The Torch - St. John’s Mixed Chorus Performs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (March 2026)
by Katherine Garlisi, Contributing Writer
Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and now the St. John’s Mixed Chorus. What do these three have in common? They have all performed at the same venue: the Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The SJU Mixed Chorus performed at the Met on Friday, March 20, as part of a new collection of pop-up performances called the Met Sing Series. They are the first college choir to participate and the second performance in this series overall.
“The Met Sing series was generated with an idea to give K-12, college and university choir and choruses an opportunity to perform in the museum,” said David Freeman, Educator in Music at the Met.
Freeman described the series as pop-up, “flash mob” style performances taking place in a variety of exhibits around the museum. “It’s really like a series for the choirs to learn, members to learn and for our visitors to get enjoyment from music in the galleries.”
“This experience is unlike any other I’ve ever experienced,” said Freshman tenor Joshua Mursalin. “I’ve been in choir since fifth grade. If you told me then that I would be performing in the Met, I wouldn’t believe you.”
It is no simple feat to set up a performance in the only ancient Egyptian temple in the United States. As Mixed Chorus Director Hannah Nacheman put it: “Our awesome president, May, had a super cool connection with the Met Museum and hooked this up.”
Mahnaz “May” Ahmed had a more modest explanation. “I happen to know a couple of folks around the Met. Someone heard that I was a part of a chorus and they were like, oh, you know what? You should meet David…The two of us got in touch, and from there, it was just full steam ahead.”
Nacheman seemed very pleased with the Mixed Chorus’ participation in this new program. “I just love that our students have had this opportunity to come into the city, into this cultural institute and be able to sing for not only their families, but patrons from far and wide.”
The next Met Sings performance is scheduled for Apr. 17, with the Wheeler High School Chorus. As for the Mixed Chorus, their next performance is their Spring Concert on April 24, followed by a performance in Carnegie Hall during Memorial Day weekend.