40th Anniversary Alumni Page
Four decades ago, Beverly Burns was the first woman to captain a 747.
And Cantori New York was founded.
After 25,000 hours of flight time, Captain Burns retired in 2008; but Cantori, now in our 40th season, shows no sign of slowing down.
As the group’s conductor for the past 33 years, I’ve been privileged to witness the fantastic commitment, artistry, and derring-do of our incredible roster of members, including you! What a journey we’ve had.
On Saturday May 10 at 7:30 PM, in New York’s renowned Merkin Hall, Cantori will give a gala concert in celebration of this landmark. We warmly invite Cantori alumni from all over to join us! The group has created a special discount code for alumni that can be used when purchasing tickets through the Merkin Hall Box Office. Tickets will go on sale soon. Check here for updates and more details.
The concert will close with all of us (including alumni) singing George Dyson’s transcendent setting of "To Music", followed by a reception. The occasion will be a healing one for our troubled times and hearts, and I so hope you can find a way to come.
Please send us an email to RSVP. Your presence will mean the world to us.
Your faithful servant,
Mark Shapiro
Artistic Director and Conductor, Cantori New York
May 10, 2025, 7:30pm (one night only!)
40th Anniversary Concert at Merkin Hall
Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023
The final concert of the season will feature Cantori favorites for chorus and string quartet, including Gregory Spears’s The Tower and the Garden and Elisenda Fábregas’s The Flaming Rock. Anchoring the program is a new work by Laura Schwendinger titled Silent Springs, on a libretto by Ginger Strand and a reprise of the season opener In the Beginning by Aaron Copland. With the Bergamot Quartet and Gabrielle Barkidjija, mezzo soprano.