Kristen Dubenion-Smith

~Mezzo-Soprano~

 
Kristen Dubenion-Smith possesses a lyric-mezzo of uncommon beauty, her flickering vibrato and the amber cast of her tone making something special out of the alto arias.”

~John Banno, The Washington Post-

 

"...A mezzo-soprano with a lilting voice..."

-Rebecca Corbett, The New York Times-

 

"The listener basked in the luxuriant richness of her lower register, while marveling at the facility of her upper tessitura... the depth of her conviction and connection to the music."

-Patrick McCoy, Washington Life Magazine-

 

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Previous events

An intimate performance of a seminal work for Lent.

Pergolesi’s seminal Stabat Mater has become a treasured staple among Italian works for the lenten season. TENET offers an intimate, one to a part performance for singers, string quartet and continuo. TENET explores florid sonatas by Isabella Leonarda, who lived and composed one generation before Pergolesi from the convent, and whose works show the depth and versatility of her creative genius.

PROGRAM Isabella Leonarda: Venite laetantes, Ave suavis dilectio, Sonatas Seconda, Quarta, and Nona from Op. 16 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Dolorosa

An intimate performance of a seminal work for Lent.

Pergolesi’s seminal Stabat Mater has become a treasured staple among Italian works for the lenten season. TENET offers an intimate, one to a part performance for singers, string quartet and continuo. TENET explores florid sonatas by Isabella Leonarda, who lived and composed one generation before Pergolesi from the convent, and whose works show the depth and versatility of her creative genius.

PROGRAM Isabella Leonarda: Venite laetantes, Ave suavis dilectio, Sonatas Seconda, Quarta, and Nona from Op. 16 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Dolorosa

Organ Prelude Prelude & Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 Cantata Sehet! Wir gehen hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159 Jeffrey Kempskie, organist Katelyn Grace Jackson, soprano | Kristen Dubenion-Smith, alto | David Evans, tenor | Jason Widney, bass Robert Beizer, underwriter of the Noontime organ preludes Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, underwriters The Noontime Cantata Series is supported by generous gifts from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Organ Prelude Prelude & Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 Cantata Sehet! Wir gehen hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159 Jeffrey Kempskie, organist Katelyn Grace Jackson, soprano | Kristen Dubenion-Smith, alto | David Evans, tenor | Jason Widney, bass Robert Beizer, underwriter of the Noontime organ preludes Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, underwriters The Noontime Cantata Series is supported by generous gifts from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

  1. Herbert Dimmock leads the full Bach in Baltimore Choir and Orchestra and four superb vocal soloists in the performance of Bach’s magnum opus, Mass in B Minor. This work represents Bach’s lifelong and tireless artistry as a composer and musician of the highest caliber. It is a grand synthesis of his every musical innovation and contribution. Bach began Mass in B Minor early in his career and didn’t finish it until the end of his life when he had already gone blind. As a result, Bach never got a chance to hear a complete performance of his masterpiece that weaves together conventions common to both Lutheran and Catholic masses. Bach’s virtuosity lives on forever with Mass in B Minor, an inspiring testament to dogged determination, relentless craftsmanship, and spiritual belief. Mass in B Minor is regarded as one of the supreme achievements of Western Civilization and arguably the greatest single musical piece ever written!

Kristen Dubenion-Smith, alto soloist

EXILE explores the influences of Italian, German, and eastern European music and Jewish culture, highlighting Jewish musicians, the non-Jewish composers they influenced, and composers who inspired innovations in Jewish composition. Featuring composers such as Rossi, Vierdanck, Monteverdi, and others, this program highlights the mutual influences of the early modern European Jewish experience, breaking down preconceptions of Jewish music and culture and exploring the implications of diaspora on Jewish artistic legacy. This concert is largely sponsored by a generous grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund in Louisville, KY.

EXILE explores the influences of Italian, German, and eastern European music and Jewish culture, highlighting Jewish musicians, the non-Jewish composers they influenced, and composers who inspired innovations in Jewish composition. Featuring composers such as Rossi, Vierdanck, Monteverdi, and others, this program highlights the mutual influences of the early modern European Jewish experience, breaking down preconceptions of Jewish music and culture and exploring the implications of diaspora on Jewish artistic legacy. This concert is largely sponsored by a generous grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund in Louisville, KY.

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, The Clarion Choir will give the world premiere of the Vigil for Peace by London-based composer Alexander Levine. Written during this time of ongoing tragic conflict in the region in which Levine was born, Levine has written a choral work that is hopeful and celebrates our common humanity. Steeped in the tradition of Eastern Orthodox sacred music, this new work promises to be a welcome addition to the repertoire. The Vigil for Peace, in the composer's own words, "endeavors to unify people's hearts and minds. The foundation stone of this effort lies in the notion of the ongoing dialogue between the old and the new."

Levine's Vigil for Peace will be performed alongside several shorter choral works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, including the Choral Concerto O Mother of God Perpetually Praying, as part of Clarion's ongoing celebration of Rachmaninoff's 150th anniversary year.

Clarion-Vigil for Peace

Church of the Resurrection, 119 E. 74th Street, New York, NY

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, The Clarion Choir will give the world premiere of the Vigil for Peace by London-based composer Alexander Levine. Written during this time of ongoing tragic conflict in the region in which Levine was born, Levine has written a choral work that is hopeful and celebrates our common humanity. Steeped in the tradition of Eastern Orthodox sacred music, this new work promises to be a welcome addition to the repertoire. The Vigil for Peace, in the composer's own words, "endeavors to unify people's hearts and minds. The foundation stone of this effort lies in the notion of the ongoing dialogue between the old and the new."

Levine's Vigil for Peace will be performed alongside several shorter choral works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, including the Choral Concerto O Mother of God Perpetually Praying, as part of Clarion's ongoing celebration of Rachmaninoff's 150th anniversary year.

Enrich your holiday season by singing the glorious Christmas portion of G.F. Handel's Messiah.

Warm the hearts of those in need by donating winterwear* to Cornerstones' Coat Closet and receive discounted admission.

Bring your Messiah score or rent one onsite (while supplies last.)

Kristen Dubenion-Smith, alto soloist

Audiences love to hear any one of Bach’s iconic motets in a live performance, but to hear all of them in one evening is a revelation. Bach’s vocal-ensemble writing is legendary among singers, artfully bringing to life the rhetorical substance of his musical and theological convictions. A valuable part of Bach’s oeuvre, the motets together capture the full range of connection between text, music, and faith.

Each season, the singers of the Washington Bach Consort present a concert exploring sacred vocal polyphony of the Renaissance and Baroque. Arguably among the finest composers of the high Renaissance, William Byrd (c.1540–1623) left behind a repertory richly varied in its contrapuntal style, with a sense of individuality not often encountered among his counterparts in continental Europe. The program will be performed in observance of the 400th anniversary of the composer’s death. Much of Byrd’s Latin sacred music would have been prohibited in parishes of Elizabethan Protestant England. Like many Roman Catholics, Byrd had to exercise caution when it came to speaking—or composing—his religious views.

Each season, the singers of the Washington Bach Consort present a concert exploring sacred vocal polyphony of the Renaissance and Baroque. Arguably among the finest composers of the high Renaissance, William Byrd (c.1540–1623) left behind a repertory richly varied in its contrapuntal style, with a sense of individuality not often encountered among his counterparts in continental Europe. The program will be performed in observance of the 400th anniversary of the composer’s death. Much of Byrd’s Latin sacred music would have been prohibited in parishes of Elizabethan Protestant England. Like many Roman Catholics, Byrd had to exercise caution when it came to speaking—or composing—his religious views.