The Malmgren Concert Series of Hendricks Chapel has been made possible by a generous gift from Syracuse University alumna Ester Malmgren to Hendricks Chapel in 1991. The concert series offers the Syracuse community the highest quality of arts at no cost. See below for parking and accessibility information.
Many of our concerts are live-streamed and/or recorded. To view a live or recorded show, visit our YouTube page!
Upcoming Shows | Spring 2025
Celebrating African-American Composers
Feb. 23, 2025 | 4 PM
Setnor School of Music choral ensembles and student soloists celebrate Black History Month with music by Hailstork, Price, Powell, Garrett, and more.
Setnor School of Music students and faculty present a special concert highlighting solo, chamber, and choral works by African-American composers. The Hendricks Chapel Choir will perform “Praise the Lord” by Florence Price, and the Concert Choir will offer Rosephanye Powell’s setting of Langston Hughes’ text, “To Sit and Dream.” Together they will give a reprise of Marques L. A. Garrett’s “Song of Life.” The program will conclude with the combined choirs leading the audience in James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Experience Buxtehude, Bach and Rosenmüller
with the NYS Baroque
Mar. 2, 2025 | 4 PM
NYS Baroque teams up with soprano Laura Heimes, baritone Jean-Bernard Cerin, and the Hendricks Chapel Choir and University Singers for vocal and instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
NYS Baroque collaborates with the Setnor School of Music choral ensembles for the first time in both organizations’ history on a program of seventeenth and eighteenth century sacred music for choir, soloists, and strings. Featured works include Johann Sebastian Bach’s beloved double choir motet, “Komm, Jesu, Komm,” and Dieterich Buxtehude’s cantatas “Alles was ihr tut” and “Wo soll ich fliehen hin.”
Celebrated soloists Laura Heimes (soprano) and Jean-Bernard Cerin (baritone) will join the ensemble for solos and duets by Buxtehude and NYS Baroque string players will present Johann Rosenmüller’s Sonata No. 10.
Virtuoso Organist Nathaniel Gumbs
Apr. 6, 2025 | 4 PM
Gumbs, director of chapel music at Yale University, gives a solo recital as part of the Syracuse Pipe Organ Festival.
Nathaniel Gumbs is a native of the Bronx, NY and has performed throughout the
United States and abroad, including Antigua, St. Thomas, Ghana, Paris, and Munich, and
is consistently gathering new fans and followers. The New York Times described
Nathaniel’s playing in their review of his recording with bass-baritone Dashon Burton, as
“mature, lyrical, accurate and energetic,” and that his performance was presented “deftly
and with feeling.” Dr. Gumbs will present a program that includes music by J. S. Bach, Florence Price, Max Reger, and Charles-Marie Widor.
Dr. Gumbs’ performance is the culminating event in the second annual Syracuse Pipe Organ Festival. The festival begins on Friday, April 4 at 7pm with the Arthur Poister Competition in Organ Playing at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, for which Dr. Gumbs will be a judge. Other events include a film screening sponsored by Syracuse Symposium on Saturday, April 5 at 7pm in Hendricks Chapel.
Denmark’s Rudersdal Chamber Players
Apr. 13, 2025 | 4 PM
Denmark’s acclaimed piano quartet performs music by Nordic composers Carl Nielsen, Poul Ruders, and Amanda Maier-Röntgen. Co-sponsored by the Setnor School of Music.
Immerse yourself in lush sounds of classical and contemporary music of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under the skilled hands of the Rudersdal Chamber Players. Led by violinist and founder Christine Pryn, this group specializes in premiering new works and shedding light on lesser known composers. Their 2022 recording of contemporary Danish composer Poul Ruders’ chamber music received brilliant international reviews from Fanfare Magazine and five stars in BBC Music Magazine’s review. They will include Ruder’s Piano Quartet on their Malmgren Concert program.
Other program selections include Norwegian composer Carl Nielsen’s Helios Ouverture presented in an arrangement for piano quartet by Karl Aage Rasmussen. Nielsen composed the piece when he accompanied his wife, Anne Marie, to Athens, where she had a residency as a sculptor. Inspired by the sun rising and later sinking over the Aegean Sea, the piece is one Nielsen’s most popular works, and the Danish Radio plays it every New Year right after midnight.
The program will close with a beautiful piano quartet by nineteenth century composer Amanda Maier-Röntgen, the first woman to complete a music degree in Sweden.
Setnor’s Spring Choral Concert
Apr. 27, 2025 | 4 PM
Ben O’Connell and D.J. Pickell present their graduate conducting recitals in collaboration with the Hendricks Chapel Choir and University Singers, respectively.
Join us for a festive choral concert featuring a wide range of repertoire from six centuries, multiple languages, and many corners of the globe. D. J. Pickell leads the University Singers in a program of music by Bach, Bruckner, Raffaella Aleotti, Hyo-Won Woo, Daniel Afonso, Jr., and Laura Hawley. The Hendricks Chapel Choir, under the leadership of Ben O’Connell, will present music by William Byrd, Florence Price, Elaine Hagenberg, Reena Esmail, and Morten Lauridsen, closing with Hubert Parry’s beloved anthem “I Was Glad” with senior Abbie Wood accompanying on the organ.
Past Shows
The Duke Ellington Orchestra
Sept. 22, 2024 | 4 PM
Performing worldwide for more than 101 years under the guidance of three generations of Ellington’s family, this Grammy Award-winning supergroup has produced more iconic jazz classics than any other band.
Click here to view the program!
Today, The Duke Ellington Orchestra comprises brilliant musicians who dedicate themselves to performing Duke’s music while adding—just as their predecessors did–their own creative styles. Together they share a history and lineage that goes back to Duke’s original band members.
Musicians like tenor saxophonist Shelley Paul honor their place in the Orchestra’s legacy: “All the people that have come through the orchestra and all the music,” said Paul, “it is constantly revealing to me over time that I am part of something bigger than I can understand. The way the band has affected not only American society but the world, it just makes me want to be better.”
Artistic director and conductor, Charlie Young is a recognized clinician in the field of jazz education as well as in classical and jazz saxophone performance, including 30 years as a Professor of Saxophone at Howard University and Coordinator of Instrumental Jazz Studies. Clinic presentations in Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan have earned Charlie Young a stellar reputation among the most respected in saxophone performance and education.
Today’s Duke Ellington Orchestra stands on the shoulders of all the great and beloved musicians who came before them, lifting for all to hear the indelibly, powerfully American sound that is the music of Duke Ellington.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra’s performance will include several of the jazz great’s signature tunes, such as Take the A Train, Sophisticated Ladies, Satin Doll, Caravan, Cottontail, and Mood Indigo. The band will also collaborate with the Hendricks Chapel Choir on a selection from Ellington’s Sunday Music. “We are always looking to bring guest artists who are committed to being part of our academic mission,” says Anne Laver, associate professor of organ at the Setnor School of Music and artistic director of the Malmgren Concert Series. “We are thrilled that our students will have the opportunity to make music and interact with these incredible musicians.”
This event is co-sponsored by the Syracuse University Art Museum, The Arts at Syracuse University and the Setnor School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Lamentation and Joy
Oct. 10, 2024 | 8 PM
The Malmgren Concert Series of Hendricks Chapel invites you to “Lamentation and Joy” on Thursday, October 10 at 8 PM. Esteemed guest conductor Marques L. A. Garrett will lead the combined choirs of the Setnor School of Music and the Syracuse University Oratorio Society in an evening of powerful choral works. The program features “The Cry of Jeremiah” by renowned composer Rosephanye Powell, a stirring multi-movement oratorio for choir and organ based on the text from the 29th chapter of Jeremiah. Additionally, the Hendricks Chapel Choir will give the world premiere of Natalie Draper’s “The Cloths of Heaven,” the Concert Choir will perform Nathaniel Dett’s “Let Us Cheer the Weary Traveler,” and the combined choirs will close the evening with Garrett’s own compositions, “A Song of Life” and “Your Hand and Mine.”
Marques L. A. Garrett, an associate professor of choral studies at the University of North Texas, is celebrated for his work as a conductor, composer, and researcher. He will be in residency at Syracuse University, working closely with each of the choirs throughout the week leading up to the concert. Garrett’s extensive experience and dedication to showcasing non-idiomatic choral music by Black composers bring a unique and enriching perspective to this special performance. Previously, Garrett visited Hendricks Chapel in March of 2023 as a member of the Jason Max Ferdinand singers. Join us for an evening that promises to uplift and inspire through the shared power of music.
For more info, view Marques L. A. Garrett’s website.
This event is co-sponsored by the Setnor School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Each Moment Radiant: Music of Johannes Brahms and Kurt Erickson commemorating the Pan Am Flight 103 Disaster
Oct. 20, 2024 | 4 PM
The Malmgren Concert Series of Hendricks Chapel invites you to a profoundly moving concert on Sunday, October 20th at 4 PM, marking the beginning of Remembrance Week (October 20-26). The event features the world premiere of “Each Moment Radiant,” a newly commissioned chamber work by composer Kurt Erickson and poet Brian Turner commemorating the Pan Am Flight 103 Air Disaster. Setnor School of Music faculty and guest musicians will perform Erickson and Turner’s song cycle “Here, Bullet” and Johannes Brahms’s piano trio in C minor.
Program:
“Here, Bullet” — Kurt Erickson with text by Brian Turner
- Joel David Balzun, baritone; Scott Cuellar, piano
Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101 — Johannes Brahms
- Philip Marten, violin; Holgen Gjoni, cello; Scott Cuellar, piano
“Each Moment Radiant” — Kurt Erickson with text by Brian Turner
- Joel David Balzun, baritone; Katie Weber, mezzo-soprano; Kathleen Roland-Silverstein, mezzo-soprano; Philip Marten, violin; Holgen Gjoni, cello; Scott Cuellar, piano
Events are co-sponsored by Syracuse Symposium, the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, Society for New Music, the Setnor School of Music, and the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars.
The commission for “Each Moment Radiant” was made possible through the CNY Arts Grants for Regional Arts and Cultural Engagement regrant program thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature, the Office of the Governor and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
More information on Kurt Erickson
More information on Brian Turner.
A World of Song
Nov. 17, 2024 | 4 PM
Join us for “A World of Song,” the Setnor School of Music’s fall choral concert, on Sunday, November 17 at 4 PM at Hendricks Chapel. This performance will feature the University Singers, Concert Choir, and Hendricks Chapel Choir, showcasing a rich tapestry of choral music.
The University Singers, the premier choral ensemble of the university led by Dr. John Warren, will take on the majority of the program. Their repertoire selections explore questions and mysteries of the sacred, time, worry, and fear, including Dale Trumbore’s “In the Middle” and Terry Schlenker’s setting of “Timor et Tremor” (“Fear and Trembling”). Recently, this esteemed group has traveled to Brazil in 2024, won the Grand Prix de Ville de Tours, France in 2015, and competed in the European Grand Prix in Bulgaria in 2016, affirming their status as a leading choral ensemble.
The Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Wendy Moy, offers a unique singing experience to students and staff from all areas of university life. Their repertoire spans diverse historical, cultural, and stylistic origins.
The Hendricks Chapel Choir, directed by Professor José “Peppie” Calvar and accompanied by University Organist Anne Laver and Hendricks Chapel Organ Scholar Annie Spink, comprises students from various disciplines and plays a significant role in the spiritual life on campus. The choir performs at significant university events, serves as the musical anchor to the Malmgren Concert Series, and brings a deep sense of community and tradition to their music.
This event is co-sponsored by the Setnor School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
You’ll be inspired during this choral concert which will feature the Hendricks Chapel Choir, Concert Choir, and the University Singers performing music from around the world!
Follow us on social media @HendricksChapel to stay up-to-date on announcements and details!
Accessibility:
For accessible parking, please call Hendricks Chapel at 315.443.2901 or email chapel@syr.edu.
CART, ASL and Aira will be offered at this event.
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART)is the instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and real-time software. This is useful for English speakers who are hard of hearing or deaf.
An American Sign Language (ASL)interpreter translates a service or program for those who know ASL and are deaf or hard of hearing.
Aira is a visual interpreting service that makes visual information accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, or for any person with a disability who may benefit from verbal descriptions of visual information. Syracuse University is a proud Aira Access Partner. SU makes Aira visual interpreting services available to our community of students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and visitors on campus at no cost. Interpreters audibly describe a person’s visual surroundings via a live professionally-trained agent and the Aira Explorer mobile app.