The Congressional Chorus ft. Marjan Naderi | "Homesong"

Invited by conductor Allan Laiño, I performed three poems alongside the Congressional Chorus on November 12th in Washington, D.C. Poems included Qabuli Palow, Baba's American Dream, and AP World.

More about the event:

Homesong was a moving and inspirational choral performance featuring the music of US immigrant and first-generation composers who drew inspiration from the musical practices of their homeland.

The mission of the Congressional Chorus has been to perform American music, and this program challenged the boundaries of what is traditionally considered American.

A newly commissioned work, Chalo Re Mhaare Des by Gaayatri Kaundinya, fused Hindi and Western musical traditions. The commission amplified the work of an emerging composer whose Indian-American identity is often underrepresented in the field.

The Chorus' very own NorthEast Senior Singers (NESS) and NESS Music Director, George Stewart, premiered Mr. Stewart's new arrangement of "Home" from The Wiz in collaboration with the Congressional Chorus.

Homesong featured guest poet Marjan Naderi, a young Afghan-American whose works provide insight into her Muslim-American identity. A multitude of racial and cultural identities are represented in this program as we studied and presented works by Indian, Argentinian, Native American, Afghan, Ukrainian, African American, and Asian artists.

In support of the people of Ukraine, we presented Blahoslovy, dushe moje, Hospoda by Roman Hurko, sung in Ukrainian. Roman Hurko is an American composer of Ukrainian descent who honors the tradition of Slavic Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches.

Highlighted Performance (excerpt from Homesong):

To watch a full recording of the concert, view the following video:

To learn more about The Congressional Chorus, visit:

Congressional Chorus About Us Page

To learn more about the conductor, Allan Laino, visit:

https://www.allanlaino.com/