New album arrives Oct. 9 on Signum Records, spanning 250 years of American choral music and featuring three arrangements by Composer-in-Residence Jennifer Lucy Cook
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Phoenix Chorale will release Promised Land, a new album exploring two and a half centuries of American choral music, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, on Signum Records.
Created in recognition of America’s 250th anniversary, the 19-track recording draws from the breadth of the nation’s choral tradition, moving from African American spirituals, Shaker hymns and American folk songs to music by contemporary composers including Caroline Shaw, Eric Whitacre and Frank Ticheli.
Led by Artistic Director Christopher Gabbitas, Promised Land brings together familiar music including “Shenandoah,” “This Little Light of Mine” and “The Road Home” with works and musical traditions that have received less attention. The album includes arrangements by Alice Parker, Moses Hogan, Shawn Kirchner, Carol Barnett, Kevin Siegfried and others.
“This recording seeks to ask and answer a simple question: what does it sound like, across two and a half centuries, to keep reaching for the ideals upon which America was founded?” said Christopher Gabbitas, Artistic Director of Phoenix Chorale. “The answer is extraordinarily varied. Through shape-note hymns, work songs, spirituals, Shaker music, traditional melodies, and contemporary compositions, Promised Land explores a musical inheritance that is not a hierarchy but a democracy. To name this album after the Promised Land is to acknowledge that the American story is not finished, that the crossing is not yet complete, and that singing is not decoration but sustenance. It is how the journey continues.”
At the heart of the album are three works arranged by Phoenix Chorale Composer-in-Residence Jennifer Lucy Cook, bringing music by two early American women back to the concert repertoire. Cook arranged “Star of Columbia” and the title track, “Promised Land,” by 19th-century songwriter Matilda Durham, as well as “lo dello: the dance,” based on a song by Shaker eldress Hannah Cohoon. Phoenix Chorale first premiered the three arrangements in 2023.
The recording offers audiences an introduction to Cook’s work ahead of one of Phoenix Chorale’s most ambitious projects to date. On Jan. 30 and 31, 2027, the Chorale will present the world premiere of Cook’s National Parks at Camelback Bible Church in Paradise Valley. The new work, Phoenix Chorale’s largest original commission, will bring together the Chorale, brass ensemble The Westerlies and young singers from Phoenix Children’s Chorus.
Cook was named Phoenix Chorale’s Composer-in-Residence in 2025 following several collaborations with the ensemble. Her 2025-27 residency centers on the development of
National Parks, her first extended work for SATB chorus with an original libretto.
Promised Land continues Phoenix Chorale’s long history of acclaimed recordings. The ensemble’s albums have spent more than 20 weeks on the Billboard charts and earned 10 Grammy Award nominations and three wins. The new recording is Phoenix Chorale’s third album for Signum Classics, following The Christmas Album and Sun Moon Stars Rain.
Promised Land will be available for purchase, download and streaming on all major platforms beginning Oct. 9, and at all Phoenix Chorale concerts.
Purchase and streaming options, the complete track listing and the album booklet are available at phoenixchorale.org/music/
For more information about Phoenix Chorale visit phoenixchorale.org