Conducted by Buck McDaniel, the Choir of Our Saviour & Sacred Hearts is among the leading professional ensembles of its kind in New York City. While its primary raison d’être is to sing two choral liturgies each week, the choir has appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live supporting recording artist Sam Smith, the upcoming film The History of Sound, directed by Oliver Hermanus starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, the 120th Anniversary of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at The General Theological Seminary, and various concert events at both the Church of Our Saviour and the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary. A tradition of excellence in sacred music has long played a major role in the parish's worship experience.

 

Buck McDaniel, born in 1994, is an American composer who writes orchestral music, works for the stage, chamber music, and sacred music. His varied career includes work with recording artists Sam Smith, Nico Muhly, Elvis Depressedly, and Mourning [A] BLKstar. His work has been performed internationally in venues ranging from the Belfast Pipeworks Festival (Ireland), the Tanglewood Music Festival (USA), and Lincoln Cathedral (UK). His chamber work Memory Ground, commissioned by the The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, was featured in The New York Times, Time Out New York, and WNYC. A sampling of recent projects include a one-act adaptation of Edith Wharton’s short story ‘Afterward’ for narrator and organ and an evening- length suite for cello and harp commissioned by The General Theological Seminary.

As a conductor, McDaniel has appeared on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, WRUW’s Live from Cleveland, and his evening length multi-media collaboration with director Raymond Bobgan, Fire on the Water, ran at Cleveland Public Theatre for 5 weeks. A frequent collaborator with producer Jacob Kirkwood, his sound installation Landscape Piece debuted at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2019. He serves as Director of Music at both the Roman Catholic Church of Our Saviour and Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary, Director of Chapel Music at The General Theological Seminary, and lives in New York City.