When you hear the word “cantata,” what do you think of? Perhaps it’s one of Bach’s 200 choral works, like his popular Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, which gave us the timeless wedding song “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Or maybe you think of one of Bruckner’s inspiring works, or even Brahms’ Rinaldo.

Or, perhaps you’re wondering, “What exactly is a cantata?”

The term “cantata” has become a general term for any large-scale choral work with instrumental accompaniment. While similar in function to operas and oratorios, cantatas are typically smaller in scale and can include sacred or secular texts. The instrumentation can range from chamber groups and string orchestras to even a jazz orchestra! And in just over a week, you have the opportunity to hear a concert featuring two jazz cantatas.

I’m excited to share the stage as a guest conductor with the Traverse City Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra (TC Jazz) and the Northwestern Michigan College Choirs as we present Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert and my own “The Lesson of the Lark” at 3 p.m. on May 11 in Lars Hockstad Auditorium.

Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert is a set of three “Sacred Concerts” that Ellington composed and performed over eight years. It was an evolving collection of original compositions that reflected Ellington’s lifelong interest in the intersection of faith, art, and community, and his belief in the power of music to uplift and transform.

The first Sacred Concert was commissioned by Grace Cathedral of San Francisco for their “Festival of Grace” in 1965 and included both existing and new Ellington compositions, such as “Heritage (My Mother, My Father)” and “Come Sunday.” “In the Beginning God” was awarded a Grammy Award in 1967. The second and third iterations premiered in 1968 and 1973, respectively, and included new additions like “Heaven” and “T.G.T.T. (Too Good to Title).”

The version you will hear, edited and arranged by John Høybye and Peder Pedersen, combines elements of all three Sacred Concert versions and is written for soprano soloist, choir, and jazz big band.

I am also thrilled to share the live performance premiere of my work, The Lesson of the Lark, which was written to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. The work is based on the book “The Lesson of the Lark” by my lovely wife, Laura Knight Cobb, and dramatically retells the struggle for women’s voting rights through the characters of a Girl, a Lark, and a Gardener. The concert work, composed for soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists, narrator, chorus, and jazz orchestra, features soloists in the roles of the Girl and the Lark, with the chorus as the Gardener.

Similar to scenes in a musical, each movement tells a portion of the larger story, drawing on the language of jazz and influenced by a different jazz genre. In The Lesson of the Lark, you will hear a jazz waltz, the Blues, up-tempo swing, a jazz ballad, Bossa Nova, and Samba, and a movement inspired by gospel music, hymns, and spirituals.

The Lesson of the Lark was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2020, but the COVID pandemic disrupted those plans. Later that year, the Northwestern Michigan Choirs and local musicians virtually premiered the work, with each person performing and recording their parts individually. This performance will be the first live performance and the first true premiere of The Lesson of the Lark.

I hope you can join us on May 11 for this fantastic performance. You will recognize many of your favorite TC Philharmonic and TC Phil Jazz Orchestra players. The concert features Alice McAllister Tillman as our soprano soloist, Miriam Picó Younce as our mezzo-soprano soloist, and Laura Knight Cobb as our narrator.

Tickets start at $27, at TCPhil.org or call 231-947-7120.

Northwestern Michigan College Choir Program Director Jeffrey Cobb is the guest conductor and composer for “The Lesson of the Lark,” inspired by the book written by his wife, Laura Knight Cobb, celebrating the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

Though “The Lesson of the Lark” is not a chapter book, I divided the book into eight movements, creating sections of text that would work as musical pieces unto themselves.