TAPESTRY: The Music of US
As we celebrate five years of choral artistry, Orlando Sings presents a season woven with the voices, traditions, and musical expressions that bring us together. Tapestry: The Music of US features a wide range of music shaped by the American experience—honoring the sounds that connect our community, our country, and our shared story.
CONCERT DESCRIPTIONS
SING OUR STORY
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS | HARMONIA | APOLLO
Andrew Minear, Sandra Shafer, Zach Pecore | Conductors
November 25, 2025 7:30 PM | STEINMETZ HALL at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Our fifth season begins with a vibrant celebration of the voices that shape both our nation and the Greater Orlando community.
Sing Our Story brings together the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus, Harmonia, and our NEW tenor-bass choir Apollo in a program inspired by the rich cultural traditions that make up the American mosaic. Featuring music rooted in Latino, Indian, and other immigrant communities of Central Florida, this concert honors the diverse stories that continue to shape who we are as Americans.
Audiences will also encounter genres born on American soil—from spirituals to jazz, pop, barbershop, and Broadway—creating a musical tapestry that celebrates joy, complexity, and the ties that bind us together.
Experience the music of a nation in song—and hear how all our voices come together to sing our story.
A SOLARIA SOLSTICE
Reflections on Light and the New Year with Traditional Songs of the Season
SOLARIA SINGERS
Andrew Minear, Conductor
December 21, 2025 7:00 PM | ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART
Orlando Sings presents the 5th annual A Solaria Solstice—a luminous holiday concert featuring music for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, alongside new, classical, and multicultural works that reflect on the year’s longest night and the light of hope entering the world. Praised as “exquisite,” “transcendent,” and “the deepest expression of the cathartic power of music,” this evening offers a moving blend of song and spoken word.
Led by conductor Dr. Andrew Minear, Orlando’s own professional chamber choir, the Solaria Singers, performs in an acoustically excellent setting.
This concert transcends cultural and religious boundaries, offering space to reflect on both the literal and metaphorical seasons of darkness and light.
Solaria, recently named Orlando Weekly’s “Best Chamber Music Group,” has been hailed as “mind-blowing… delightful, entertaining, and thought-provoking.”
Perfect for: Anyone seeking an intimate, culturally rich, and emotionally resonant holiday experience that blends modern and traditional music with theatrical beauty.
EL MESÍAS (HANDEL’S MESSIAH)
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS & ORCHESTRA
Andrew Minear, Conductor
February 26, 2025 7:30 PM | STEINMETZ HALL at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
George Frideric Handel Messiah (performed in Spanish)
Experience Handel’s Messiah like never before—in Spanish.
Join the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus for a powerful and culturally rich performance of El Mesías, a full-length Spanish-language rendition of Handel’s beloved oratorio. This timeless masterwork, traditionally sung in English, takes on new life and immediacy when heard in the beauty and rhythm of the Spanish language. Performed with subtitles.
Led by Dr. Andrew Minear, the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus is joined by a professional orchestra and acclaimed soloists for this stirring presentation of one of the most cherished works of all time.
Whether you’re hearing Messiah for the first time or returning to it with fresh ears, El Mesías offers a powerful musical journey—rich with drama, beauty, and emotional depth.
ORLANDO SINGS CHORAL FESTIVAL 2026
VOICE AND FLAME
SOLARIA SINGERS & PLAYERS
Andrew Minear, Conductor
May 16, 2025 4:00 PM | ALEXIS & JIM PUGH THEATER
Marc-Antoine Charpentier Te Deum (H.146)
Veljo Tormis Curse Upon Iron
Francis Poulenc Figure Humaine
In this bold and evocative program, Orlando’s own professional choir, the Solaria Singers, weave together music across centuries that reflects humanity’s struggle, resilience, and hope in times of upheaval.
We begin with Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Te Deum (H.146), a radiant sacred work written in the courtly splendor of pre-Revolutionary France—music of glory, celebration, and divine order. From there, we move into the haunting and earthy sound world of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, whose powerful settings of traditional songs and anti-war incantations elevate the voice of the people and their deep connection to the land and spirit, written under the shadow of Soviet rule.
The program culminates in Francis Poulenc’s masterwork Figure Humaine, an unaccompanied double-choir tour de force set to the poetry of Paul Éluard, written in secret during the Nazi occupation of France. A breathtaking musical cry for liberty, dignity, and the restoration of humanity, Figure Humaine ends with Éluard’s iconic poem Liberté—a final, soaring affirmation of hope.
Though the music is European, the themes resonate powerfully with the American story. French Enlightenment thinkers gave voice to ideals that shaped our nation’s founding, and the ongoing pursuit of justice and freedom echoes across our own history and present. In this season of Tapestry – The Music of Us, this program invites us to reflect on the global threads that shape who we are and what we stand for.
This program explores the sacred and the secular, the institutional and the insurgent, and the power of song to bear witness to the soul of a people.
STAND TALL
HARMONIA & SOLARIA PLAYERS
Sandra Shafer, Conductor
May 16, 2025 8:00 PM | ALEXIS & JIM PUGH THEATER
Andrea Ramsey Suffrage Cantata
Harmonia’s STAND TALL graces our season with a vibrant portrait of the American women’s suffrage movement.
Suffrage Cantata is a groundbreaking, five-movement choral-oratorio for SSA chorus, soloists, piano, string quartet, narration, and percussion. Crafted after over a year of meticulous research, composer Andrea Ramsey interweaves original composition with historical speeches, letters, banners, and songs by women like Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, and Mary Church Terrell .
- “It Is Coming” sets the stage with early calls for rights.
- “Failure Is Impossible” portrays Anthony’s trial and defiance.
- “A Woman’s Place” honors Ida B. Wells and the 1913 suffrage parade.
- “Shall Not Be Denied” confronts the brutal backlash faced by protestors.
- “Forward Into Light” celebrates victory—and continues the journey onward, echoing Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s words “Lifting as we climb”
Ramsey’s score explores the messiness of history, weaving in narratives of courage and complexity—especially noting how some suffragists marginalized others—while honoring the overlooked contributions of women of color. In this tapestry-themed season, STAND TALL resonates on multiple levels: it celebrates voices woven from many backgrounds, reminds us how societal change is built across decades, and underscores the ongoing work to ensure every voice is heard. The powerful final movement invites us forward—together—into light.
CELEBRATE 250 YEARS OF THE UNITED STATES
ORLANDO SINGS SYMPHONIC CHORUS | HARMONIA | APOLLO | SENIOR SINGERS | SOLARIA PLAYERS
Andrew Minear, Sandra Shafer, & Zach Pecore, Conductors
J. Christine Le, Guest Conductor
Brandon Boyd, Special Guest Artist
May 19, 2025 7:30 PM
STEINMETZ HALL
Brandon Boyd Redeem the Dream
Michael Bussewitz-Quarm US
plus American Choral Classics & Patriotic Favorites in Honor of Veterans
Celebrate 250 Years of the United States is a landmark concert presented by Orlando Sings, bringing together over 300 singers from across Central Florida for a powerful musical tribute to our nation’s founding ideals. The program features Orlando Sings’ Symphonic Chorus and Harmonia, joined by the Senior Singers from a local retirement community and guest high school choirs—creating a dynamic, multi-generational performance of American music.
At the heart of the program is Redeem the Dream by Brandon Boyd, a stirring work rooted in the Declaration of Independence and inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem Let America Be America Again. This piece invites audiences to reflect on the founding promise that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights. Through music, it encourages listeners to honor that legacy while considering how each generation carries forward the American dream.
The program also features US by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. Drawing from the wisdom of American voices across generations including the founding fathers, this inspiring new work highlights the habits that strengthen our country and uphold our way of life. These include being informed, getting involved, staying civil in public discourse, and putting country over partisanship. At its heart is the founding ideal expressed in our national motto—“E Pluribus Unum”— a guiding principle for American unity through shared responsibility and self-governance.
The grand finale of the evening will be powerful patriotic music and tributes honoring veterans of all generations who have served and sacrificed to preserve freedom at home and abroad. Through a deeply moving and educational musical experience, this concert will inspire pride, reflection, and renewed civic spirit in audiences of all ages.
COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES
Sunday Live! at Lutheran Towers
PROGRAM: BE THE LOVE
SOLARIA SINGERS (octet)
Andrew Minear, Conductor
Orlando Lutheran Towers
300 East Church Street
Orlando, FL, 32801
Sunday, September 21, 2025 3:00 PM
Join the Solaria Singers, Orlando’s own professional choir, under the direction of Andrew Minear, for an uplifting afternoon of music that invites us to reflect on how we can bring more love, light, and compassion into the world. This inspiring program features choral works that celebrate hope, kindness, and the transformative power of human connection.
FRIENDS OF THE PHILHARMONIC
PROGRAM: SONGS OF LOVE & LIGHT
SOLARIA SINGERS (octet)
Andrew Minear, Conductor
Thursday, November 13, 2025 7:00 PM
Orlando’s own professional choir, the Solaria Singers, present a luminous a cappella program celebrating themes of love and light. From radiant Renaissance gems to Romantic-era part songs by Mendelssohn and Brahms, spirituals, and contemporary treasures, this concert offers a journey through beauty, warmth, and joy in song.
PAST CONCERTS & EVENTS
TAPESTRY: SEASON 5 KICKOFF EVENT
CHORAL SINGING IN AMERICA: Nurturing the Country’s Soul
A Special Screening & Celebration
Hosted by Andrew Minear & Sarah Purser
Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 5:30 PM
ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WINTER PARK
Join us for an inspiring evening as we launch the fifth season of Orlando Sings: Tapestry—The Music of Us. We’ll gather for a special private screening of Choral Singing in America, a moving new documentary making its Florida premiere.
The film beautifully captures the stories, sounds, and social impact of choral music across the country—illuminating how Americans sing in schools, communities, churches, concert halls, prisons, and beyond. It’s a powerful tribute to the way choral singing builds connection, resilience, and joy.
This celebration will include light hors d’oeuvres and drinks as we welcome choir members, patrons, donors, and friends to the start of what promises to be our most meaningful season yet.