Coro Allegro: Musically Distinctive; Queer-centered; Socially Conscious
Coro Allegro's 2026–2027 season promises to be one to remember.
On Sunday, November 22, at 3 p.m., we present the Boston premiere of Andrew Yee's Trans Requiem at the Church of the Covenant in Boston. The performance coincides with Trans Day of Remembrance weekend and features two-time Grammy Award-winning cellist and composer Andrew Yee, soprano Breanna Sinclairé, and tenor Sam Crosby-Schmidt. We'll also perform Ola Gjeilo's Gorgeous Sunrise Mass and present the 2026 Pinkham Award to Giselle Byrd, Executive Director of the Theater Offensive and co-chair of Boston's Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil.
On Sunday, March 14, at 3 p.m., we present our winter program, Enduring Echoes, featuring Robert Stern's monumental Shofar at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. This concert was originally scheduled for March 2020 but was canceled just days before the performance as the world entered lockdown. It also serves as a tribute to three remarkable Massachusetts musicians we have lost: Robert Stern, Sanford Sylvan, and Donald Wilkinson. We'll also perform Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs and Brahms' Nänie, creating a program that explores covenant, love, and reconciliation—messages our world needs now more than ever. With Guest Artists, New England Classical Singers.
We'll conclude the season on Sunday, May 16, at 3 p.m., with an eclectic mix of music, often featuring LGBTQ+ texts or themes. We'll perform the world premiere of Through the Four Chambers by Lebanese-American composer Ilyas Iliya, Charles Fussell's Infinite Fraternity, based on letters from Herman Melville to Nathanial Hawthorne, Melissa Dunphy's What do you think I fought for on Omaha Beach, Howard Hanson's Song of Democracy, on a text by Walt Whitman, and Marques L.A. Garrett's My Heart Be Brave on a poem by James Weldon Johnson.
Tickets on sale on September 10th.
Andrew Yee's Trans Requiem Sunday, November 22, 2026 3 p.m.
Church of the Covenant, Boston
Coro Allegro opens its season with the Boston premiere of Andrew Yee's Trans Requiem, a profoundly moving work for trans voices, chorus, and string orchestra. Performed on Trans Day of Remembrance weekend, the work celebrates the beauty, resilience, and diversity of the trans experience while imagining a future where trans lives are honored and cherished. We are thrilled to welcome two-time Grammy Award-winning composer and cellist Andrew Yee, soprano Breanna Sinclairé, and tenor Sam Crosby-Schmidt for this landmark performance. Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of extraordinary music and community.
Trans Requiem
Enduring Echoes Featuring Shofar Sunday, March 14, 2027 3 p.m.
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge
Our winter concert, Enduring Echoes, features Robert Stern's monumental Shofar, finally receiving its long-awaited performance after its 2020 COVID cancellation. The program also honors three remarkable Massachusetts musicians we have lost—composer Robert Stern, baritone Sanford Sylvan, and conductor Donald Wilkinson—whose artistry continues to inspire our musical community. Paired with Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs and Brahms' Nänie, the concert explores themes of covenant, love, remembrance, and reconciliation. Joining us will be guest artists New England Classical Singers, Teresa Wakim, Jonas Budris, and Ian Pomerantz. We hope you'll join us for an afternoon of powerful music and enduring hope.
Enduring Echoes / Shofar
Faces of America Sunday, May 16, 2027 3 p.m.
Church of the Covenant, Boston
The world premiere of a new commission by Lebanese-American composer Ilyas Iliya, whose Avoonan Dbishmayya was performed by Coro Allegro in the fall of 2025.
Charles Fussell’s Infinite Fraternity, which draws on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville.
Melissa Dunphy’s What Do You Think I Fought for at Omaha Beach?, based on the testimony of World War II veteran Philip Spooner in support of marriage equality.
Marques L.A. Garrett's My Heart Be Brave on a poem by James Weldon Johnson.
Howard Hanson’s Song of Democracy, with text by Walt Whitman.
Faces of AmericaDRAGGO ALLEGRO
Midway Cafe
3496 Washington St, Boston, MA (map)
Thursday, September 24, 2026
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Back by popular demand! Please join us at Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain for Draggo Allegro. Don't miss this chance to support Coro Allegro and enjoy a variety of drag performances, both from Coro members and other talented area drag performers. Stay for Queereoke at no additional charge. Last year's event was a big success, so join for fabulous music, fun, and camaraderie.
AUDITION FOR CORO ALLEGRO
We are holding auditions for our 2026-2027 season on Thursdays, September 3rd and 10th, from 5-9 p.m., and Saturday, September 12, from 9-11 a.m.
Coro Allegro rehearses most Sunday evenings from 6-9 p.m. in Bates Hall at the Church of the Covenant, located at 67 Newbury Street (corner of Berkeley Street) in Boston’s Back Bay. Rehearsals will occur on Monday evenings on long weekends.
Make a Donation to Coro Allegro
Your tax-deductible contribution strengthens every part of our mission: musical excellence, inclusion, and the creation of transformative choral experiences.
WE ARE HERE
American Voices for International Human Rights
CORO ALLEGRO: WE ARE HERE is a stirring choral album by Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus that amplifies voices of resistance, resilience, and remembrance. The album features Syrian American composer Kareem Roustom’s Rage Against the tyrant(s) and Eric Banks’ Aluta Continua: The Passion of David Kato Kisule about the slain Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist, with GRAMMY®-nominated countertenor Reginald Mobley in the title role.These works by American composers, premiered by and commissioned for Coro Allegro, weave together protest chants, poetry, sacred texts, and witness testimony to confront oppression and honor those who fight for justice, here and abroad.
With performances under the direction of David Hodgkins and a constellation of guest artists, CORO ALLEGRO: WE ARE HERE on Navona Records, is a call to action, an evocative tribute to the power of music to bear witness and inspire change.
Support Coro Allegro with your purchase an audiophile download:
Visit Navona Recordings to listen, stream, or buy on other platforms:
For a track listing, texts, notes, and featured artists:
Coro Allegro Responds to Attacks on the Trans Community
Resolution of the Board of Directors of Coro Allegro passed unanimously on February 22, 2025
Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus, recognizes that a rising tide of discrimination and governmental attacks on trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people is causing fear and hurt in our community. We reaffirm our proud identity as an LGBTQ+ and allied organization, with great passion, commitment, and ferocity. We stand in unshakeable solidarity with our trans, non-binary, and genderqueer members and friends. Coro Allegro endeavors always to provide a sanctuary for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, disability, age, sexual orientation, income, religion, educational background, and any other systemically oppressed identities.
IN THE CLEARING: Exclusive Video Interview
Coro Allegro was honored that Patrick Donnelly from The Frost Place agreed to moderate a Zoom interview with David Hodgkins, Coro's Artistic Director, and Kenneth Fuchs, the composer of IN THE CLEARING. The group discusses the circumstances and compositional techniques in the work, and includes a reading and discussion of each of the Robert Frost poems in cycle.
Letters Project
Add an open message of support for LGBTQ+ youth to this powerful letter writing campaign. At a time when rights of transgender and other LGBTQ+ youth are under attack and LGBTQ+ forms of expression are being silenced, Coro Allegro, the Boston Alliance of GLBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) and other community partners are gathering and sharing letters from the LGBTQ+ community and allies to support queer youth and their families, with the power of our collective voices. Learn about the moving letters to transgender kids and survivors of conversion therapy that inspired us.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Music has the power to uplift, inspire, and unite people from all walks of life. Your support makes it possible for us to share the gift of beautiful, powerful, and affirming music! Please invest in the cultural fabric of our community with a generous contribution to Coro Allegro!
In this time of uncertainly, there’s a fundamental truth that gives us hope - that together we can do extraordinary things!
About Coro Allegro
Coro Allegro is proud to be Boston's LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus. Under the baton of Artistic Director David Hodgkins, Coro Allegro is known for award-winning programming, powerful commissions, and critically acclaimed performances and recordings of works by diverse classical and contemporary composers. Since our founding in 1990, Coro has introduced audiences to 28 world premieres, including 18 works commissioned by and for Coro Allegro, all from composers from under-represented or silenced groups—LGBTQ+, BIPOC, MENA, women and gender minorities. We offer a welcoming, affirming and supportive environment for performers and audiences alike of all sexualities, gender identities and expressions, races, ethnicities, and religions.
Experience that pride and community for yourself. Join the Coro Family of friends, allies, and members of the LGBTQ+ community as a singer, supporter, or volunteer.
