Light the World (A Prayer for Blessing)

Ingrid Stölzel (b. 1971)

Lauded by critics for her “strong sense of style and drama” (The Washington Post) and her “enthusiastic and perceptive conducting,” conductor Victoria Gau brings a wide range of musical experience and expertise to her work. She has been the artistic director of Cantate since 2019 and founded Cantate Concert Choir in 2021. In addition to her role as Artistic Director of Cantate, she is in her 29th season as Artistic Director and Conductor of Capital City Symphony (D.C.). Read more about Maestra Gau.

Matthew Steynor has prepared choirs for performances conducted by Marin Alsop, Stan Engebretsen, Joshua Habermann, Anthony Blake Clark and others. He moved to the DMV area in 2019 from South Florida, where he was Director of Music at Trinity Cathedral in Miami and the Artistic Director of the Florida Singing Sons, a boychoir based in Fort Lauderdale. He is the co-founder of the Anglican Chorale of South Florida, with whom he directed several South Florida premiers including settings of the Passion by Arvo Pärt and Bob Chilcott, in addition to making a recording and an international tour. Last Summer he was the musical director of a Choir Camino, leading a group of singing pilgrims in a series of services in churches and cathedrals along the Camino de Frances in Northern Spain.

Equally comfortable working with choirs on the podium and from the piano, he is the accompanist of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, involving regular performances at the Kennedy Center on both piano and organ. He is the Director of Music at St. Alban’s Episcopal Parish in DC, and makes occasional appearances next door at the National Cathedral both as organist and conductor, including at the recent state funeral of President Jimmy Carter.

Originally from the UK, Matthew received his musical training in the British cathedral choir tradition and is a graduate of Cambridge University where he was Organ Scholar at Queens’ College. During his studies at Cambridge he was appointed by Stephen Cleobury to conduct the wind orchestra of the Cambridge University Musical Society. 

Collaborative pianist and singer Carter Sligh is an active performer in the Washington, D.C., area. He has worked as a collaborator with solo musicians of all stripes, and with local ensembles like the Choral Arts Society of Washington and CASW Chamber Singers. He is a proud graduate of Oberlin College, where he majored in theater with a concentration in music directing while working as an accompanist in the voice department of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Carter is also an active professional choral singer himself, being a member of the professional choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and singing with numerous local professional choral ensembles such as the Washington National Cathedral Choir, Cathedra, the Washington Bach Consort, and Chantry. He holds a Master’s in Ensemble Singing from the University of York (UK), where he was a Choral Scholar at York Minster. Carter is beyond thrilled to fill the role of Keyboard Artist for the Cantate Concert Choir.

Johannes Visser is a South African composer and conductor, currently based in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area. His music reflects on his South African heritage and celebrates the diversity of the musical traditions he practiced from a very young age. Ranging from large orchestral works to intimate solo improvisations with live electronics, Johannes’ music tells an expressive story shaped by his deep, emotional feelings regarding social justice, equality, and inclusion. His string quartet, vlug 295, casts an emotional light on the human impact of the Apartheid regime and the lingering consequences thereof. As orchestral conductor, Johannes holds positions with the Capital City Symphony in Washington D.C. as well as the Prince George’s Philharmonic in Maryland.

Johannes earned his doctorate degree in music composition at the University of Maryland, College Park, under the supervision of his mentor and dear friend, Professor Robert Gibson. He also holds graduate degrees in orchestral conducting and composition from the University of Louisville, and a Bachelor of Music from the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. Notable awards include the Jan Royce Foundation Prize for his symphonic work, madiba se sprokie, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace Prize for vlug 295, and the Peter Klatzow Prize for compositional excellence. Johannes currently serves on the faculty at the University of Maryland as Assistant Clinical Professor of Music Theory and Composition.

Soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot has enjoyed a distinguished career performing leading roles in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and others, as well as appearing worldwide in concert and recital. Recent highlights include Ceres in Jommelli’s Cerere Placata with Opera Lafayette and Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades with the Russian Chamber Arts Society.

Other notable performances include Giulietta in Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming with Minnesota Opera; Messiah with the Nashville Symphony and National Philharmonic; Verdi’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at Oberlin. She has returned to the Metropolitan Opera and San Diego Opera, debuted with Minnesota Opera as Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), and performs regularly with regional orchestras.

In Europe, Ms. Cabot was a resident soloist at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Staatstheater Braunschweig and has appeared in gala concerts with Plácido Domingo. She is Assistant Professor of Voice and Diction at George Mason University and holds degrees from Oberlin College and the Yale School of Music.

A native of Washington D.C., mezzo-soprano Cara Schaefer is recognized for “the kind of singing which is consummate in its power to communicate authentically” (DC Metro Theater Arts). She is known for her “wonderfully funny” portrayal of Ruth in Young Victorian Theatre Company’s The Pirates of Penzance, her “sexy, transcendent” interpretation of title role in Le Cabaret de Carmen with IN Series, and for premiering the roles of Wo-Man Ray in Caesar and the Mannequin and Mary Billings in Voices of Zion with Alliance for New Music-Theatre. Ms. Schaefer is a two-time winner of the Maryland/DC chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Auditions and a Grand Prize winner of the Sue Goetz Ross Memorial Competition. She is Executive Director of both Cantate and Bel Canto in Tuscany, a member of the artistic administration team of Alliance for New Music-Theatre, and a private vocal technician in the DC area.

Tenor Louis Tiemann hails from Maryland, living in the Greater Baltimore area. As a member of the 2025 Mary Ragland Emerging Artists at Nashville Opera, Louis most recently sang the role of Harry in La Fanciulla del West and Ranger Dudley in the Community Tour of Little Red’s Most Unusual Day. Prior engagements include Mr. Upfold in Albert Herring with Opera Baltimore and appearances with Young Victorian Theatre Company as Edwin in Trial by Jury and Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore. At home in both operatic and choral repertoire, Louis has sung with The Handel Choir of Baltimore and has served as tenor section leader at St. Joseph Parish in Cockeysville, Md.

He earned his Artist Diploma from William Jewell College (2023), his Master in Voice Performance from Bard College Conservatory (2021), and his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Towson University (2018).

From the Kennedy Center to concert stages in Italy, bass-baritone Jim Williams has established a dynamic career defined by clarity, connection, and refined artistry. A graduate of Oakwood University, he first gained recognition as a member of the Grammy-nominated Aeolians, performing alongside Kathleen Battle, Take 6, and Richard Smallwood.

He made his Washington, D.C. debut as Sarastro in The Magic Flute with IN Series and appeared as Figaro in Figaro in Four Quartets. As a member of the Washington National Opera chorus, he performed in Faust, Tosca, Otello, Così fan tutte, and Carmen.

With Washington National Opera, he made his solo debut as the Assistant Prime Minister in Fidelio and returned as Luddud in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. Recent highlights include his Opera Montana debut as Booker T. Washington in Ragtime and appearances as bass soloist in Messiah, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Mozart’s Requiem.

Verleih uns Frieden

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich,
Herr Gott, zu unsern Zeiten.
Es ist doch ja kein andrer nicht,
der für uns könnte streiten,
denn du, unser Gott, alleine.

Mercifully grant us peace,
Lord God, in our times.
For there is no other
Who could fight for us
But you alone, our God.

Cantique de Jean Racine

Gabriel Fauré

Light the World (A Prayer for Blessing)

Ingrid Stölzel, text by Robert Bode

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

Ludwig van Beethoven

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere
anstimmen und freudenvollere!

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund.

Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott!

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan,

Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen.
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder! Über’m Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen.

Oh friends, no more of these sounds!
Let us sing more cheerful songs,
More full of joy!

Joy, bright spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Thy sanctuary!
Thy magic power reunites
All that custom has divided;
All men become brothers
Under the sway of thy gentle wings.

Whoever has created
An abiding friendship,
Or has won
A true and loving wife,
All who can call at least one soul theirs,
Join in our song of praise!
But any who cannot must creep tearfully
Away from our circle.

All creatures drink of joy
At nature’s breast.
Just and unjust
Alike taste of her gift;
She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine,
A tried friend to the end.
Even the worm can feel contentment,
And the cherub stands before God!

Gladly, like the heavenly bodies
Which He set on their courses through the
splendor of the firmament;
Thus, brothers, you should run your race,
As a hero going to conquest.

You millions, I embrace you.
This kiss is for all the world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
There must dwell a loving Father.
Do you fall in worship, you millions?
World, do you know your Creator?
Seek Him in the heavens!
Above the stars must He dwell.