The Central City Chorus

Stephen M. Black is an accomplished organist and choral conductor, and is gaining a reputation as an insightful musician with varied repertoire interests. He holds graduate degrees in organ and choral conducting from the Yale University School of Music. His principal organ teachers were Thomas Murray and Martin Jean, and he studied conducting with Marguerite Brooks at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. While at Yale, Mr. Black was the conductor of the Yale University Choir at Battell Chapel. He was awarded the Charles Ives Prize in 1997, given by the dean of the school of music to the most outstanding organ performer in 1996-1997. He also received the Richard French Prize from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, which recognizes outstanding talent in the field of choral conducting. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Louisville, where he studied organ with Melvin Dickinson.

Honors, Awards and Recitals

Mr. Black has received several honors and awards in both organ performance and choral conducting. In 1997 he won first prize in the John R. Rodland organ competition in New Jersey, the largest organ scholarship competition in the United States. In 1999 he was one of six finalists in the American Guild of Organists Young Artists Competition. He has performed recitals at Washington National Cathedral; St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City; All Saints Cathedral in Albany, New York; Longwood Gardens in Westchester County, Pennsylvania; and St. Mary's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. In addition, he was awarded a conducting fellowship from the Dennis Keene Choral Festival in the summer of 2002.

Choral Conducting

In addition to Mr. Black's position with the Central City Chorus, he directs the Brearley Singers, a community chorus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He is also the Director of Music at St. Joseph's Church Yorkville in Manhattan, where he directs three choirs, including the concert chamber chorus St. Joseph's Singers. From 1999 to 2003 he was the Artistic Director of the Greater New Haven Community Chorus in Connecticut. He was the assistant conductor of the New Amsterdam Singers in New York City from 2002 to 2005. He has conducted for organizations such as the National Association of Composers USA, the West Village Chorale Summersing, and the Association of Connecticut Choruses Summersing. From 2001 to 2003 he was the chair of the music department at the Buckley School in Manhattan, and directed the glee club program for the middle and upper school.

Conducting highlights of the current concert season include the Central City Chorus's performance of portions of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in December 2007 and the Brearley Singers' spring 2008 concert featuring the Duruflé Requiem. Notable concerts of the 2006-2007 season included the Central City Chorus's performance of the Bach Magnificat in December 2006, the Brearley Singers' performance of Haydn's Paukenmesse in May 2007, and the St. Joseph's Singers' new music concert in October 2006, which was a critic's pick in Time Out magazine. Mr. Black also prepared a chorus for the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony at Riverside Church in June 2007.

Mr. Black is continually involved in the performance of new music. He has commissioned composers Elliot Levine and Kristin Kuster to write for the Central City Chorus. He has also presented New York City premieres of compositions by Emma Lou Diemer and Steve Heitzeg with the chorus. With the St. Joseph's Singers he has presented programs devoted entirely to new music, including the October 2006 concert, which featured the world premiere of a choral suite from Stefan Weisman's critically acclaimed opera Darkling. As a professional singer he appears regularly with the New York Virtuoso Singers, an ensemble devoted exclusively to the performance of new music. Currently he is preparing a chorus for the production of Makandal, a new opera by the critically acclaimed artist Daniel Bernard Roumain. The opera will have its first staging at Harlem Stage in October 2007, followed by the premiere in Miami, Florida in 2008.

Brian Hamer is a graduate of Concordia College, Ann Arbor (B.A. '91), Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (M.Div. '95), and The University of South Florida (M.Mus. '02). His publication honors include manuscripts in CHORAL JOURNAL, CROSS ACCENT, LOGIA, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, CONCORDIA PULPIT RESOURCES, MODERN REFORMATION, and GOTTESDIENST. He has served as a pre-concert lecturer for The Florida Orchestra and has participated in choral workshops and performances with Helmuth Rilling and Robert Shaw. He is a contributing editor to the hymnal, LUTHERAN SERVICE BOOK (Concordia 2006), the forthcoming book, FROM BACH TO BRITTEN: REFLECTIONS OF A CONDUCTOR (tent. Scarecrow Press 2007) by Robert Summer, and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION (Blackwell 2008). In addition to serving as the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bayside, Queens, Brian is the music director for Higher Things, an annual gathering of Lutheran high school musicians, and Director of General Music Activities at The Lutheran School of Flushing and Bayside.

Born in Tapei, Taiwan, pianist Hsiang (John) Tu has recently been praised by The New York Times for the “eloquent sensitivity” in his performance. Mr. Tu has made North America his home for more than a decade, and he received his undergraduate education at Boston University and the University of Calgary. Since 2002, he has been studying at The Juilliard School, where he received a Master of Music degree in piano performance, and is currently a Doctoral of Musical Art candidate, under the guidance of Jerome Lowenthal. Mr. Tu made his New York debut in 2004 at Alice Tully Hall as the winner of the Juilliard School Concerto Competition and he has also won Second Prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition. Mr. Tu is currently the accompanist for the Central City Chorus and the Brearley Singers, while he performs regularly as a soloist and teaches privately in the New York area.



		Stephen Black, Music Director Stephen M. Black is an accomplished organist and choral conductor, and is gaining a reputation as an insightful musician with varied repertoire interests. He holds graduate degrees in organ and choral conducting from the Yale University School of Music. His principal organ teachers were Thomas Murray and Martin Jean, and he studied conducting with Marguerite Brooks at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. While at Yale, Mr. Black was the conductor of the Yale University Choir at Battell Chapel. He was awarded the Charles Ives Prize in 1997, given by the dean of the school of music to the most outstanding organ performer in 1996-1997. He also received the Richard French Prize from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, which recognizes outstanding talent in the field of choral conducting. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Louisville, where he studied organ with Melvin Dickinson. Honors, Awards and Recitals Mr. Black has received several honors and awards in both organ performance and choral conducting. In 1997 he won first prize in the John R. Rodland organ competition in New Jersey, the largest organ scholarship competition in the United States. In 1999 he was one of six finalists in the American Guild of Organists Young Artists Competition. He has performed recitals at Washington National Cathedral; St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City; All Saints Cathedral in Albany, New York; Longwood Gardens in Westchester County, Pennsylvania; and St. Mary's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. In addition, he was awarded a conducting fellowship from the Dennis Keene Choral Festival in the summer of 2002. Choral Conducting In addition to Mr. Black's position with the Central City Chorus, he directs the Brearley Singers, a community chorus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He is also the Director of Music at St. Joseph's Church Yorkville in Manhattan, where he directs three choirs, including the concert chamber chorus St. Joseph's Singers. From 1999 to 2003 he was the Artistic Director of the Greater New Haven Community Chorus in Connecticut. He was the assistant conductor of the New Amsterdam Singers in New York City from 2002 to 2005. He has conducted for organizations such as the National Association of Composers USA, the West Village Chorale Summersing, and the Association of Connecticut Choruses Summersing. From 2001 to 2003 he was the chair of the music department at the Buckley School in Manhattan, and directed the glee club program for the middle and upper school. Conducting highlights of the current concert season include the Central City Chorus's performance of portions of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in December 2007 and the Brearley Singers' spring 2008 concert featuring the Duruflé Requiem. Notable concerts of the 2006-2007 season included the Central City Chorus's performance of the Bach Magnificat in December 2006, the Brearley Singers' performance of Haydn's Paukenmesse in May 2007, and the St. Joseph's Singers' new music concert in October 2006, which was a critic's pick in Time Out magazine. Mr. Black also prepared a chorus for the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony at Riverside Church in June 2007. Mr. Black is continually involved in the performance of new music. He has commissioned composers Elliot Levine and Kristin Kuster to write for the Central City Chorus. He has also presented New York City premieres of compositions by Emma Lou Diemer and Steve Heitzeg with the chorus. With the St. Joseph's Singers he has presented programs devoted entirely to new music, including the October 2006 concert, which featured the world premiere of a choral suite from Stefan Weisman's critically acclaimed opera Darkling. As a professional singer he appears regularly with the New York Virtuoso Singers, an ensemble devoted exclusively to the performance of new music. Currently he is preparing a chorus for the production of Makandal, a new opera by the critically acclaimed artist Daniel Bernard Roumain. The opera will have its first staging at Harlem Stage in October 2007, followed by the premiere in Miami, Florida in 2008. Brian Hamer, Assistant Director Brian Hamer is a graduate of Concordia College, Ann Arbor (B.A. '91), Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (M.Div. '95), and The University of South Florida (M.Mus. '02). His publication honors include manuscripts in CHORAL JOURNAL, CROSS ACCENT, LOGIA, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, CONCORDIA PULPIT RESOURCES, MODERN REFORMATION, and GOTTESDIENST. He has served as a pre-concert lecturer for The Florida Orchestra and has participated in choral workshops and performances with Helmuth Rilling and Robert Shaw. He is a contributing editor to the hymnal, LUTHERAN SERVICE BOOK (Concordia 2006), the forthcoming book, FROM BACH TO BRITTEN: REFLECTIONS OF A CONDUCTOR (tent. Scarecrow Press 2007) by Robert Summer, and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION (Blackwell 2008). In addition to serving as the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bayside, Queens, Brian is the music director for Higher Things, an annual gathering of Lutheran high school musicians, and Director of General Music Activities at The Lutheran School of Flushing and Bayside. Hsiang (John) Tu, Accompanist Born in Tapei, Taiwan, pianist Hsiang (John) Tu has recently been praised by The New York Times for the “eloquent sensitivity” in his performance. Mr. Tu has made North America his home for more than a decade, and he received his undergraduate education at Boston University and the University of Calgary. Since 2002, he has been studying at The Juilliard School, where he received a Master of Music degree in piano performance, and is currently a Doctoral of Musical Art candidate, under the guidance of Jerome Lowenthal. Mr. Tu made his New York debut in 2004 at Alice Tully Hall as the winner of the Juilliard School Concerto Competition and he has also won Second Prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition. Mr. Tu is currently the accompanist for the Central City Chorus and the Brearley Singers, while he performs regularly as a soloist and teaches privately in the New York area.
© , The Central City Chorus