Enhanced by stunning artistic projections, this performance showcases Z. Randall Stroope’s brand new work Franklin, performed by chorus and orchestra. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this piece reflects on the vision, ideals, and enduring legacy of one of America’s most influential founders.

The first half of the concert will highlight the National Concert Chorus, including works by Craig Hella Johnson, Eric Whitacre, Hans Bridger Heruth, and Jocelyn Hagen.

Z. RANDALL STROOPE, GUEST CONDUCTOR

Z. Randall Stroope is an American composer and conductor, having conducted concerts in 26 countries and published over 200 musical works. Randall is the Artistic Director of two international summer music festivals and has directed music for Vatican Mass 12 times.  Recent guest conducting engagements include Jakarta (Indonesia), Milan, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Dublin, Stockholm, Berlin, and Vienna.  In the United States, Randall has directed 56 performances at Carnegie Hall and Chicago Orchestra Hall, 48 all-state choirs, and numerous other conducting workshops, clinics, and performances at universities and festivals.

Randall is the founder/conductor of The New American Voices, a professional recording/performing ensemble based in Dallas/Fort Worth. This ensemble toured northern Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands in the summer of 2024 and records twice a year. The ensemble will be touring Spain and northern France in June 2026.

All of the major marketing/social media platforms feature Randall’s music, including his own website, www.zrstroope.com. He has created 104 videos for YouTube and his music can be live-streamed through Spotify.  His composition teacher-mentors were Normand Lockwood and Cecil Effinger, both students of the famous French teacher, Nadia Boulanger.  Seven companies publish his works, which have sold over four million copies. Petrus, The Conversion of Saul, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Amor de mi alma, Christi Mutter, We Behold Once Again the Stars, The Pasture, Revelation, I Am Not Yours, Dies Irae, Hodie! (This Day), Song to the Moon, and In Paradisum are among those on his best-seller list.

Randall holds a Bachelor of Music Education in Voice and Piano, a Master of Music in Voice Performance, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting.  He did post-graduate work with Margaret Hillis, Chorus Master of the Chicago Symphony. Randall was a Professor of Music at three major universities during the teaching portion of his career.

When not on the road, Randall, Cheryl, and their Sheltie (Haddie) spend time at their home/studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Merritt Island, Florida.

PEARL SHANGKUAN, GUEST CONDUCTOR

Dr. Pearl Shangkuan has been described as one whose “work as a conductor, educator, and scholar is celebrated globally, and her leadership continues to inspire musicians and choral communities worldwide.” She is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is currently the National Vice President of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), having previously served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, as well as ACDA central region president and ACDA Michigan state president. The Chorus Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony since 2004, she is Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Appointed in 2022 as the Editor of Hinshaw Music, a major choral music publisher in North America, she also has a signature choral series with earthsongs and is the music editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship choral series published by GIA. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US and was an invited guest lecturer at the World Symposium for Choral Music held in Seoul, South Korea. Her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America, and in the 2025-26 season, also to New Zealand, South America and South Africa.

Dr. Shangkuan has served on the jury of several international choral competitions in Europe and Asia and has led conducting masterclasses for the ACDA national and Chorus America conferences. She has also been artist-in-residence for various prominent graduate music programs and institutions across the US. She has conducted numerous All State choirs, ACDA national and division honor choirs, and choral festivals nationally and internationally and has headlined several ACDA state and other professional conferences. She has commissioned and premiered numerous choral works and her choirs have performed at ACDA national, division and state conferences.

The Michigan YWCA honored her with its Arts Tribute Award in 2007. In 2013, Michigan ACDA honored her with the Maynard Klein Choral Award for “artistic excellence and lifetime leadership in choral music.” In 2020, she received a Calvin University Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2023, the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) gave her its Honorary Life Member Award for “distinguished leadership and extraordinary service to the choral community, both nationally and internationally.”

PROGRAM

Saturday April 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM
CARNEGIE HALL

National Concert Chorus 
Z. Randall Stroope, guest conductor

CARLY SIMON arr. CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON Let the River Run
KEVIN T. PADWORSKI Vidi Aquam
ERIC WHITACRE Stopping By the Woods On a Snowy Evening
Z. RANDALL STROOPE Hands
HANS BRIDGER HERUTH Morning
Arr. JOCELYN HAGEN Now Our Meeting’s Over
Arr. AARON COPLAND adapted by GLENN KAPONEN Zion’s Walls

National Masterwork Chorus 
Pearl Shangkuan, guest conductor 

Z. RANDALL STROOPE Franklin