New York-based Dessoff Choirs has announced its 2021-22 season.

The season kicks off with “Considering Matthew Shepard,” a three-part fusion oratorio about the young, gay student who was kidnapped, tortured, and left to die. The work features texts by Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi as well as passages from Matthew’s personal journal and the words of his family and friends. The showcase stars Matthew Cahill as Matthew, Tami Petty, and Markel Reed alongside the Brooklyn College Conservatory Singers.

Performance Date: Nov. 6, 2021

Next up is a performance of Händel’s “Messiah” with audience members invited to join the chorus of the famed work.

Performance Date: Dec. 3, 2021

The company will then head to the Met Museum for a performance of Margaret Bonds’ Christmas cantata “The Ballad of the Brown King” with vocal soloists including Laquita Mitchell, Noah Stewart, and Lucia Bradford. The performance will also include performances of works by Mary Lou Williams including “Black Christ of the Andes.”

Performance Date: Dec.19, 2021

Finally, the company will present the world premiere of Margaret Bonds’ “Credo” and her rarely performed work “Simon Bore the Cross,” an Easter cantata.

Performance Date: April 28, 2022