Featuring the U.S. Premiere of See the Wretched Strangers by Lucas Wiegerink
With Host Harry Smith and Guest Artists Judy Collins and Jason Robert Brown
Jamet Pittman and Arthur Fiacco, Soloists
Kent Tritle, Conductor

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine rings in 2018 with the 33rd annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace on Sunday, December 31, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan. This signature event is one of many comprising the 2017–2018 season of Great Music in a Great Space.

This year’s concert begins with Joseph Haydn’s glorious Te Deum. The program continues with the U.S. premiere of See the Wretched Strangers by composer Lucas Wiegerink; the text, written by Shakespeare, is an impassioned commentary on immigration and refugees. A series of choral songs about our shared Earth continues the theme of neighborly compassion, inspiring a renewal of hope for the coming year.

In addition to performances by Jason Robert Brown and Judy Collins, joined by host Harry Smith, with soloists Jamet Pittman and Arthur Fiacco, this year’s concert honors the centennial of Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein founded the New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace in 1984, and is remembered in excerpts from his Mass. This annual concert bears Bernstein’s imprint, and has become one of the Cathedral’s most celebrated events.

A limited number of general admission seats are free and open to the public, on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticketed seating is also available, at $40 (general admission), $100 (preferred seating), and $150 (premium seating). For additional information and to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.stjohndivine.org/visit/calendar/events/music/4035/new-years-eve-concert-for-peace-5

PROGRAM
Joseph Haydn
Te Deum

Lucas Wiegerink
See the Wretched Strangers (2016, U.S. premiere)

Rupert Lang
Earth Teach Me

Frank Ticheli
Earth Song

Leonard Bernstein
Chorales from Mass

Soloists
Jamet Pittman, soprano
Arthur Fiacco, cello