2022 Winter Concert

The Cecilia Chorus of New York
The Cecilia Chorus of New York returned to Carnegie Hall with Margaret Bonds’s The Ballad of the Brown King, presented alongside Bach’s Magnificat and Part V of his Christmas Oratorio. The program fulfilled Bonds’s wish for her cantata to be performed at Carnegie Hall in the company of Bach and Handel. 

As Marketing and Publicity Chair, I led a team of more than 20 volunteers in creating a multimedia campaign that brought the concert’s history, significance, and sense of occasion to audiences.




Credits
Creative Director: Ben McCoy
Copywriters: Ben McCoy, Norma Vavolizza, Nahma Meyers, Jess Thompson, Stephanie Madden, Joe Tesoro
Designers: Ben McCoy, Margaret Hall, Olga Baranova
Webmaster: Jacob Strohm
Assistant Webmaster: Nathaniel Stanford
Audience Strategist: Juliette Ducasse
Mailchimp Specialist: Bob Brokaw
Social Media Coordinator: Bailey Hancharik and Colleen Owen
Press Coordinator: Stephanie Madden
Press Liaison: Jeff James
DEI Reviewers: Elizabeth Shepard, Bob Brokaw, Beverly Brooks
Proofreaders: Julia Schnakenberg, Joe Tesoro, Melody Owens, Nastia Kourotchina, Marta Spiga, Elizabeth Shepard, Aithne Bialo Padín

Carnegie Hall Poster
Postcard, front and back
Carnegie Hall website photo
Eblast 1
Eblast 2
Eblast 3


Interviews





Social Media

Facebook and Instagram, select posts also appeared on LinkedIn

Post copy: Bach meets Bonds—a historic season opener in December. Followed by a world premiere in April and so much more. Ceciliachorusny.org
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=492934196178681&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: The Cecilia Chorus of New York has been in existence for 116 years, making us one of the oldest choruses in New York! #classicallegacy
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=494772072661560&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Kearstin Piper Brown, Soprano , Melisa Bonetti, Aaron Crouch, and
Markel Reed join us at #CarnegieHall on Dec. 11 with dynamic music fit for the season by #Bach and #MargaretBonds.

https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=500152032123564&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Celebrate the holidays with our extraordinary guest vocalists and the perfect musical pairing: Bach and Bonds.

https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=501102832028484&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Last season, soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, Soprano starred at Lincoln Center in the opera “Intimate Apparel”, winning raves and awards for her poignant and powerful portrayal of a woman determined to shape her own destiny. In her Carnegie Hall debut this December, Brown helps another formidable woman fulfill the destiny she envisioned when she sings Margaret Bonds’s “The Ballad of the Brown King” plus two beloved Bach masterworks.

https://www.kearstinpiperbrown.com/
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=506881784783922&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: How to describe the singing of Dominican-American mezzo-soprano, Melisa Mimi Bonetti Bonetti? #OperaToday calls it “warm, supple, commanding, wonderful, soaring heavenward”. Does that sound like the perfect voice to take Bach’s beloved “Magnificat” and “Christmas Oratorio” to celestial heights? Join us and hear for yourself on December 11 at Carnegie Hall.

https://www.melisabonettimezzo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=510529264419174&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: How to describe the singing of Dominican-American mezzo-soprano, Melisa Mimi Bonetti Bonetti? #OperaToday calls it “warm, supple, commanding, wonderful, soaring heavenward”. Does that sound like the perfect voice to take Bach’s beloved “Magnificat” and “Christmas Oratorio” to celestial heights? Join us and hear for yourself on December 11 at Carnegie Hall.

https://www.melisabonettimezzo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513204740818293&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: After #MargaretBonds and Langston Hughes had become close friends and collaborators, Bonds said that Hughes’s poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" "helped save me." #mentalhealthmusicans #composertrivia
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=514306334041467&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Hear award-winning tenor soloist Aaron Crouch (“riveting” – Huffington Post) in his #CarnegieHall debut on Dec. 11 in a musical pairing long overdue: J.S. Bach (“Christmas Oratorio” — Part V and “Magnificat”) and Margaret Bonds (“The Ballad of the Brown King”).

https://aaroncrouchmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=520556686749765&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Born 1893, Dr. Monroe Alpheus Majors, father of American composer #MargaretBonds (1913-1972), published the book “Noted Negro Women: Their Triumphs and Activities.” Majors, who died in 1960 at age 96, lived to see his daughter win international fame.

Hear her cantata “The Ballad of the Brown King” at Carnegie Hall Sunday, December 11 at 2pm.

https://ceciliachorusny.org/the-ballad-of-the-brown-king-22
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=521398619998905&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Masterworks from Bach and Bonds — a perfect pairing of Baroque and modern choral classics for the holidays. https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=523941663077934&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Baritone Markel Reed is a rising star in opera and oratorio, whose range extends from classics to new works (“The Tongue and the Lash”). He makes his #CarnegieHall debut with us on Dec. 11 in a pairing tailor-made for his gifts: J.S. Bach (“Christmas Oratorio” — Part V and “Magnificat”), and Margaret Bonds (a reprise of our 2021 #CarnegieHallPremiere of Bonds’s“The Ballad of the Brown King”).
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=524712869667480&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: The “Magnificat” is one of the biblical texts most frequently set to music. So much so that Bach’s famous setting isn’t the only one he wrote! #DontCallItAComeBach #ComposerTrivia
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=528045789334188&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Tickets are here! Order now for our not-to-be missed holiday concert: beloved Bach meets brilliant Bonds.
https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=534057885399645&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: In 1929, at the onset of the Great Depression, American composer #MargaretBonds (1913-1972) entered Northwestern University at age 16. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1933 and her master’s degree in 1934.

Hear her cantata, “The Ballad of the Brown King” at Carnegie Hall Sunday, December 11 at 2pm.

https://ceciliachorusny.org/the-ballad-of-the-brown-king-22
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=534799061992194&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: From classics like “Rigoletto” (OperaSouth) and “La bohème” (New Orleans Opera Association), to holiday pops and a celebration of Black composers (Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) to the world premiere of the new chamber opera “Southern Crossings” (Barnard College), gorgeous lyric soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, Soprano does it all. She joins us at Carnegie Hall singing “The Ballad of the Brown King.” We think she’s just what polystylist composer Margaret Bonds had in mind. Link in bio.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=537161988422568&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: “Charismatic”, says the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Mezzo-Soprano Melisa Mimi Bonetti has a career that spans grand, Latin, and pop opera, jazz, rock, hip-hop/classical fusion, a #grammynominated recording, and more. She balances that with a passion for connecting with youth as a music educator in community engagement programs. Says Melisa, “I’m thrilled to be the first Dominican woman ever to solo as a classical singer on the Carnegie Hall mainstage — and make my Carnegie debut with The Cecilia Chorus of New York”!

https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of...
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=543197684485665&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Mark Shapiro and Malcolm Merriweather discuss Merriweather’s arrangement of Margaret Bonds’s 1954 Christmas cantata, “The Ballad of the Brown King.” 
Shapiro conducts our upcoming Dec. 11 Carnegie Hall performance of the “Ballad”, plus music by Bach. Tickets on sale here: https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/TheCeciliaChorusOfNewYork/posts/pfbid0M3CTQ8pABKyGsP8QrCMTNTLxB7GN88hZhGxNmpgQWtAig3kQ674v2gwPPE1hqT54l
Post copy: In 1964, American composer #MargaretBonds (1913-1972) wrote “Montgomery Variations” for orchestra. Citing the Montgomery bus boycotts and the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, Bonds said she wanted to give musical expression to Southern Blacks’ rejection of Jim Crow segregationism.

Hear her cantata, “The Ballad of the Brown King” at Carnegie Hall Sunday, December 11 at 2pm.

https://ceciliachorusny.org/the-ballad-of-the-brown-king-22
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=545685224236911&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Multi-award winning tenor Aaron Crouch, Tenor joins us at Carnegie Hall on Dec. 11 at 2pm for our holiday combo of #MargaretBonds and #Bach. New York Times has called his performances “arresting,” and NBC said, “he could be one of the finest singers of our generation."

https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of...
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=548852040586896&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: #MargaretBonds had a dream that her work “The Ballad of the Brown King” would be “programmed with Bach and Handel.” We’re helping her achieve that dream. Last season we programmed the “Ballad” with Handel’s “Messiah,” and this season with Bach’s “Magnificat” and an excerpt from his “Christmas Oratorio!” #ComposerDreamsAchieved #ComposerTrivia
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=549642347174532&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Soprano soloist Kearstin Piper Brown talks with The Cecilia Chorus of New York Music Director Mark Shapiro about her musical journey and her Carnegie Hall debut on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2pm. 
Get your preferred seats. Link in bio.
https://www.facebook.com/TheCeciliaChorusOfNewYork/posts/pfbid02Ld4ZmMkuR9doKspdjjpF31kchhbKfgSM8stKSi6FuPa2eELCnvvyBfwXSac7UwWLl
Post copy: The holiday season’s choral classic combo: Bach and Bonds — together at last. Get 15% off with CEC40647. https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=550422137096553&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 10 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=551269993678434&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 9 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at link in bio.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=552093103596123&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 8 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=552922213513212&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 7 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=553694350102665&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 6 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554478690024231&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: From North America to Europe, baritone Markel Reed has “delighted the crowd with his musical and dramatic expression,” as The Salt Lake Tribune said of his performances with the Utah Opera His “alluring” (Upstage Post) talent joins us on Carnegie Hall’s stage to perform #MargaretBonds and #Bach on Dec. 11 at 2pm.
https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of...
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554661586672608&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 5 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=555365003268933&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: 4 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=556194103186023&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Only 3 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=557119956426771&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Only 2 days left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=558000099672090&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: There’s still time. Order tickets now for our holiday concert extraordinaire and use CEC40647 for 15% off. https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=558202876318479&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Just 1 day left! Use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=558927439579356&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Today’s the day! Last chance to use CEC40647 for 15% off at https://www.carnegiehall.org/.../The-Cecilia-Chorus-of....
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=560122979459802&set=a.359635422841893
Post copy: Behind the scenes as we celebrate our incredible Carnegie Hall concert. Be sure to catch the next one in April!
Kearstin Piper Brown, Soprano, Melisa Mimi Bonetti, Aaron Crouch, Tenor, Markel Reed, Every Voice Choirs, Mark Shapiro, orchestra, and our own members!
https://www.facebook.com/TheCeciliaChorusOfNewYork/posts/pfbid02aettzQQKnWVNBfTHVQ4WZm2Tg4i3Wd4UgRcCa5jqFvcqKPeiyL1tUqGMtWaoudjnl