LUX - News

Amanda Densmoor to Perform on Virtual Recital

4/11/2021

Just days after Beth Ann Zinkievich's junior recital, Amanda Densmoor will be performing on yet another University of Maryland recital! The soprano will be featured on doctoral candidate Alex Chan's piano recital, which includes works by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and Ned Rorem, among others. Entitled Unusual Texts, the recital features art songs which have been composed on non-poetic texts. The free recital will be streamed on Vimeo on Wednesday, April 14, at 8PM.

While you wait, enjoy a preview video from their rehearsal including Alex Chan, Alfonso Hernandez, Colin Doyle, and our own Amanda Densmoor!

recital program

Lux Wins Two Wammies

4/2/2021

In a year riddled with virtual performances and other compromises, we feel so fortunate to announce that we've won two Wammie Awards! The Wammie Awards is a 33-year-old award show aimed at recognizing DC, Maryland, and Virginia area artists and musicians for their artistic works and impact across our region.

We've been honored with both Best Choral Album for My Lord Has Come, and Best Choral Group. We're so thankful for all of the singers, collaborators, recording engineers, donors, and volunteers who've played a role in our young history. We couldn't have done this without the support of all those in the Lux family!

Beth Ann Zinkievich to give junior recital

3/28/2021

On April 10, 2021, soprano Beth Ann Zinkievich will be giving her Junior Recital alongside fellow University of Maryland junior, Helen Mann (soprano). Featuring music spanning over 300 years, and composers like Bach, Schumann, Ravel, and Fauré, this recital is sure to please; and as if that wasn't enough, the duo finishes things off with a Sondheim set, featuring songs from Into the Woods, Follies, and Saturday Night.

The recital will be available virtually via YouTube livestream on Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 5pm, which you can watch right from this page! You can find the livestream in the embedded video below. For full-screen viewing, click the title of the video and select the full-screen option. Use the buttons below to access the program, as well as texts & translations.

texts & translations

Lux Announces Board of Directors

2/1/2021

After months of careful discussion and planning, we are pleased to introduce the first members of our new Board of Directors! To continue our organizational growth and strengthen our dedication to our mission, we decided it was time to bring in some experts from across the nation.

Two of the three board members were able to join the Executive Committee's first meeting of the year in January, after which Artistic Director Robby Napoli said, "I'm so excited to be working with such incredible people who share our passions for quality, accessibility, education, and inclusivity in choral music. Their experiences are going to bring a lot to the table; and we can't wait to get started."

Lux Nominated for Two Wammie Awards

1/4/2021

We are excited to announce that Lux Choir has been nominated for two Wammie Awards! Lux has received a nomination for Best Choral Group; and our Christmas album, My Lord Has Come, has received a nomination for Best Choral Album. To vote, you must create an account on the Wammie Awards website here. Voters must be residents of Maryland, DC, or Virginia to be considered eligible. After registering and confirming your email, you can go to the awards hub and vote for the artists or works nominated for each award. You can vote for as many nominees as you feel are deserving for each award; however, you may only vote once. To find and vote for Lux, you can search either by award or by group. Voting ends on January 31st, after which finalists will be announced for each award. Winners will then be selected from the groups of finalists by a panel of 50+ regional music industry professionals.

The Wammie Awards is a 32-year-old awards show curated by The MusicianShip, a DC-area organization dedicated to the enrichment of youth lives through music. The Wammie Awards aim to celebrate music creatives from DC, Maryland, and Virginia and highlight their work and their impact on the region. You can read more about the Wammie Awards by visiting their website here.

click here to register to vote for the Wammie awards

Cole Reyes Named Composition Contest Winner

12/14/2020

After reviewing 44 submissions from 11 countries, totaling over 3 hours of music, Lux's panel of judges for their first-ever composition contest has named a winner: Cole Reyes. The winning piece, Alleluia (The Rose), is a fresh and evocative setting of the famous text There is No Rose.

Lux Manager Emily Shallbetter, a judge of the contest, was "so impressed by so many of the submissions [Lux] received," and hopes that "all of our applicants enjoyed writing their pieces as much as I enjoyed listening to them."

On his winning piece, Reyes said, "I decided to use a classic Christmas text, There Is No Rose mostly because of its juxtaposition of English and Latin. We have, standing side-by-side, the old and the new." This contrast of old and new seems wholly fitting as the final part of Lux's Christmas From Home program, made up of both ancient chant and a newly-composed chant from local composer Christen Holmes, commissioned by Lux.

"This piece seeks to symbolize the current state of the winter season," Reyes says, "The month of December is a time full of holidays, religious and secular — a time filled with loved ones and gifts. We create traditions that we stand by year after year. This piece is a tribute to the evolution of traditions."

Cole Reyes's Alleluia (The Rose) will be premiered virtually as part of Lux's audience-interactive Winter Season, Christmas From Home.

Lux Announces Christmas From Home

11/7/2020

Lux is excited to announce their Winter Program for the Winter 2020-2021 Season. A continuation of Songs From Home, their virtual programming this past Fall, Christmas From Home is a fresh take on virtual choral programming. In a world stocked full of virtual choirs and concerts, Lux is taking a more interactive approach. The program will include digitally aleatoric settings of chants for the Christmas & Advent seasons, allowing listeners to create their own version of the piece each time they listen.

Although the program begins with ancient chant, Lux's love of contemporary choral music still shines through: The final chant programmed in the series is a newly-commissioned chant melody from Maryland-based composer Christen Holmes, and the culminating event of the series is the virtual world-premiere of the winning piece from their Composition Contest, which closes on December 12. Of the program, director Robby Napoli said, "I'm very excited about the novelty of the program, and I think it will be a welcome change from the virtual performances we've recently been inundated with. Most of all though, I'm excited that we've been able to tailor this season so perfectly to our mission, and I absolutely cannot wait to bring two brand new pieces to life."

The first release of the program, which is completely free to all, will be available on Lux's website beginning in early December. To learn more about Lux or buy their newest Christmas CD, visit their website at www.ChoirLux.com.

Support the singing you love.

Offerings like Christmas From Home are only possible with your help! Whether $5 or $5,000, consider supporting this project by giving to our Winter Donor Drive. Need a little more incentive? Our Donor Rewards program is our way of saying "thank you"! Click here and see what you'll receive for gifts as low as $50!

Our First-Ever Composition Contest

10/18/2020

...is here! We're all very excited to announce Lux's first venture into composition contests, and we can't wait to see your submissions! Open to choral composers of all ages, the winner of this contest will have their piece premiered in our Winter 2020-2021 season, which will run through December and parts of January. Aside from inclusion in our program, the winner will receive $750, a live premiere in a future Lux concert, and a studio recording in a future recording session!

For more information, read below, or contact [email protected] with any further questions.

submit your piece

We're Streaming!

8/5/2020

Our latest release, My Lord Has Come, is now available on Spotify and Apple Music! Blending the popular and the lesser known pieces that we've come to love into one release; My Lord Has Come includes simple arrangements of classic hymns next to more lush arrangements of classic melodies like Rathbone's Silent Night, and finally including other Christmas & Advent anthems like Howells's Sing Lullaby or Pärt's O Weisheit.

Listen now on your favorite streaming platform and continue supporting our music by making a donation or buying your copy of My Lord Has Come today!

Supporting Black Artists

6/8/2020

We're happy to announce the launching of a new page on our website--Supporting Black Artists. For far too long, Black voices have gained little attention in the arts, despite their massive contributions. We all must play a part in correcting that, and one of the steps we've taken here is to launch this page. It features an interactive list of organizations that are committed to creating spaces for Black artists in music, choral or otherwise, and what we can do to support their missions. It also features a form that you can fill out to give us suggestions for furthering our support Black artists. Lux is committed to supporting Black musicians everywhere. We are devoted to furthering our own initiatives to highlight the phenomenal Black musicians throughout the country. Black voices have been silenced for far too long, and we hope that we can help by amplifying those voices. Black Lives Matter.

Supporting black artists