Most Popular Living Composer Returns to Carnegie Hall with DCINY

DCINY welcomes Sir Karl Jenkins, first Welsh composer to be knighted, for two monumental works, Stabat Mater and Symphonic Adiemus

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents the music of Sir Karl Jenkins on Monday, January 19, 2026, at 7:00 PM at Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall (881 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019).

This extraordinary evening features Sir Karl Jenkins as Composer in Residence, with DCINY Artistic Director Jonathan Griffith leading the Distinguished Concerts Singers International and Distinguished Concerts Orchestra in Stabat Mater and Symphonic Adiemus. WQXR Radio Personality and Host Elliott Forrest will join soloists Baidar Albasri and Heather Petrie. Sir Karl Jenkins will be a part of this annual celebration of his music as DCINY Composer-in-Residence.

Stabat Mater (2008) transforms the 13th-century prayer on Mary's suffering into a universal depiction of grief. The 12-movement setting includes poetry from the Epic of Gilgamesh and Persian mystic Rumi, alongside Jenkins' "Ave Verum" and Carol Barratt's "Lament." Texts are sung in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and English, with Middle Eastern instruments including the Armenian duduk and percussion.
Symphonic Adiemus represents Jenkins' revolutionary project born in 1995 for a Delta Air Lines commercial. Jenkins created an invented phonetic language to treat voices as instruments, drawing inspiration from jazz and Welsh hymns. This symphonic version features full SATB choir with expanded orchestration and world percussion, with up to 250 musicians on stage.

"I could customize the text as I was writing each phrase, treating the human voice as an instrument," explains Sir Karl Jenkins about Adiemus. "The vocal sound is more akin to world music—one side gentle and ecclesiastical, the other aggressive and 'tribal,' redolent of the hymn singing I heard as a boy in Wales."

About Sir Karl Jenkins
Sir Karl Jenkins is one of the most performed living composers in the world. Born in Wales in 1944, he studied at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music. His career began in jazz with Soft Machine, winning first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970.

His breakthrough came with Adiemus, which sold over one million copies in its first year. Jenkins is renowned for large-scale choral works, including The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (performed over 3,000 times worldwide), Requiem, and Gloria. In 2015, he was confirmed as the most popular living composer in Classic FM's "Ultimate Hall of Fame" and awarded a Knighthood for "services to composing and crossing musical genres."

About Jonathan Griffith
DCINY Artistic Director, Co-Founder and Principal Conductor, Dr. Jonathan Griffith is a past winner of the American Prize in Conducting and has led performances throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. His work with DCINY has brought thousands of singers to Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Participating Choirs
The Distinguished Concerts Singers International will be comprised of singers from the following ensembles: The Chancel Choir of Saint John's Methodist Church (SC); Choral Artists of Carmel (MA); Coros Sinfónico de Honduras (Honduras); CoroVivo (Switzerland); Großer Chor des Jean-Paul-Gymnasiums Hof (Germany); Huntsville High School Choir (AL); Joyful Band of Singers (NC); Kirchenchor Dorfen (Germany); Kirchenchor Markdorf (Germany); Pennsbury High School Choir (PA); Prairie Vox Community Choir (Canada); Productiehuis Limburg / Limburgs Concertkoor (The Netherlands); The Steward School Upper School Chorus (VA); unAIRhört (Germany); Voiceart Bern (Switzerland); And individual singers from around the globe.

About Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Distinguished Concerts Singers International (DCSI) brings together passionate singers from around the world to perform at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center under internationally renowned conductors. These musicians spend months preparing demanding repertoire before arriving in New York for intensive rehearsals culminating in performance.

About Distinguished Concerts Orchestra
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra (DCO) brings together professional musicians from the New York area to perform in DCINY concerts. Dr. Griffith and the DCO are past winners of the prestigious American Prize in the professional orchestra category.

About Distinguished Concerts International New York
Founded by Iris Derke and Jonathan Griffith, DCINY produces dynamic musical experiences in renowned venues with a global community of artists and audiences. DCINY changes lives through the power of performance. The DCINY Experience has been recognized as "Top 10% of Things To Do Worldwide" two years in a row by TripAdvisor (2024, 2025).

Tickets and Information
Tickets are available through Carnegie Hall's website at carnegiehall.org or by calling 212-247-7800.
For more information about this concert, visit www.dciny.org

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Sir Karl Jenkins and Jonathan Griffith are available for interviews.
Contact Press@DCINY.org or 212.707.8566 x300
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Event Details at a Glance
What: The Music of Sir Karl Jenkins: Stabat Mater and Symphonic Adiemus
When: Monday, January 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Where: Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall (881 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019)
Composer in Residence: Sir Karl Jenkins
Conductor: Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Performers: Distinguished Concerts Singers International and Distinguished Concerts Orchestra
Tickets: www.carnegiehall.org or 212-247-7800
Info: www.dciny.org

Iris Derke
DCINY
+1 212-707-8566
email us here

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