Who are we?

Garnering praise from such composers as Eric Whitacre, Ola Gjeilo, and Paul Mealor, Lux is a semi-professional chamber choir that specializes in contemporary choral music. Founded in 2014 by member Robby Napoli, this award-winning ensemble performs with a dedication to excellence, innovation, and accessibility in choral performance, bringing their youth to light through their excitement for vocal art music.

​Lux has been met with some of the highest compliments from professors at local conservatories, the world's most loved composers, music educators, professional musicians, and casual audience members all over the east coast. Their release, Now Ye Heavenly Powers, featuring over an hour of stunning music, was met with great acclaim from composers, critics, and more, becoming the Featured Choral Album on Classical MPR's choral radio station, joining other past winners such as Voces8, Tenebrae, and The Sixteen, to name a few. Today, they’ve finished nine seasons over a span of four years, have been recognized as one of Washington D.C.’s best choirs, and are on their way to releasing their third album.
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With engagements in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. areas, Lux continues to grow its name along the east coast as it works further towards its mission to excite and inspire audiences with innovative, engaging, and accessible concert experiences.

Our History

While on retreat in the Fall of 2014, the choir at DeMatha Catholic High School read through a beautiful piece written by Morten Lauridsen called Ave Dulcissima Maria. Soon-to-be director Robby Napoli and many others loved the piece, and were sad to hear that they were not, in fact, going to perform it. Then they did what any group of high school juniors and seniors would do - they got a group together and learned it themselves! They gathered at St. Jerome's Church, where the group still rehearses, and learned this piece and two others, recording them with a camcorder. Only one song came out well, but listening to that recording gave them a feeling they'd never had before.

Later that year, Robby and baritone John Mullan saw Eric Whitacre conduct a program at the Kennedy Center. When the choir began singing Whitacre's Sainte-Chapelle,​ they were floored. As time went on, they, along with bass Thomas Rust, only became more enamored of the piece, so they got more friends together to try it out. The next Winter, they gathered again with even more passionate and young singers, and a choir was born. In the Summer of 2016, the group finally settled on a name, Lux, put on their first concert, and released their first album. Today, they've finished nine seasons over a span of four-and-a-half years, and have released their newest album, Now Ye Heavenly Powers.

“What repertoire do you do?”
That's a great question! Below you'll find links to concert programs, recordings, and videos to give you an idea of what we love singing. 

• Concert Programs
• ​Hear for yourself
• Concert Videos

What's in a name?

Our name, Lux, (pronounced the same way as "Luke's") is the Latin word for "light". We chose it for a few reasons—for instance, it sounds cool, and we've often performed works from Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque series—but the main idea is that the stuffiness and self-seriousness so often associated with classical music today are unnecessary and ought to be thrown out. Classical music has more than enough heaviness. Time to add a little light.

Six of the original seven members of Lux still sing with the group today. (left to right): John-Paul Teti, John Mullan, Robby Napoli, Ciaran Cain, and Thomas Rust (Anthony Jones not pictured)