Acclaimed by critic Alex Ross as "one of the best opera composers of the moment," composer-librettist Mark Adamo has lately ventured into symphonic composition, choral work and stage direction with striking assurance. Adamo first attracted national attention with the libretto and score to his uniquely successful debut opera, Little Women, after the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Comparable acclaim greeted the premiere of Lysistrata, or the Nude Goddess, adapted from Aristophanes' comedy but including elements from Sophocles' Antigone. Adamo recently joined the Empire City Men's Chorus as a second tenor and will perform at the December 4 concert at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament on West 71st Street and at the December 13 concert at St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights. The composer says it's his first time performing his own work as a member of a chorus.

The program, entitled "Winter Solstice: A Budding Morrow," features beautifully nuanced, uniquely American masterpieces by Ned Rorem, Lee Hoiby, Eric Whitacre, Stephen Paulus, David Hurd, Paul Moravec and (of course) Mark Adamo, including one work that was commissioned especially for the Empire City Men's Chorus. Also on the program is the beautiful Messe "Cum Jubilo" of Maurice Duruflé. The concert features organist Paolo Bordignon (Juilliard) (www.paolobordignon.com) and award-winning mezzo-soprano Rosalie Grace Sullivan. Artistic Director Christopher Clowdus (Yale) will conduct the ensemble.

Hailed for its "warm and unified sound" (Show Business Weekly), the Empire City Men's Chorus has performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew's Church. For more information about concerts on December 4 and December 13, visit www.empirecitymenschorus.org or call 212-545-4110.