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Artistic Director Brandon Elliott and Choral Arts Initiative (CAI) will present an ambitious Season 13 with 30 premieres

Updated: Jul 19


Photo collage of 20 composers featured in Season 13.

Irvine, CA – July 18, 2024 – Today, Artistic Director Brandon Elliott and Choral Arts Initiative announce their 2024-25 season. The southern California-based ensemble – recognized as a champion of new music as a recipient of the American Prize in Choral Performance and an ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming – will present five performances in its 13th season, each building upon the narrative arc of the season theme: “Metamorphosis—transformation and renewal.” 


Presenting thoughtfully curated programs featuring a vibrant roster of living composers worldwide, the season-long narrative arc explores profound journeys of change, growth, and rebirth, individually and collectively. Choral Arts Initiative’s season opens November 3, 2024, with, From the Heart. The program takes the listeners on a journey from struggle to triumph, featuring world premieres by Samuel Siskind and Paul Ayres with additional West Coast premieres by Lansing McLoskey, Shara Nova, and Yiran Zhao. Ascension on February 23, 2025 examines spiritual and sacred transformations featuring a multi-movement world premiere by Alexander Levine and additional West Coast premieres by Bora Yoon, Osnat Netzer, Roderick Williams, Kevin Hartnett, and James Keller. On April 6, 2025, Choral Arts Initiative presents a new offering featuring solo and chamber works in Intimate Voices with new solo vocal works by Christopher Cerrone, Vivian Fung, Che Buford, Joe Jaxson, and more. On May 18, 2025, Transformation features two extended works that explore themes of displacement, nature, and renewal with the world premiere of the mixed chorus version of Anne Dudley’s One Touch of Nature and the United States premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s Exile Meditations. To conclude the ambitious Season 13, Choral Arts Initiative presents its sixth annual PREMIERE|Project Festival on June 27, 2025, during which selected emerging composers come to finalize a composition in a workshop setting. The concluding concert includes a live and recorded world premiere of each composer’s work.


“Each season becomes more ambitious, more vibrant, and more innovative, and Season 13 is certainly our boldest artistic statement yet,” says Chairperson of the Board, Loren Asmus. Artistic Director Brandon Elliott remarked on the new season, “Season 13 was meticulously and thoughtfully crafted to share lived experiences from our most diverse roster of composers to date. Despite a list of over thirty works, all pieces are connected by a narrative thread within and among each program throughout the season. Through the music, we aim to explore the essence of change, growth, and transformation in various forms. The emotional and musical depth of this season makes me immensely proud and excited to share this music with our community.” 


Choral Arts Initiative | Season 13 | 2024-25

Brandon Elliott, Artistic Director



Fall 2024: From the Heart


Sunday, November 3, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Newport Beach 92660


Join us for our Season 13 opening performance From the Heart, where the theme of transformation comes alive through imaginative choral music. Samuel Siskind's "Release" takes us on a journey from struggle to triumph, embodying personal evolution. Paul Ayres' "Night" evokes the timeless change of nature in its world premiere. Shara Nova's "I Have Never Loved Someone" beautifully captures the evolving nature of love in its West Coast debut. Lansing McLoskey’s "You Have a Name and a Place" explores the complex transitions of faith and sexual identity through poignant poetry. Lauren Lynn's "Pieces of My Heart" reflects on the journey of self-discovery, while Ted Hearne's "What it Might Say" contemplates the changing relationship between mother and child. Yiran Zhao's "This is not a story. This is how I lived." delves into the cycles of life and nature, and Mia Makaroff's "Butterfly" encapsulates the fleeting beauty of transformation. Experience the profound and varied ways change is expressed through contemporary choral music.


Program Repertoire


Release, Samuel Siskind (World Premiere)

Night, Paul Ayres (World Premiere)

You have a Name and a Place, Lansing McKlosky (West Coast Premiere)

I Have Never Loved Someone, Shara Nova (West Coast Premiere)

This is not a story. This is how I lived., Yiran Zhao (West Coast Premiere)

Pieces of My Heart, Lauren Bydalek 

What it Might Say, Ted Hearne 

Butterfly, Mia Makaroff 


Winter 2025: Ascension


Sunday, February 23 at 4:30 p.m.

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Newport Beach 92660


Join us for Ascension, where the journey of spiritual and sacred transformation is explored through new choral works. Bora Yoon’s “Light Will Someday Split You Open” invites us to awaken to a higher consciousness. Alexander Levine’s “Canticum Graduum” celebrates the ascent to divine unity in its world premiere. Osnat Netzer’s “Paths of Stone and Water” blends poetry and psalms to depict a spiritual journey. Roderick Williams "Ave Verum Corpus Reimagined," weaves an intricate tapestry of ancient and modern textures. Kevin Hartnett’s “De Profundis” mediates on the juxtaposition between desperation and redemption, and James Keller’s “If I Could Only Weep” poignantly expresses the yearning for emotional release. This performance invites you to experience moments of enlightenment through the beauty of choral music.


Program Repertoire


Canticum Graduum, Alexander Levine (World Premiere)

Light Will Someday Split You Open, Bora Yoon (West Coast Premiere)

Paths of Stone and Water, Osnat Netzer (West Coast Premiere) 

Ave Verum Corpus Reimagined, Roderick Williams (West Coast Premiere)

De Profundis, Kevin Hartnett (United States Premiere)

If I Could Only Weep, James Keller (West Coast Premiere)


Early Spring 2025: Intimate Voices


Sunday, April 6 at 4:30 p.m.

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Newport Beach 92660


We are excited to introduce a new addition to our season: Intimate Voices. This special program showcases solo and chamber repertoire, providing a unique opportunity to experience new music in a more personal and immersive setting. Featuring the works of acclaimed composers Vivian Fung, Che Buford, Joe Jaxson, Christopher Cerrone, and more, this performance highlights the creativity and depth of contemporary vocal music. With a smaller roster of just a dozen Choral Artists, the performance promises to deliver a close-up experience of vocal artistry and innovation. 


Program Repertoire


Solo and chamber works by Christopher Cerrone, Che Buford, Joe Jaxson, Vivian, Fung, and more are to be announced. 


Late Spring 2025: Transformation


Sunday, May 18 at 4:30 p.m.

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Newport Beach 92660


Join us for an evening of transformative music as part of our season's exploration of metamorphosis. Gabriel Jackson's “Exile Meditations” makes its United States premiere, presenting a seven-movement journey of exile, longing, and the quest for identity. Through powerful texts and evocative music, Jackson delves into the deep emotional landscape of displacement and the search for belonging.


Anne Dudley's “One Touch of Nature” for chorus and piano will receive its world premiere. Inspired by Shakespeare's "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin," this six-movement work draws from texts by Algernon Charles Swinburne, Bessie Rayner Parkes, Rabindranath Tagore, and John Burroughs. Dudley explores our fractured relationship with the natural world and nature's capacity for renewal, concluding with a reflective soprano solo that invites listeners to ponder their own connection to nature.


Together, these works create a profound narrative of transformation and resilience. “Exile Meditations” captures the painful journey of exile and the enduring hope for a homeland, while “One Touch of Nature” reflects on the healing and unifying power of the natural world. 


Program Repertoire


Exile Meditations, Gabriel Jackson (United States Premiere)

One Touch of Nature, Anne Dudley (World Premiere)


Summer 2025: PREMIERE|Project Festival 2025


Friday, June 27 at 7 p.m.

Zhang Hall @ Concordia University Irvine

Irvine, CA 92612


Composers and artists are to be announced in Spring 2025.


More information can be found at choralartsinitiative.org


About Choral Arts Initiative

Founded by Artistic Director Brandon Elliott, Choral Arts Initiative is a non-profit 501(c)(3) choral organization comprised of some of the most talented and passionate new music vocal artists in the Southern California region. Widely recognized as a champion of new music, Choral Arts Initiative has been praised as "gracefully lyrical" (Tim Mangan, Voice of OC), hailed as one of Orange County’s "Best Choirs" (CBS News, Los Angeles), and noted for its "sublime" and "triumphant" performances (Ron Schepper, Textura).  Winner of the American Prize in Choral Performance, recipient of the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and Winner of the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards for Best New Music Performance, Choral Arts Initiative continues its commitment to musical innovation. Their inaugural album, "How to Go On: The Choral Works of Dale Trumbore," ranked #6 on the Billboard Charts (Traditional Classical Albums), and #4 Best Seller on iTunes Classical Charts. Their second album, "From Wilderness: A Meditation on the Pacific Crest Trail" charted for three weeks on Billboard (Traditional Classical Albums) and was the #1 Best Seller on Amazon and iTunes. Their third album, “Tapestry of Becoming,” quickly soared to #1 on the Billboard Charts (Traditional Classical Albums). Their passion for new music has led to the commission of twenty-five compositions and the premiere of over one hundred works.


About Brandon Elliott, Artistic Director

Dr. Brandon Elliott enjoys an expansive career as a conductor-educator, musician, arts leader, and consultant. He is the Founder & Artistic Director of Choral Arts Initiative, an award-winning new music choral ensemble based in Orange County, California. Under his leadership, Choral Arts Initiative receives critical acclaim and recognition for its artistic excellence, musical innovation, and dedication to performing music from a vibrant roster of living composers. With a passion for new music, he has commissioned 25 works, conducted over 100 premieres, and released two Billboard-charting albums. In his work with Choral Arts Initiative, Brandon earned the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming and the Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 


Equally passionate about teaching, training, and mentoring musicians, Brandon is the Choral and Vocal Studies Director at Saddleback College. He previously served as Director of Choral & Vocal Activities at Moorpark College for nine years. He regularly serves as an adjudicator, clinician, preparatory conductor, guest conductor, and guest speaker for festivals, competitions, and local K-12 programs. His commitment to music education was recognized by the Recording Academy as a 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award semifinalist.


Brandon maintains professional memberships with ACDA, NAfME, MACCC, TEA, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education, Chorus America, and the Recording Academy. His writings have been featured in Cantus, Tactus, and The Music Educators Journal. Additionally, he has presented on choral entrepreneurship at the 2016, 2017, and 2023 Chorus America national conferences. He is the national Repertoire & Resources Chair for 2-Year Colleges with the American Choral Directors Association. He previously served on the California Choral Directors Association board as the Repertoire & Resources Chair for Community and Professional choruses. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and a teaching credential from California State University, Fullerton, a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a specialist certificate in Music Business Leadership from the Berklee College of Music, and a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California. In his spare time, Brandon volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) where he works with the school, court, and foster systems to advocate for abused and neglected children. Learn more at brandon-elliott.com



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