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.  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, Handel's Dixit Dominus, the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 and Henry Purcell's King Arthur 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 since 2007. Community response to the Bach Cantata Series has been overwhelming, and Kairos again plans to present six cantatas in the series' sixth year.  For more information about the Bach Cantata Series, click here.

In early 2010, Kairos further expanded its mission with the presentation of historically-informed performances of Baroque choral works, many of which are performed infrequently due to their complexity and difficulty. In January 2010 Kairos presented Bach's Magnificat and Handel's rarely-performed Dixit Dominus, and in December 2010 Kairos presented Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 to sold-out audiences at the Monastery. In November 2011 Kairos presented a narrated concert version of English composer Henry Purcell's 1691 semi-opera King Arthur with guest artist David Tass Rodriguez.