By Michele Leight

Distinguished Concerts International will present the United States premiere of "Mass for Prisoners of Conscience" by John Burge at Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Sunday April 5, 2009 at 2 PM. The performance is dedicated to the human rights organization Amnesty International.

The concert will also feature the Mass No. 12 in B Minor ("Theresienmesse") by Franz Josef Haydn with Eric Johnson conducting the Distinguished Orchestra International and the Distinguished Singers International. Guest soloists for this section of the program will be Orna Ariana, Soprano, Shannon McGee, Mezzo, John Tiranno, Tenor, and Samuel Smith, Baritone.

For more information or to buy tickets please visit www.DCINY.org or call the DCINY box office at 212-707-8566 x 307, or directly from the concert venue.

In March 2009, a recording of the music "Flanders Fields Reflections," by John Burge performed by the Sinfonia Toronto, conducted by Nurhan Arman, won a 2008 Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, in the category of Best Canadian Classical Music Composition.

John Burg's "Mass for Prisoners of Conscience," was commissioned in 1987 by Vancouver's Christ Church Cathedral Choir, and is scored for baritone, mezzo-soprano and child soloists, accompanied by choir and a small instrumental ensemble of four solo woodwind instruments, two pianos and percussion.

Conductor Laureate Doreen Rao will conduct musicians and singers from the University of Toronto, where she is Director of Choral Programs, and Queen's University in Ontario, where Dr. Burge is Director of the School of Music.

The text material for the soloists consists entirely of first-hand accounts of political prisoners and their families that are sung in English. These accounts or testimonials are drawn from material provided by Amnesty International.

The choir sings sections from the liturgical Mass in Latin, and comments on the emotions and situations expressed in the solo movements. Musically, the work is highly dramatic. "Mass for Prisoners of Conscience" premiered at the University of Toronto Symphony Chorus - Dr. Doreen Rao, conductor - on November 9th, 1990.

John Burge has written many vocal and orchestral compositions, and his "Angel's Voices" written for choir and orchestra received the 2006 outstanding New Choral Composition Award from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2005.

The Juno Award winner, "Flanders Fields Reflections," is based on the iconic poem by Canadian military officer John McCrae. Conductor Nurhan Arman said, "Recording these works was a real labor of love for us, and we are delighted that now people…will be able to listen to these remarkable compositions…it's a great privilege to help pieces as beautiful as these become better known."

The Mass No. 12 in B minor ("Theresienmesse") was composed following Haydn's tenure in England, where he had secured his reputation as the greatest living composer of his day. He would write no more symphonies, but did accept a commission from Nicholas II, the fourth of the Esterházy princes whom he had served, to write a Mass each year celebrating the name day of Nicholas's wife. The Theresa Mass is written for four vocal soloists, chorus, and an unusual orchestra comprised of two clarinets, bassoon, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

In just two short years, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) has joined the ranks of major classical music production companies in America, nearly doubling its roster of participating ensembles and attracting talent from all over the globe. Among the events DCINY is honored to present this season are one world and two US premiere performances of major new works by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, which took place on January 19, and the world premiere of a new choral piece by American composer Eric Whitacre on June 28.

Please visit www.DCINY.org for more information and details of performances and highlights of DCINY's 2009/10 Season.

Amnesty International has received the Nobel Peace Prize and its global mission is rooted in a fundamental commitment to the rights, dignity and well-being of every individual. Over 2.2 million members worldwide uphold the ideals embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including freeing prisoners of conscience, stopping torture, abolishing the death penalty, and ending violence against women, among other issues.

A "prisoner of conscience" is most often a political prisoner, held under house arrest, or in prison for their beliefs or political activities.

Amnesty International only advocates for non-violent prisoners of conscience. Famous prisoners of conscience include Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. There are also thousands of lesser known or unknown prisoners of conscience across the globe - including many writers, artists, comedians, actors, filmmakers and journalists - that do not have what we know of as "freedom of expression," which we take for granted as a "right." They can be arrested for criticizing their elected officials, or for writing a dissenting opinion in their local newspaper. Some have been held without trial for 20 years. Some languish in prison for 60 years, and others just disappear.

For more information about Amnesty International please visit www.amnestyusa.org