Selected Performances

Here are a few of our favorite performances from the past five years, including those performed under our previous name.*  We'll be posting about upcoming performances here, too!

December 2022

A little Sondheim

In December we took to the stage to share some music with our friends and families, performing for the first time under our new name, the Washington Heights Community Choir.

Tabitha selected this gorgeous song, Take Me to the World, from the Stephen Sondheim musical, Evening Primrose.
Fun fact - the show was written for television and originally aired in 1966 on the series ABC Stage 67. Another fun fact - we loved singing this piece!

Director: Tabitha Allen / Pianist: Jesse Warkentin / Videographer: Mary Glen Fredrick

MAY 2022

A requiem for our time

In our first post-COVID concert, we performed Dan Forrest's Requiem for the Living accompanied by members of the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra and featuring guest mezzo-soprano Kathryn Janssen. This moving performance was our last under the direction of the gifted and dedicated Chris Whittaker. 

DECEMBER 2021

Back together, post-pandemic

As with most choirs, our singing was put on pause for a year and a half during the height of the pandemic. Reunited in the Fall of 2021, we were beyond joyful to sing together again. We did not perform that season but did record several songs to mark our return. Directed by Chris Whittaker.

DECEMBER 2018

Handel, but make it jazzy

In 2018 we played the role of backup singers to a group of incredibly talented gospel vocalists, in this jazz/gospel/latin-infused production that re-imagines Handel's Messiah. Under the direction of Chris Whittaker and accompanied by the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra, this one-night-only performance at the United Palace was an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

MAY 2018

Celebrating Spring and local composers

Our Spring concert showcased a broad range of works and composers, both classical and contemporary. Directed by Chris Whittaker, the concert featured choral works by both Chris, and our accompanist, Alison Beck.

Program: Leonard Bernstein: Warm Up; Tomás de Luis Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium; Francisco Nunez: 3 Dominican Folk Songs; Eleanor Aversa: Knock On Wood; Alison Beck: Passing Faces; Francis Poulenc: Gloria; Chris Whittaker: The Way Wings Should (Premiere); Arr. Stacey V. Gibbs: Roll, Jordan, Roll.

DECEMBER 2017

Bridges, psalms, and wild things

This concert was an eclectic mix of music, including a series of Chinese folk songs, a rousing spiritual, and a new work by local composer David Fox, also one of our Tenors. Directed by Chris Whittaker.

Program: Libby Larsen: I Will Sing and Raise a Psalm; Chen Yi: Three Chinese Folk Songs; David Fox: The Bridge (world premiere); Jake Runestad: The Peace of Wild Things; Randall Thompson: Alleluia; Sergei Rachmaninoff: Bogoroditse Devo from All-Night Vigil; Moses Hogan: Music Down in My Soul.

We are a volunteer-run choir and keep our dues intentionally low, so that many can participate. Donate today, so we can keep Uptown Manhattan singing!

Washington Heights Community Choir operates as a project of Players Philanthropy Fund, a Maryland charitable trust recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178, ppf.org/pp). Contributions to Washington Heights Community Choir qualify as tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.