Queens College Choral Society Presents Faure’s Requiem on May 16
—Program features the world premiere of a cantata that composer and alumnus David Stern based on Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass—
FLUSHING, NY, April 22, 2026—The Queens College Choral Society, Treble Choir, Vocal Ensemble, and Orchestra will perform Fauré’s Requiem on Saturday, May 16, at 8 pm in Colden Auditorium at Queens College. The program will also feature the world premiere of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass: Cantata for Soprano Solo, Chorus and Orchestra by Los Angeles-based composer and alumnus David Stern.
Soloists will include an alumna and two students from the college’s Aaron Copland School of Music. Lydia Saylor, a soprano, has a master’s degree in vocal performance from the music school; students Yilin Chen, a baritone, and Curtlyn Ifill, a soprano, are vocal performance majors. The performance will be led by James John, a music school professor, who has directed the Choral Society since 2002.
Fauré’s Requiem is one of the most beloved works in the choral-orchestral repertory, marked by its grandeur and warmth. David Stern’s new cantata celebrates the universality of Whitman’s words. Whitman has a special connection to Queens College; a portion of the grounds has been identified as the former site of the Jamaica Academy, a one-room schoolhouse where the poet taught in 1839. A memorial garden and stone mark the approximate site on campus.
Stern, who holds a master of arts from the college and a PhD in music theory from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, will attend the premiere. He has taught music theory at the college, the Mannes College of Music, University of North Texas, Scripps College, Pomona College, as well as music theory and composition at Ball State University. Stern has also worked as a freelance composer, orchestrator, and music copyist in Los Angeles.
Tickets are $28 ($7 for students with valid QCID, or under age 18) and are available through the Kupferberg Center Box office at (718) 793-8080, or online at https://kupferbergcenter.org. Ticketmaster fees apply. Free parking. For special family pricing, contact qcchoralsociety@gmail.com.
From its founding in 1941, the Queens College Choral Society has offered music lovers from the college community and throughout New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties the opportunity to learn and perform choral masterpieces. Accompanied by an orchestra, the group typically performs two annual concerts—in December and May—devoted to the great masterpieces of choral literature such as Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Bach’s Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah. The QCCS has also premiered multiple works, including 1001 Voices: A Symphony for Queens, commissioned by the Queens Symphony Orchestra. The group is open to singers of all backgrounds and skill levels, from high school students to adult community members. For more information, visit the Choral Society website at https://www.qcchoralsociety.org/.
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