Experience the magic of the Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato — named as “the most potent female singer of her generation” by The New Yorker and “one of the most delightful artists of our time” by Gramophone — as she joins forces with the dynamic four-piece a cappella group Kings Return and the brilliant pianist Craig Terry in KINGS ReJOYCE! This special festive program promises a delightful blend of sacred and popular repertoire, celebrating the unique way music can bring us home for the holidays and transporting listeners to a world of joy and wonder.
Don't miss this unforgettable collaboration of world-class talent as DiDonato, Kings Return, and Terry bring the true spirit of the season to life.
Do you Hear What I Hear? Music: Gloria Shayne Arrangement: Paul Langford
Gaudete Music: anon. Arrangement: Paul Langford
Candlelight Carol Music: John Rutter
O Holy Night Music: Adolphe Adam
Ave Maria Music: Franz Schubert Arrangement: Rob Dietz
Carol of the Bells Music: Mykola Leontovych
Until I found the Lord Music: Walter Hawkins Arrangement: Kings Return
Sweet Little Jesus Boy Music: Robert MacGimsey
Ave Maria Music: Pietro Mascagni
Walking in The Air Music: Howard Blake (From The Snowman) Arrangement: Ben Bram
I Wonder as I Wander Music: John Jacob Niles
Go Tell it on the Mountain Music: John Wesley Work Jr. Arrangement: James Rose
Rejoice / Hallelujah Music: George Frideric Handel Arrangement: Jalen Scott & Craig Terry
Nutcracker Suite Music: Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky Arrangement: Erin Bentlage
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Music: Albert Hague Arrangement: Craig Terry
I’ll be Home for Christmas Music: Walter Kent Arrangement: King’s Return
Motown Medley Music: Motown Arrangement: Jared Jenkins
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire / Christmas Waltz Music: Mel Tormé / Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne Arrangement: Craig Terry
Happy Holiday / Angels / Sleigh Ride Music: Edward Shippen Barnes / Irving Berlin / Leroy Anderson Arrangement: Jalen Scott & Craig Terry
“The staggering, joyful artistry of Joyce DiDonato reminds us that in any generation there are a few giants. Joyce is not only a great, brave and inspiring artist – one of the finest singers of our time — but she is also a transformative presence in the arts. Those who know her repertoire are in awe of her gifts, and those who know nothing of it are instantly engaged. Joyce sings and the world is suddenly brighter. She compels us to listen actively, to hear things anew.” — Gramophone
Joyce DiDonato Multi-Grammy Award winner and 2018 Olivier Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, Kansas-born Joyce DiDonato entrances audiences across the globe and has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” by The New Yorker. With a voice “nothing less than 24-karat gold” according to The Times of London, DiDonato has towered to the top of the industry as a performer, a producer, and a fierce advocate for the arts. With a repertoire spanning over four centuries, a varied and highly acclaimed discography, and industry-leading projects, her artistry has defined what it is to be a singer in the 21st century.
DiDonato opened The Metropolitan Opera’s 2023-24 season performing her signature role of Sister Helen in a new production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking before reviving her acclaimed “Virginia Woolf” in Kevin Puts’ The Hours. This season also sees DiDonato touring Dido & Aeneas with Il Pomo d’Oro; further tours of EDEN, and the Grammy Award-winning Songplay in Asia, South America, and Europe.
Recent career highlights include giving the world premiere of Tod Machover's Overstory Overture in the role of Patricia Westertord at Alice Tully Hall in New York and Seoul Arts Center in South Korea and performing two programs as part of an in-depth residency at Musikkollegium Winterthur. In June 2022, DiDonato joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for a tour that included the orchestra’s first visit to Europe in over 20 years, with performances at the Barbican, Philharmonie de Paris, and Festpielhaus Baden-Baden. Her performance was “the embodiment of musical perfection," according to the Wochenglatt Reporter.
In opera, DiDonato’s recent roles include Agrippina at the Metropolitan Opera and in a new production at the Royal Opera House; Didon in Les Troyens at the Wiener Staatsoper; Sesto in Cendrillon and Adalgisa in Norma at The Metropolitan Opera; Agrippina in concert with Il Pomo d’Oro under Maxim Emelyanchev; Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking at the Teatro Real Madrid and London’s Barbican Centre; Semiramide at the Bavarian State Opera and Royal Opera House; and Charlotte in Werther at the Royal Opera House.
DiDonato has held residencies at Carnegie Hall and at London’s Barbican Centre; toured extensively in the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia; and appeared as guest soloist at the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. Other concert highlights include the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Accademia Santa Cecilia Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra USA under Sir Antonio Pappano.
An exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics/Erato, DiDonato’s expansive discography includes the highly celebrated Les Troyens (which won Gramophone’s coveted Recording of the Year) and Handel’s Agrippina (Gramophone’s Opera Recording of the Year). DiDonato’s other albums include her singular EDEN, which has toured to nearly 40 cities globally; the acclaimed Winterreise with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Grammy Award-winning Songplay; and many more. She was an inaugural inductee into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2012.
Craig Terry Grammy Award-winning pianist and arranger Craig Terry enjoys an international career, regularly performing with the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently, Terry serves as Music Director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, after having served for eleven seasons at Lyric as Assistant Conductor. Previously, he served as Assistant Conductor at The Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Terry has performed with esteemed vocalists such as Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Janai Brugger, Lawrence Brownlee, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Eric Cutler, Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, Giuseppe Filianoti, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Bryan Hymel, Brian Jagde, Joseph Kaiser, Quinn Kelsey, Kate Lindsey, Amanda Majeski, Ana María Martínez, Eric Owens, Ailyn Perez, Nicholas Phan, Susanna Phillips, Luca Pisaroni, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, Bo Skovhus, Garrett Sorenson, Heidi Stober, Christian Van Horn, Amber Wagner, Laura Wilde, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers. He has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester, and the Pro Arte String Quartet.
Terry’s upcoming and recent highlights include more than 40 concerts in North America, Europe, and Asia with artists including Katherine Beck, Ben Bliss, Christine Brewer, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Andriana Chuchman, Joyce DiDonato, Christine Goerke, Will Liverman, Ana María Martínez, Whitney Morrison, Richard Ollarsaba, Susanna Phillips, David Portillo, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, and Laura Wilde.
He is Artistic Director of “Beyond the Aria,” a highly acclaimed recital series now in its ninth sold-out season, presented by the Harris Theater in collaboration with the Ryan Opera Center and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Terry’s discography includes five recently released recordings: “Diva on Detour” with Patricia Racette, “As Long As There Are Songs” with Stephanie Blythe, “Chanson d’Avril” with Nicole Cabell, and “French Horn Recital from 24 Preludes, Op. 11 - Alexander Scriabin” with Lyric Opera principal horn Jonathan Boen. His latest recording project with Joyce DiDonato, Songplay, released by Warner Classics, received the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
He has appeared on numerous television, radio, and streaming programs, including multiple appearances on both Live from Lincoln Center and Great Performances for PBS, as well as on many programs broadcast on NBC, ABC, and CBS. In May 2021, he was the pianist for The Metropolitan Opera’s Wagnerian Stars Live in Concert, which was transmitted from the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Craig hails from Tullahoma, Tennessee; received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University; continued his studies at Florida State University; and received a Masters of Music in Collaborative Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of renowned pianist Warren Jones.
Kings Return Dynamic and soothing four-piece vocal group Kings Return take pride in crafting a diverse yet supremely cohesive a cappella sound: The blend of their unique vocal timbres is so rich and so smooth that, at times, it sounds more like a full choir than a mere four men. Discovered after posting a series of bare-bones stairwell performances that went viral, their music is a balm to the soul, laced with expansive harmonies that flex the agility and effortless range of their vocal talent.
Their sound has earned comparisons to iconic acts like Take 6 and Boyz II Men. But what sets Kings Return apart is their seamless integration of a wide range of genres and styles. Drawn to the flexibility of a cappella music, they take full advantage of the genre-mixing aspects of the tradition. Their brand of R&B is entwined with free moments of jazz, soulful bursts of gospel, and bright touches of pop—all built on a solid, classical foundation. Theirs is the kind of talent that makes virtuosic performance look (and sound) like sublime, effortless playtime, defying the constraints of any single genre to explore a myriad of sonic shades and textures.
Kings Return was first conceived in 2016, when Kunda asked some friends to perform with him for a college recital. The a cappella performance captivated the crowd and soon led to local gigs, where the group cut their teeth before finalizing the lineup in 2020. Composed of tenor Vaughn Faison, bass Gabe Kunda, tenor JE McKissic, and baritone Jamall Williams, the Dallas-based quartet has since captured the hearts of millions of fans in-person and online. They earned their first taste of fame that summer, when they arranged, performed, and posted a video of their soul-stirring, a cappella rendition of “God Bless America,” which went viral. The next year, they posted a more classical a cappella performance of “Ubi Caritas,” which also went viral, amassing over 10 million views. A pivotal moment for the budding act, Kings Return began to shift away from a strictly gospel focus to explore a more diverse musical repertoire. They dropped their debut EP in December 2021, a warm, jazz-leaning holiday album titled Merry Little Christmas, followed by the June 2022 release of their stunning Bee Gees cover “How Deep is Your Love” off debut LP ROVE, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for “best arrangement instrumental or a cappella.” Epic, expansive, and polished, ROVE was released in September 2022, showcasing a nuanced attention to detail and a remarkable fusion of four distinctive, classically-trained voices into one elegant and intricate whole.
The group’s name perfectly embodies their intentions as artists: “Kings” because they possess a charismatic power, moving forward with confidence to conquer whatever challenges arise. The “Return” signifies another important part of their mission: to give back to the communities that have supported them along the way.
“We don’t use any instruments, and it can feel very vulnerable to perform on stage alone, especially as Black men — with all stigma that entails” says Kunda. “When we come together to do this vulnerable thing called a cappella, it strengthens our bonds. It makes us tighter as a unit and as human beings. We want to be examples for other men like us.” Now poised to release their first full-length holiday LP, aptly titled We 4 Kings, in November 2023, Kings Return continues to defy expectations, charming audiences with their signature smoothness and sophisticated, down-to-earth charisma.
