About Kairos

Photo: Michael Nelson ©2009.

The word kairos is from the ancient Greek meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment). The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While chronos refers to chronological or sequential time, kairos signifies a time in between, a moment of undetermined time in which something special happens. It denotes the state of mind we hope to achieve in our music, in which the past and future merge with the present in the listener’s experience.

KAIROS: A Consort of Singers was formed in 1994 by Brother Randall Horton, a member of the Holy Cross Episcopal Monastery in West Park, New York. In 1996 the group was reorganized under its current Artistic Director, Dr. Edward Lundergan.  Ed brought a new focus to Kairos, and the group has blossomed and matured under his direction.  Repertoire such as Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia and Five Flower Songs, Poulenc's Un Soir de Neige, contemporary British composer Tarik O'Regan's The Ecstasies Above, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, J. S. Bach's Singet dem Herrn and Handel's Dixit Dominus are just some of the demanding and complex works that the group regularly performs.  The group performs at various venues in the Hudson Valley, and has also performed with instrumental groups such as the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Bach Festival orchestra, and members of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet.  In 2005 Kairos became artists-in-residence at Holy Cross Monastery and performs concerts in the wonderful Chapel throughout the year.

In the spring of 2006 Kairos expanded its mission and repertoire by creating a Bach Cantata Series, with performances of four cantatas in 2006 and six cantatas in 2007, 2008 and 2009.  Community response to the Bach Cantata Series has been overwhelming, and Kairos again plans to present six cantatas in the series' fifth year.  For more information about the Bach Cantata Series, click here.