MUSIC
& CHOIR

The Reformation Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:30- 9:30 PM, from September to June. New members of all musical levels are welcome to join at any time. We sing an eclectic mix of choral selections of many styles, including Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Russian liturgical music, African American Spirituals and contemporary selections.

 

Under the direction of Paul Leavitt, the Reformation Choir has concertized frequently in the DC area as well as internationally, in Germany, England, France, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and, most recently, in Vilnius with the Lithuanian National Ballet and Opera Orchestra under the direction of Robertas Šervenikas. The choir was invited to sing at the Berliner Dom to celebrate the 25th anniversary of German Reunification in October 2015, and also presented a concert of a cappella works at the Marienkirche on the Alexanderplatz in Berlin.

 

The Reformation Choir has played the most central role in the premieres and first recordings of all of Paul Leavitt’s major works for chorus and orchestra as well as commissioning him to write the Cantata Emmanuel in honor of the 140th anniversary of the founding of Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill.  

 

We’ve also put our singing talents to work to financially support numerous organizations such as Doctors without Borders, Food & Friends, Whitman Walker Clinic, as well as helping to raise money for Syrian refugees in Germany and an orphanage in Lithuania. 

 

We’ve had the pleasure and the honor to collaborate with fine musical ensembles such as the New York City Master Chorale, the Kantorei Flottbeck and Musici Emeriti Hamburg, the National Gallery Orchestra as well as the Chorale and Orchestra of the Friday Morning Music Club of Washington, DC.

 

The Reformation Choir has had an illustrious history over the years on Capitol Hill. In 1948, the Reformation Choir made a complete recording of Mozart's Requiem with orchestra, chorus, and soloists, and was featured on a nationally televised program called “Christmas at Reformation” in 1959. Under the direction of past music directors Jules and Peggy Zabawa, the Reformation Choir was a frequent performer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and collaborated on three RCA Victor recordings with Richard Bales. Church of the Reformation also commissioned many new religious works by American composer and organist Emma Lou Diemer, who was the church’s organist for nine years starting in 1963. 

 

If you wish to join the choir, please contact Paul Leavitt.