Next in our Tenth Anniversary Season: Remember and Imagine!

Robert Sims, baritone

Kearstin Piper Brown, soprano

The appearance of Mr. Sims and Ms. Piper-Brown is funded by a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts and Cultural Initiative through the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

  • High School, Collegiate, and Adult learners welcome
  • A collaborative pianist is provided. You may bring your own collaborator if you wish.
  • Fill out a short application online.
  • Six singers and two alternates will be selected to perform.
  • All are welcome to attend!

Our Past Programs. . .

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To kick off the new year, First Inversion presents a program about a universal human phenomena: dreaming. We do it at night; we do it during the day; sometimes we are in a state of sleep; sometimes we are fully conscious. Dreams come in many shapes and sizes. They may be frightening, whimsical, or inspiring. They may represent our deepest imaginings, hopes, or even our very essence and purpose.

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First Inversion presents music of varying styles from the sixteenth century through the present, expressing gratitude in many forms—gratitude for life, for music, for nature, for love, and for the realm of heavenly perfectness. We dedicate this concert to the memory of a dear singer and friend—Jeffrey Tabor.

Holding On Through Song Flyer 2023

Our ninth season finale!

Celebrate March with Mendelssohn and a bunch of "M's!"

Celebrate today with First Inversion!

Don't miss Holding On Through Song IV: Exploring the American Negro Spiritual and Art-Song by African-American Composers

Critically acclaimed soprano, Kearstin Piper-Brown, will join First Inversion once again to present Holding On Through Song IV. Hailed as “A gut-wrenching, educational, and emotional performance that truly rang out to the heavens and called down the Ancestors” (Amanda Chestnut, CITY Newspaper, 2018), First Inversion will continue to explore the rich history of the American Negro spiritual through music and readings, this year combined with art-song by some of today's leading African-American composers. Words from Rochester’s own Frederick Douglass and other leaders, scholars, and artists provide historical context and sacred stories to illuminate our journey.
$20/Adult, $5/Student suggested admission. Tickets available at the door.
This performance will not be live-streamed. Masking is recommended, but not required except when the CDC raises the COVID risk level to "high."

Previous Season's Concerts. . .

For our third annual Holding On Through Song program, we welcomed Thomas Warfield (narration and dance) Herb Smith (trumpet) and Jeffrey Thompson (piano)  to join with the choir and soloists to present in story and song, a moving journey with the African-American spiritual.  Soloists included Kearstin Piper Brown, Jazmine Saunders, Holden Turner, and Jacob Hunter.

Click below to watch our September 2021 Concert.