Above: Ms. Kittany in Mexico with the New York Choral Society in 2010.

Dee Kittany to Take Carnegie Hall Stage

When Dee Kittany was growing up in small-town Arkansas, she never dreamed of living in New York—let alone performing at Carnegie Hall. On Tuesday, May 10, she’ll perform there for well over for the 100th time at the New York Choral Society’s performance of Israel in Egypt.

Kittany, who has taught at Xavier since 1983, is a lifelong musician who played the flute and the piccolo and sang in high school. In 1974, a few years after moving to New York, she joined the New York Choral Society. “I’ve been happily with them ever since,” she said. “It’s a top-notch, volunteer chorus.”

Her time in the Choral Society has taken her to Greece, Turkey, Austria, Israel, Mexico, and the former Yugoslavia. She has performed with Andrea Bocelli and Peter, Paul, and Mary. “I would sit there every time and think, I can’t believe I get to do this,” she recalled. She has a similar feeling as she anticipates Tuesday night’s concert at Carnegie Hall.

“It never gets old. It’s a thrill every time,” she said of performing there. “You can’t help but think of who else has been on that stage, who’s conducted on that stage.”

She is equally honored to have the opportunity to sing at the funeral of Daniel Berrigan, S.J., which will be celebrated on May 6 at the Church of St. Francis Xavier (Kittany’s own parish). She will join members of the parish choir and the Ignatian Schola, of which she is a part, in singing Fr. Berrigan home.

“I can’t think of a time in my life that didn’t have a lot of music in it,” Kittany said as she reflected on her musical career. “It’s really what feeds my soul.”