha Buckner

†Kate Burkett

†Kristina Caggiano Kelly

Maggie Carttar

Katherine DeFonzo

Liza Douglas

†Karen Dowling

Nicole Filosa

Hannah Geller

Jean Godwin

*Isabel Hardy

Cassandra Hart

Asha Iyer

Mechelle A. King

Kalynn Kraft

Valerie Lehman

*†LeighAnne Markaity

Sarah McNeal

Allison Moody

†Serra Schlanger

Leah Shedrow

Harriet Wakefield

Ariel White

BASS

David Cape

†Kevin Dickey

Thomas Farley

*†Mike Krause

Greg Michaels

†Justin Murdock

John Newman

Jim Petrick

Bill Riggins

†Philipp Sewing

* Section Leader

† Chamber Ensemble

Board of Directors

Allan Laiño, Artistic Director, ex officio 
Michelle Heslin, Executive Director, ex officio

Greg Michaels, President
Sarah Bruno, Vice President
Jim Petrick, Treasurer
Kristina Caggiano Kelly, Secretary

Ihamna Cubillos Valencia, member
Daniel Gordon, member

LeighAnne Markaity, member
Greg Miller, member
Jahnissi Tirado, member

Production

Rachel Bowe, Artistic Administrator
Steve Benzek, Projections Operator
DG Productions, Audio & Video Recording
Shannon Pallatta, Graphic Design
Allan Laiño, Digital Program Design

Credits and Acknowledgements

This concert is made possible in part by support from

A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation
Capitol Hill Community Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Eugene M. Lang Foundation
Menezes Jennings Family Charitable Fund
Share Fund
Texas Instruments Foundation
Congressional Chorus members
& loyal supporters

 About the Artists

American Prize winner Allan Laiño (“lah-EE-nyoh” or  / la ‘ʔi njo / ) is the fourth Artistic Director of the Congressional Chorus. As a second-generation Filipino-American with wide-ranging musical influences, he aims to reshape the landscape of American choral artistry by creating an environment in which all voices can flourish. 

Laiño has prepared choral ensembles for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, BSO Pops and Jack Everly, NSO Pops and Steven Reineke, Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, and the Josh Groban Live National Tour. He has conducted onstage at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Kennedy Center Opera House, and Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center. His performances have been televised on programs such as the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors, CNN’s Live from the Capitol: January 6, One Year Later, and EWTN’s Annual Christmas Concert for Charity broadcast to over 140 countries worldwide.

As Co-Artistic Director of Bridge, Laiño produced, edited, directed, and sang in America, You’re Beautiful, a short film that merged spoken word and choral music to examine racism in America. The film won the Black Truth Film Festival, Queens Underground International Black and Brown Film Festival, and Shortie Film Festival. As Co-Conductor of the Sunday Night Singers in 2012, he earned First Prize at the World Choir Games in the Mixed Chamber Choir Champions Division. He is the 2018 winner of The American Prize—Community Chorus Division, and was a finalist in two categories for the 2020 The American Prize in Composition. In 2021, Laiño was the music awardee for The Outstanding Filipinos in America presented at Carnegie Hall.

Andrew Vu serves as Assistant Director of Music of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. A native of Vietnam, he came to the United States at the age of thirteen to study piano and musicianship with Molly and Charles Stier. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from The Catholic University of America, where he studied under James Litzelman. His organ instructors include Jeffrey Pannebaker, Ed Moore, and Ronald Stolk, with whom he completed a Master of Music degree in 2017. Andrew also studied choral conducting with Leo Nestor and Timothy McDonnell and voice with Rick Christman.

An award-winning pianist, Andrew received the Honor Prize of the 2007 Maryland MCMTA Competition, the 2012 Benjamin T. Rome School of Music Performance Award from The Catholic University of America, and the Second Place in the 2012 Stravinsky Award Bach Competition. He has been a student assistant for the annual Washington International Piano Festival at The Catholic University of America. As an organist, Andrew served at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Bethesda, Maryland and St. Peter’s Parish in Olney, Maryland for ten years. In addition, Andrew was the Music Director at the American University Catholic Chaplaincy.

Jonathon Hampton is a unique and versatile singer and conductor with nearly 20 years teaching experience, specializing in spirituals, early classical music, and contemporary popular repertoire. He is Artistic Director of American Youth Chorus in Washington, DC and previously created choral programs at Washington International School; at Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey; at his alma mater Cornell University and with alumni in New York; and in California at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Richmond's King Elementary, Caliber Beta Academy, and San Francisco Early Music Society's Music Discovery Workshop and Youth Collegium.

Having spent his youth in The American Boychoir, Hampton became Associate Director of Music and Outreach for another rare choir school, the Grammy-winning Pacific Boychoir Academy. Over 14 years, he taught all ages, recorded several albums, conducted tours, camps, and orchestral collaborations, managed recruitment, community programs, marketing and communications administration, and was principal conductor of the training chorus for day-school grades 4-8 and the after-school a cappella group of high schoolers, Continuum.

Hampton has also been Artistic Director of the adult Renaissance ensemble, Tactus SF, and Associate Director of San Francisco Youth Chorus. Also in California, he’s been guest conductor of Piedmont East Bay Children's Chorus, Cantare’s Nova Choir, the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Lafayette Christian Church, and Enriching Lives Through Music. In New York he has guest conducted the Cornell University World Music Choir and at Trinity Wall Street and Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church; in New Jersey at Trinity Church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and Trinity and St. Philip's Cathedral. 

In addition to business management for several of the aforementioned, Hampton spent five years in arts administration with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, and more recently with American Bach Soloists, Vocal Arts DC, and now Strathmore.

As a professional vocalist, Hampton sings alto, tenor, and baritone. He’s heard on 17 commercial recordings, including his solo album, Negro Spirituals: Songs of Trial & Triumph. In 2022 he was honored as a Heritage Keeper by Friends of Negro Spirituals. With guitar and piano, he also sings contemporary, popular music, including songs of his own. He often performs with Washington Douglass Chorale and with the choir of Washington National Cathedral. He has also recently performed with the schola of St. John Paul II National Shrine, Washington Master Chorale, Cathedral Choral Society, National Philharmonic Chorale, and Washington Men’s Camerata among many others. JonHampton.com

Noted for her “dynamic and graceful” performances imbued with “virtuosity” and “truly lyrical expression,” American pianist Iris Cheng has given performances across the United States and Canada and has garnered numerous awards. An avid soloist and chamber musician, Iris is a founding member of the Cheng-MacLean Duo and has collaborated with a wide variety of outstanding instrumentalists and singers including violist Marina Thibeault, cellist Julie Trudeau, pianist Heidi Louise Williams, the Florida State University Singers, and the National Children’s Chorus. In 2022, the Cheng-MacLean Duo gave their New York debut in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, performing works from the 20th and 21st century, including a commissioned piece by Kyle W. Brown. Iris has worked with distinguished American composers including Shawn Okpebholo, James Primosch, Liliya Ugay, and Brian Raphael Nabors; her programming highlights the rich diversity of contemporary works through the performance of solo and chamber works by Henri Dutilleux, George Enescu, Leoš Janáček, Béla Bartók, Jennifer Higdon, and Joan Tower. Upcoming projects include a solo debut album to be released by Albany Records featuring contemporary piano works and recorded premieres by Eleanor Alberga, James Lee III, Brian Raphael Nabors, Shawn Okpebholo, and Hannah Kendall.

Prizewinner of the International Young Artist Piano Competition and Florida State University College of Music Carnegie Hall Entrepreneurship Competition, and recipient of the James Streem Scholarship, Rockwood Endowed Scholarship, and Tallahassee Music Guild Scholarship Janice Harsanyi Award, Iris completed her DM in Piano Performance and two MM degrees, in Piano Performance and in Piano Pedagogy-Performance, from the Florida State University. She completed her BM Piano Performance degree at Wheaton College, Illinois, and has also participated in national and international music festivals including Domaine Forget International Music Festival, Camp Musical des Laurentides, and the MasterWorks Festival. Her piano mentors include Dr. Heidi Louise Williams, Dr. Daniel Paul Horn, Faye Bonner, Philip Chiu, Chiharu Iinuma, and Dr. Diana Dumlavwalla. 

An active pedagogue, Iris is artist-faculty for the Tutti Chamber Music Summer Festival Program in Wheaton, Illinois, faculty at the Opal Music Studio in Alexandria, Virginia, Associate Pianist for the National Children’s Chorus, and pianist for the American Youth Chorus. She also maintains a private studio. Prior to relocating to Washington D.C., Iris served as adjunct instructor at Wallace Community College in Dothan Alabama and on the board of the FSU Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Chapter.

George Stewart is a widely sought-after musician due, in part to his versatility and love for music regardless of denomination or genre. George joined the Congressional Chorus during the 2021-2022 season. He has been blessed to share his gift in various venues ranging from small Pentecostal storefront churches to television studios, in concert halls on both coasts, with his past choir, Pentecostal Glory, being the first African-American Catholic Gospel Choir to perform at the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.

Among George’s greatest honors was being invited to perform at the White House for its annual Black History Month Celebration in February 2021 and to grace the altar as one of the musicians for the Junipero Serra Canonization Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

George served more than 35 years as choir director, accompanist and minister of music for several area churches and played on several recordings including the GIA-published “Catholic Classics, Volume VII,” and the Holy Comforter St Cyprian’s Church Choir’s “We Offer Praise.” He currently serves as the director of music for the Holy Comforter St Cyprian’s Church.

Deloris has been a member of the NorthEast Senior Singers since 2003. Since assuming the role of teaching artist in Fall 2020, Deloris has helped prepare members to participate in an all virtual season. Under her direction the chorus produced its first virtual concert, This Little Light of Mine, and a full-length holiday concert, Proclaiming the Season: Peace, Love, and Joy. Deloris brings to this position over 30 years of experience as a choir director for all age groups. Her experience in the area of creative arts includes drama and play writing. For the past two years she has been the creator and program manager for the Puppets for Potential where she crafted over 25 hand puppets.

Emily Mason has been a musician in the DC area for over twelve years as a composer, classical pianist, harpist, and organist. Emily started out as an instrumentalist, performing on harp, piano, and organ for twelve years before discovering a love for composing in 2017. Since then, she has been tirelessly writing for individual artists and concerts, as well as for two choirs and two youth orchestras which she directed from December 2014 through July 2020.

Emily's compositions have enchanted audiences across the United States and internationally. In January 2021, her setting of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Invitation to Love" received Special Commendation by the King's Singers in their New Music Prize competition. Emily received the first place prize for the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir Composition Contest in May 2021, and in December 2019, her setting of the famous Robert Frost poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" for string orchestra and tenor was performed by Marco Panuccio and the Cincinnati Conservatory Strings in Panuccio's Emmy® Nominated "O Holy Night" national concert tour. In August 2021, Emily won the Cantate Chamber Singers' Thirteenth Biennial Young Composer's Competition, whereupon she was commissioned to write a piece which was premiered in their April 2022 concert. In January 2022, Billy Smith and the Mark Morris Dance Group Student Company commissioned Emily to write an original suite for harp trio, which was premiered with original choreography by Billy Smith in the company’s June 2022 performance. From May 2020 through May 2021, Emily collaborated with Tenor Allan Palacios Chan and 124  artists from 15 countries to produce the stunning "Pilar's Hallelujah": a virtual music and dance tribute to a Filipina nurse who gave her life caring for COVID-19 patients. In May 2023, The Philippine Madrigal Singers premiered the mixed choir version of her composition, "Meditabor", along with a live performance of "Pilar's Hallelujah".

The teachers Emily has studied with include Joy Schreier for collaborative piano, harp under Elizabeth Blakeslee, and jazz piano/composition under Mark Christopher Brandt. She currently serves fourteen DC area churches, playing for weekly services on piano, organ, and harp, as well as teaching music theory and sight-reading with the GRAMMY® Award-winning National Children's Chorus.  She has become proficient with video and audio editing using Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro, and she is learning to use Cubase Music Production Software to compose completed scores and mock-ups for her film, orchestral, and choral music.  She recently completed her first film score in collaboration with Mirandum Pictures, and is looking forward to delving further into the world of film composing.

NORTHEAST SENIOR SINGERS

SOPRANO

Juliet Chriss
Queen Jones Dickey
June Everhart
Jean Jamieson
Kathy Richburg
Alice Yeager

ALTO

Deloris Agee
Melissa Dunlap
Judy Lucas
Alicia Lewis
Annette Moore
Deborah Nesmith
Ramona Service
Brenda Wilder

TENOR

Gregory Anderson
Phillis Anderson
Linda Payton
Kenneth Springfield

BASS

Greg Michaels
Greg Miller
Steve Jefferson