TWC Announces July 30 TWC TV Special Guests For Historic 60th Anniversary Season Launch

The Washington Chorus (TWC) is thrilled to announce a slate of special guests for the Thursday, July 30, 5 pm (Eastern) TWC TV episode previewing our groundbreaking 2020-21 seasonTWC’s 60th anniversary season and the first under newly named Artistic Director, Dr. Eugene Rogers. 

Each of these internationally acclaimed artists are collaborating with TWC on one or more programs in our 2020-21 season, and we can’t wait to share the details of the projects, performances, commissions, and collaborations ahead with these extraordinary artists to bring bold, urgent, inclusive music and stories to life in our 2020-21 season.  

Click here to RSVP for our July 30 TWC TV episode. 

TWC TV / July 30, 5 pm Eastern episode // Announcing TWC’s 60th Anniversary Season, the first of new Artistic Director Dr. Eugene Rogers 

Special guest TWC 2020-21 season artistic collaborators:  

Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize winning American poet Samiya Bashir makes poems of dirt. Sometimes zeros and ones. Sometimes variously rendered text. Sometimes light. Her work has been widely published, performed, installed, printed, screened, experienced, and Oxford comma’d. She is represented by Blue Flower Arts and teaches at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. 

Bob Berg is Senior Producer/Director of Photography at Michigan Media and has earned one national and 63 regional Emmy awards for his work. He recently created an acclaimed documentary on “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by composer Joel Thompson, as premiered and performed by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, led by Dr. Eugene Rogers. 

Recognized by Chorus America with the 2019 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal, conductor and vocalist Katherine Fitzgibbon is founding Artistic Director of the acclaimed Resonance Ensemble professional vocal ensemble, and Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lewis & Clark College. 

Composer Damien Geter infuses classical music with various styles from the black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice. Also a professionally trained classical singer, Damien's 2019-2020 season included appearances with the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, and Resonance Ensemble. 

Dr. Monique Holmes-Spells: a performer, educator, and choreographer, Holmes is the Chair of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Vocal Music program, Director of the Concert Choir, and Show Choir Ensembles, and a performer with The Sphinx Organization's EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble. 

Robert Istad became the Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale in 2017, after serving as Assistant Conductor since 2004. He has conducted Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony Orchestra in performance, and has prepared choruses for a number of America’s finest conductors and orchestras. 

Award winning Soprano Aundi Marie Moore is a proud native of Chesapeake, Virginia and quickly establishing herself as one of America's leading young sopranos, receiving accolades from audience and critics alike. An alum of the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist Program, Ms. Moore has performed with opera companies and orchestras across the globe. 

J. David Moore is a composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, and Southerner who has lived in the Upper Midwest for most of his life. His music has been called “endlessly inventive,” “glorious, haunting… and breathtaking.” He publishes through his company Fresh Ayre Music.

Conductor Frank Nemhauser is Music Director of Berkshire Choral International where he has served since 1992, and Associate Professor and Director of Vocal Studies at Mannes School of Music in New York. He has conducted, performed with, and prepared choruses for some of the world’s leading orchestras and choirs.