At an Ember Choral Arts rehearsal for its upcoming, season-ending show "The New Frontier," on Friday, May 15 at 7:30 PM at Manhattan's St. John's in the Village, singer Billy Shaw proclaimed, "I swear you are clairvoyant! Did you know that Artemis was going to be in the news at the same time as this concert?"

By "you," Shaw meant Deborah Simpkin King, founder, creative director and conductor of the New York City-based choral ensemble. Citing Ember's 2022-23 season, "The Human Journey in an AI World," King said, "I have to admit it's not the first time my programming has had a prescience to it."

In "The New Frontier," Ember will celebrate, in song, President John F. Kennedy's leadership during the first moon landing, with wide-ranging repertoire including Da Pacem by Arvo Pärt, Stars by Ēriks Ešenvalds and "Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. "The theme was decided a full year before Artemis! But what fun it was to work the Artemis flight path into the graphic for the concert's visuals. And what fun it is to sing this music with that added dimension."

Ember's 2025-2026 season, "Our Better Angels," named for a quote from President Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural address, has focused on times enlightened leadership in American history, just in time for the United States semiquincentennial. Its first concert of the season, "The Four Freedoms," took place back in March at midtown's St. Malachy's -- The Actors Chapel. It, too, was named after a presidential quote, this one from Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, and featured programming inspired by the same.

Innovative programing is a large part of Ember's appeal. As founder and creative director of two initiatives, PROJECT : ENCORE and Ember Ablaze Composer Lab, that promote young composers and the continued performance of their post-premiere works, King has earned the reputation of being an industry visionary with deep roots in choral tradition.

In addition to running PROJECT : ENCORE, Ember Ablaze, and Ember Choral Arts, which she founded in 1995 as Schola Cantorum on Hudson, King is also the director of choirs at the Manhattan School of Music, chair of the New York Choral Consortium, director of music and arts at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, NJ, a monthly columnist with ACDA's The Choral Journal, and a rotating host on WWFM's Sounds Choral. She also ran the New Jersey Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association's High School Choral Festival for 25 years.

Admission for Ember Choral Arts' May 15 concert is free. The program will be repeated on Sunday, May 17 at 5:00 PM at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Morristown, NJ. Registration is required at emberarts.org.