2019–20 Season

On the first Sunday in Lent, the solemn six weeks leading to Easter, Te Deum presented Victoria’s Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Lamentations in the beautiful acoustics and serene atmosphere of Our Lady of Sorrows. The chants woven throughout the concert were a special aspect of this performance. Te Deum brought in the world’s foremost expert on performing liturgical chant. Professor Eugene Liven d’Abelardo of the Netherlands. He was in residence for a week to coach our ensemble in Gregorian chant performance. 

Te Deum presented an exciting and engaging version of its now annual “Peace and Joy” concert. This season’s concerts focused on two of the season’s most important themes, music of peace and joy, and also gave special attention to local Kansas City composers. The concert featured world premieres by composers Ed Frazier Davis and Geoff Wilcken and the performance of one of the most virtuosic and grand choral pieces ever composed, Schoenberg’s Friede Auf Erden (Peace on Earth). 

“Be a Blessing” paired a Beatitude with a non-​biblical text that illuminates the humanistic values of the scripture, inspiring listeners to be generous and caring citizens, regardless of faith background. The universality of goodness is demonstrated in ways that are inclusive and enlivening, with texts from Thoreau, British Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue, and even courtroom testimony. The primary work upon which the concert is set is contemporary British composer Patrick Hawes’ Beatitudes, written for choir and piano.