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Dominick DiOrio

Recognized with The American Prizes in both Choral Composition (2014) and Choral Performance (2019, with NOTUS), Dominick DiOrio is an imaginative, enthusiastic, and energetic conductor and composer who has won widespread acclaim for his contributions to American music. He is professor of music and chair of the department in choral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School...

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Dominick DiOrio (DD3 Publications)

Vigil for Love

Name: Vigil for Love
SKU: DD3-VigilforLove
Availability: InStock

Dominick DiOrio

A luminous 40-minute work exploring the many facets of love.

Difficulty: 3

Duration: 30+ min.

DD3-VigilforLove

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SATB div. & piano

Featuring original poetry by Kyle Conner, this moving composition takes audiences on an intimate journey through love’s many dimensions—from its power to ennoble and illuminate to its capacity to confound and mystify. An excellent feature for a stellar pianist, the choral parts are approachable and accessible for all high school and volunteer choruses.

Movements:
i. Prayer
ii. Intercession: A Madrigal
iii. Responsory
iv. Song to the Friend
v. Offertory
vi. Invocation
vii. Song of Sanctuary | for Ting Ting
viii. Lesson
ix. Canto
x. CREDO

Composer’s Notes

I am honored to have created this major new work with my friend and poet Kyle Conner in honor of Charlotte Sibley, an amazing and visionary leader who is also the former board chair of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia. Vigil for Love is a testament to the love that she has offered so selflessly for our organization and for the many bright lights in our life.

The work progresses in ten movements according to Kyle’s libretto, which borrows extensively from sacred liturgical forms and secular song structures. My music attempts to evoke many of these ancient sounds and symbols while also placing us harmonically decidedly in the present. It is also a virtuosic feature for Mendelssohn Chorus’ amazing collaborative pianist and senior artist-in-residence, Ting Ting Wong, who is asked—along with the chorus—to evoke love’s many moods: playful and placid, exhausted and exultant, virile and virtuous.

– Dominick DiOrio, May 2025

Poet’s Note:
Love is that emotion that we believe distinguishes humans from all other forms of life. It ennobles, it transforms, it illuminates. It also confounds, mystifies, and frustrates. The piece will explore various facets and utterances of love, hopefully bringing us to a more profound understanding of its unique mysteries and many layers. Our friend and former leader Charlotte is a model for living and loving life fully, and this piece is created in her honor.

– Kyle Conner, April 2025