What is Search for Spring?
You are invited to sing!
You are invited to participate in the world premiere performance of Search for Spring, a powerful work to be sung by hundreds of voices- exploring the emotional toll of climate change and our hope for a better future ahead. This world premiere will be performed on the iconic Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on May 13, 2023 at 3PM.
We're seeking non-professional singers of all ages to join in this voluntary, community chorus experience.
There are no auditions required and it is free to participate.
Participating in Search for Spring requires rehearsals which will be led by a terrific team of conductors in various locations around the city.
The music is not difficult but recommended for singers with some group-singing experience. We welcome any participant who is enthusiastic and dedicated. Our conductors are extraordinary teachers and learning tools will be provided to help you rehearse at home.
Rehearsals begin March 20! Sign up now!
Registration Information and Requirements
Please review the schedules below. On the registration page, select the chorus location and schedule that works best for you. Please note: chorus locations that are full will not be available on the registration page.
In order to ensure a successful performance, singers are requested to attend 4 rehearsals.
All singers must attend the mandatory rehearsal the week of May 8 and the dress rehearsal on the morning of May 13 prior to the performance.
One rehearsal venue will require proof of Covid-19 vaccination. Please see schedule details.
Singers will be required to sign a media release to participate.
Singers under the age of 18 are welcome, but must be registered by a parent or guardian and accompanied to all reherasals and the performance. We invite families to sing together.
Please see the FAQ section for more information.
Important Performance Information
The performance will take place outdoors on May 13. The rain date is May 14.
The performance will be approximately 45 minutes long, with an additional 10-15 minutes to move into position. Singers will also be asked to move (change position, walk) during the performance.
Singers with mobility challenges or who have difficulty standing for the duration will be accommodated. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Please see the FAQ section for more information.
Rehearsal Schedules
Chorus 1: Midtown **Update: Chorus and Wait List FULL**
UPDATE 2/24: CHORUS 1 and CHORUS 1 WAIT LIST ARE FULL.
No rehearsal Monday, April 17.
Thursday May 4 SoHo location TBC.
Monday, May 8 location TBC.
May 13 performance is at Lincoln Center. May 14 is rain date.
Rehearsal times may be adjusted.
Monday, March 20th
6:00pm-7:45pm
Monday, March 27th
6:45pm-9:45pm
Monday, April 3rd
6:45pm-9:45pm
Monday, April 10th
6:45pm-9:45pm
Monday, April 24th
6:45pm-9:45pm
Thursday, May 4th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Monday, May 8th
6:00pm-9:30pm *MANDATORY
Saturday, May 13th
*Morning Dress Rehearsal 3pm Performance
Chorus 2: Brooklyn **As of 3/20 Chorus is Full**
As of 3/20 Chorus is Full. No Wait List.
Note: Monday March 20 rehearsal is in Midtown*.
No rehearsal April 3.
Thursday May 4 rehearsal. Location in SoHo TBC.
May 8 location TBC.
May 13 performance is at Lincoln Center. May 14 is rain date.
Rehearsal times may be adjusted.
Monday, March 20th
8:00pm-9:30pm
Monday, March 27th
6:15pm-9:30pm
Monday, April 10th
6:15pm-9:30pm
Monday, April 17th
6:15pm-9:30pm
Monday, April 24th
6:15pm-9:30pm
Thursday, May 4th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Monday, May 8th
6:00pm-9:30pm *MANDATORY
Saturday, May 13th
*Morning Dress rehearsal 3pm Performance
Chorus 3: SoHo **Update: Chorus 3 is full. No Wait List.**
**3/08 UPDATE: This Chorus is over-subscribed. No Wait List. **
No rehearsal Wednesday April 5.
Note: Wednesday May 3 and Tuesday May 9 are near Lincoln Center.
May 13 performance is at Lincoln Center. May 14 is rain date.
Rehearsal times may be adjusted.
Wednesday, March 22nd
6:45pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, March 29th
6:45pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, April 12th
6:45pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, April 19th
6:45pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, April 26th
6:45pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, May 3rd
6:00pm-9:30pm near Lincoln Center
Tuesday, May 9th
6:00pm-9:30pm *MANDATORY near Lincoln Center
Saturday, May 13th
*Morning Dress rehearsal 3pm Performance
Chorus 4: Bronx
South Bronx/near 149th-Grand Concourse
As of Feb 1: this venue no longer requires proof of vaccination.
Note: Tuesday, March 21 rehearsal is in Harlem.
No rehearsal April 4.
Note: Wednesday May 3 and Tuesday May 9 are near Lincoln Center.
May 13 performance is at Lincoln Center. May 14 is rain date.
Rehearsal times may be adjusted.
Tuesday, March 21st
7:45pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, March 28th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 11th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 18th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 25th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, May 3rd
6:00pm-9:30pm near Lincoln Center
Tuesday, May 9th
6:00pm-9:30pm *MANDATORY near Lincoln Center
Saturday, May 13th
*Morning Dress rehearsal 3pm Performance
Chorus 5: Harlem- 3/20: Chorus is full. Wait List Available.
W.143rd St-St. Nicholas Ave./Wait List only available.
WAIT LIST AVAILABLE. Notification of open spaces will be made to individuals.
No rehearsal April 4.
Note: Wednesday May 3 and Tuesday May 9 are near Lincoln Center.
May 13 performance is at Lincoln Center. May 14 is rain date.
Rehearsal times may be adjusted.
Tuesday, March 21st
6:00pm-7:45pm
Tuesday, March 28th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 11th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 18th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday, April 25th
6:00pm-9:30pm
Wednesday, May 3rd
6:00pm-9:30pm near Lincoln Center
Tuesday, May 9th
6:00pm-9:30pm *MANDATORY near Lincoln Center
Saturday, May 13th
*Morning Dress rehearsal 3pm Performance
FAQs
Can I see the score before I sign up?
As this is a World Premiere, the score will not be released in advance. The score will be distributed at the first rehearsal.
Why don't you list the exact rehearsal locations?
Registered singers will receive the specific location information for their chorus. We do this to ensure only registered singers attend the rehearsals.
When will there be more information about the rehearsals?
Singers will receive reminders 48-72 hours prior to each rehearsal.
The chorus I want to register for is not showing up on the registration page. How do I register if it's not there.
If the Chorus is Full, it no longer appears as an option on the registration page.
What is the recommended age for children to participate?
The recommended age is 10+ due to the length and nature of the piece. All minors (children under 18 by the time of the first rehearsal) must be accompanied by a Parent/Guardian to each rehearsal and at the Performance.
How can I register my child?
To register a child, the parent or guardian must register themselves and then choose the option to add the name of the participating minor(s). All communication will be sent to the parent or guardian.
Will I need to wear a costume?
No. We will encourage everyone to dress comfortably for the outdoor performance.
I sing in a choral group. Can I sign up with them?
Please sign up as an individual so we may communicate with you directly.
Will there be choreography or dancing required?
There will be some simple, directed movement that will be taught with the music. No dancing will be required.
Why do I have to attend the mandatory rehearsals?
The final rehearsal (May 8 or 9) and the Dress rehearsal are mandatory to ensure a successful and safe performance. As the performance involves hundreds of singers, it is important that all participants and support staff rehearse together.
Will there be any food or refreshments provided at rehearsal?
Water fountains are available at the venues. We encourage all singers to bring their own water bottles. No open food is allowed in the rehearsal rooms and food will not be provided. Each rehearsal venue may have more specific restrictions.
Is a Covid vaccination required to participate?
One rehearsal venue requires proof of vaccination. This is noted in the Rehearsal Schedules section.
Will allowance or reimbursement for transportation be provided?
There will not be any allowance or reimbursement for transportation expenses.
My question is not answered here. Who can I contact?
Please send your questions to : [email protected] Please allow 2 business days for a reply.
Creative Team

Colin Britt
Conductor Chorus 3 SoHo
Colin Britt serves as Artistic Director and Conductor of the West Village Chorale, as Choir Director at Rutgers Preparatory School, as Music Director for Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, and recently completed an interim appointment directing the choirs at SUNY New Paltz. He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at Rutgers in 2016, where he studied with Patrick Gardner. Prior to his current appointments, he directed Amuse Singers and North River Sing, and he has also taught on the faculty at the Hartt School and conducted the Hartford Chorale Chamber Singers. His compositions have been performed by ensembles at Rutgers, Westminster Choir College, Hartt, Yale, and Seraphic Fire, the Yale Schola Cantorum, the Yale Alumni Chorus, C4, VOCE, and the Riverside Choral Society, and by ensembles across the country and on four continents. Colin holds degrees from the Hartt School, the Yale School of Music, and Rutgers University.

Phillip Cheah
Conductor Chorus 2 Brooklyn
Hailed by The New York Times for his ensembles’ “warm tone and carefully calibrated blend”, Phillip Cheah is a founding member of C4: The Choral Composer-Conductor Collective and the former Music Director of Central City Chorus, which he led for eleven seasons, and Amuse Singers in New York City. He is a regular guest conductor with various choral ensembles and New York Summer Sings, and has served as the music director for musical theatre productions at The Brearley School, Acting Manitou, Dwight-Englewood School, Bloomington Music Works, and the 13th Street Repertory Company.
Cheah has taught at The Putney School, Cathedral High School, Barnard College, and Manhattan School of Music, and served as the staff accompanist at The Brearley School. He has been the personal assistant to Peter Schickele and worked at Oxford University Press as Manager for Concert and Choral Promotion. He holds both B.S. and M.M. degrees from Indiana University where he studied piano, conducting, and opera coaching. He was also a recipient of the 2002 National Endowment for Humanities Grant to study the German operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, Austria.

Tyrone Clinton, Jr.
Conductor Chorus 5 Harlem
Tyrone Clinton is the founder and director of The Unsung Collective Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to celebrating people of color in Western art music in NYC. In June of 2021, he pioneered the World Trade Center’s Juneteenth Celebration, the first ever in its history. Exercising the importance of vocal pedagogy for young singers, Clinton has conducted several collegiate ensembles and worked as chorus master alongside John DeMain in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah at Northwestern University.

Deborah Simpkin King
Conductor Chorus 1 Midtown
Dr. King plays an active role in the vibrant Manhattan choral scene and serves the national and international music community through her guest conducting and body of published work. Her leadership as a conductor is ongoing with not only her own choral ensembles, including the semi-professional Ember Choral Arts and PROJECT: ENCORE, but also as a guest conductor within Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.
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Francisco J. Núñez
Conductor, Young People's Chorus of New York City
Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year, is a composer, conductor, visionary, leading figure in music education, and the artistic director/founder of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC). In establishing YPC, he has created an awareness of the ability of young people to rise to unforeseen heights of artistry. YPC’s acclaimed artistry inspires invitations for collaborations and performances from a global array of festivals, cultural institutions, and cities throughout the world. Under his leadership, YPC also provides choristers with artistic outlets beyond the stage. Its mixed-media art installation, Alone Together, exhibited on both coasts. YPC also received a New York Emmy® nomination for its 2020 virtual holiday special, Once Upon the Holidays.

Carmen Roman
Conductor Chorus 4 Bronx
Carmen Roman is a New York City based singer, educator and performer with roots in Youth and Program Development as well as Community Engagement and Organization. She is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and Hunter College. Carmen is the Director of a center that supports NYC public school students with disabilities as they transition from high school to postsecondary life. She has over 25 years experience in choral music education and programming. Much of that time was with her Youth Chorus in Harlem. Carmen also has experience working with with adult, senior and inter-generational choirs. She prepared her chorus for multiple performances with Sir Elton John. She also had the opportunity to support a 1,000 member rock youth orchestra and choir prepare for a performance in Sioux Falls, where she was also featured as a soloist. Carmen has performed in Kenya, Spain and the Czech Republic. She is a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Michael Masser Scholarship. Carmen was also awarded grants to support the South Bronx community. Carmen contracted and conducted ensembles for recordings with various artist such as J Cole, Drake, Kanye West, and NEEDTOBREATHE. Carmen is the founder Our Chorus NYC (OCNYC). Participants of OCNYC use their voices to connect and encourage people through story telling.
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Jonathan Dove, CBE
Composer
Jonathan Dove’s music has filled opera houses with delighted audiences of all ages on five continents. He is one of the most performed living opera composers and few, if any, contemporary composers have so successfully or consistently explored the potential of opera to communicate, to create wonder and to enrich people’s lives.
Starting with his breakthrough opera Flight, commissioned by Glyndebourne in 1998, Dove has gone on to write more than thirty operatic works including The Adventures of Pinocchio (2007), Mansfield Park (2011) and Marx in London (2018). Flight, the most successful modern comic opera, has had over thirty productions to date in Europe, the USA and Australia. His television opera When She Died… (2002) was seen by 2.5 million people worldwide.
Dove’s innate understanding of the individual voice is exemplified in his large and varied choral and song output, and his confident optimism has made him the natural choice as the composer for big occasions. In 2010 A Song of Joys for chorus and orchestra opened the festivities at the Last Night of the Proms, and in 2016 an expanded version of Our Revels Now Are Ended premiered at the same occasion. In 2018 They will Rise commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey was premiered to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Air Force.
Throughout his career Dove has made a serious commitment to community development through innovative musical projects. Tobias and the Angel, a 75-minute opera written in 1999, brings together children, community choirs, and professional singers and musicians in a vivid and moving retelling of the Book of Tobit. His 2012 opera Life is a Dream, written for Birmingham Opera Company, was performed by professionals and community choruses in a disused Birmingham warehouse. 2015 brought the World Premiere of The Monster in the Maze, a community opera co-commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, premiered under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle in three separate translations and productions. The Monster in the Maze has since been performed around the world, translated further into Taiwanese, Portuguese, Swedish and Catalan, and received a BASCA British Composer Award in 2016’s ‘Amateur and Young Performers’ category.
Dove’s work for orchestra has included a Proms commission for the BBC Symphony Orchestra Gaia Theory (2014) which takes its inspiration from the ground-breaking writings of scientist and environmentalist James Lovelock. His work for children and family audiences Gaspard’s Foxtrot, based on the book by Zeb Soanes with illustrations by James Mayhew, was co-commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra, Three Choirs Festival Association, Docklands Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestra and premiered in 2019. A film of the work, featuring the RSNO with Zeb Soanes alongside moving illustrations from the book, had already been seen by 104,000 children in 2022. A second Musical Tale, Gaspard’s Christmas, commissioned by the RSNO, premieres in 2022. In Exile (2021) for solo baritone, solo cello and orchestra, depicts a day in the life of an involuntary exile. Written for Simon Keenlyside and Raphael Wallfisch, it was commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as part of its centenary commission series.
Jonathan Dove won the 2008 Ivor Novello Award for classical music and was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's 2019 Birthday Honours for services to music.
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Alasdair Middleton
Librettist
Alasdair Middleton was born in Yorkshire and trained at the Drama Centre, London.
His work as a librettist includes: with Jonathan Dove – The Monster in the Maze (Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Aix-en-Provence Festival) winner of a BASCA British Composer Award, We Are One Fire (BBC Singers, BBC Proms 2019), Diana and Actaeon (Royal Ballet), The Walk From The Garden (Aegeas Salisbury International Arts Festival), Life Is A Dream (Birmingham Opera), Mansfield Park (Heritage Opera), Swanhunter (Opera North), The Enchanted Pig (The Young Vic, ROH2), The Adventures of Pinocchio (Opera North), and the cantata On Spital Fields (Spitalfields Festival, winner of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award); The Feathered Friend. He has written four plays; Aeschylean Nasty, Shame On You Charlotte, Casta Diva and Einmal.

Simon Halsey, CBE
Conductor
Simon Halsey occupies a unique position in classical music. He is the trusted advisor on choral singing to the world’s greatest conductors, orchestras and choruses; as an ambassador for choral singing to amateurs of every age, ability and background he has led ground-breaking massed choral events, notably for New York’s Lincoln Center.
Making singing a central part of the world-class institutions with which he is associated, he has been instrumental in changing the level of symphonic singing across Europe. He holds positions across the UK and Europe as Choral Director of London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Chorus Director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Principal Guest Conductor and Choral Ambassador of Orfeó Català, Creative Director for Choral Music and Projects at WDR Rundfunkchor, Conductor Laureate of Rundfunkchor Berlin and Professor and Director of Choral Activities at University of Birmingham. His work is the subject of the documentary film Unsere Herzen – Ein Klang (Our Hearts – One Sound), which will be released to cinemas in September 2022.
Halsey’s numerous awards include three Grammys for his recordings with the Rundfunkchor Berlin. He was made Commander of the British Empire in 2015, was awarded The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2014, and received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to choral music in Germany.
Francesca Harper
Movement Director
After being named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performing at the White House Harper joined and performed soloist roles with The Dance Theater of Harlem and later as a Principal Artist in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt.
Harper has choreographed for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Richmond Ballet, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, and her own company, The Francesca Harper Project, which was founded in 2005 and tours Internationally.
Harper performed in four Broadway productions including The Color Purple, then toured in leading roles in Sweet Charity, Sophisticated Ladies and Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill for which she was nominated for best Actress in a Musical. She also served as a Ballet Consultant for the Oscar winning film, “Black Swan.”
Harper was Movement and Casting Director for The Bessie Award winning, “The Let Go,” commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory and for Zendaya and Tommy Hilfiger’s Apollo Theater production for Fashion Week in 2019. Fellowships include Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Center Initiative andThe Ballet Center at NYU. New works include a new creation for Wendy Whelan, Associate Artistic Director of The New York City Ballet and her own autobiographical work, “Unapologetic Body, supported by Urban Bush Women’s CCI. Harper is currently engaged as Executive Producer with Sony Pictures on a series in development while also pursuing an MFA in performance creation at Goddard College. In 2021 Francesca was appointed as Artistic Director for Ailey II in addition to being commissioned by filmmaker Ava Duvernay to create an original work that will Premiere at the Guggenheim museum in March, 2023.