DuPage Chorale
Patria
Patrick O’Shea, Director
Guest Artists:
Desirée Hassler, soprano
Karen Archbold, mezzo-soprano
David Govertsen, baritone
Timothy Archbold, cello
and the DuPage Chorale Chamber Orchestra
Repertoire:
PATRIA: Reflections on the Nation (world premiere) by Patrick O’Shea
Psalm 42 by Felix Mendelssohn
About PATRIA, new work by Patrick O’Shea:
To mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Patrick O’Shea has written a large-scale work for choir, soloists, and chamber orchestra which will be premiered by the DuPage Chorale on May 9, 2026 at the McAninch Center for the Arts in the Belushi Concert Hall. With texts from the 1770s to the present, PATRIA: Reflections on the Nation speaks to the determination of the American Revolution, the optimism of the founding generation, the trials of civil strife, and facets of the immigrant experience. While most of the texts are in English, there are movements in Spanish and in Chinese as well, symbolic of the many cultures that have come to the United States in search of opportunity and freedom. The underlying theme, which has been with the nation since its beginning is E PLURIBUS UNUM – “Out of many, one.”
For those interested in a more in-depth discussion of the work before the premiere, the composer will present a compositional update and preview of the work as part of the Music Fridays @ Noon series on May 1st (yes – on Friday, at noon). Music Fridays @ Noon are free and open to the public. For tickets to the premiere concert, please visit www.atthemac.org or call the College of DuPage Box Office: (630) 942-4000.
The title, PATRIA, is taken from the title of by a poem of Keith Boynton. The text of this poem is set as the 8th of 9 movements in the work:
PATRIA – Keith Boynton (July 4, 2025)
You do not love her less when her skirts are torn,
Her standard bloody, dragging in the mud,
Her ankles fettered, chafed, her eyes cast down,
Her ghoulish captors dancing her defeat;
This is the time, instead, to love her more,
With all the fervency of desperate hope,
Which sees, beyond the black horizon, fire
That may be battle, or the burst of dawn.
(PATRIA, artwork by Genevieve O’Shea © 2026)
DuPage Chorale is a large community chorus based at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. There is no audition for DuPage Chorale membership. Adult singers of all voice types and ages are welcome. Members come from all western suburban locations. For more information, contact Director Patrick O’Shea at osheap709@cod.edu or at 630-942-2552.
About the Director: Patrick O’Shea holds the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from Arizona State University, Master of Music degree in Choral Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, in Vocal Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va. His composition teachers have included the late Russell Woollen, as well as Thomas Fredrickson and Randall Shinn. He has served frequently as a clinician and adjudicator, and has been commissioned to write new works, particularly for choral and chamber music ensembles. Dr. O’Shea is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers, American Composers Forum, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity.
