For his ‘Good News Mass,’ Carlos Simon builds on the almighty power of love

Some of composer Carlos Simon’s highest-profile recent works have confronted incendiary subjects such as George Floyd’s 2020 death at the hands of the Minneapolis police or the ugly history of slavery. 

But his latest creation takes a decidedly different tone. The overtly religious work is titled Good News Mass, drawing on the meaning of “gospel,” a word that refers broadly to the teachings of Christianity and specifically to the first four books of the New Testament. “That good news is that there is love,” Simon said. “Even if you are not a believer, you believe in love. For someone who believes in God, it’s love from God.”

On July 31, the Ravinia Festival will present the Midwest premiere of Good News Mass, which it co-commissioned with six other organizations. The concert will feature Chief Conductor Marin Alsop leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as four vocal soloists and the Adrian Dunn Singers, one of Chicago’s only all-Black professional choral ensembles.

Also on the program is Antonín Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From The New World), written in 1893 during his nearly three years in the United States as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. “It’s wonderful,” Simon said. “I love Dvořák, and I love that piece, too, and especially what it means in terms of American music.” During his U.S. stay, Dvořák famously exhorted American composers to not mimic European music, but uncover their country’s own distinctive sound by drawing on sources such as Black spirituals and Native American music.

In the 21st century, Simon believes American classical music has fulfilled that vision by evolving into what he called a “gumbo of different stories.” Nowhere is that blend more clearly realized than in his own writing, in which he melds European-derived classical music with African American traditions like the gospel idioms that run through Good News Mass. “That’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “This is not the first attempt. It’s something that I’ve been experimenting with in different pieces. This is sort of a culmination of that.”

A native of Washington, D.C., where he now resides, Simon, 40, grew up in Atlanta. For Simon, the son of a preacher, the church played a central role in his early life, and he began playing the piano for services when he was 10. He went on to complete degrees at Morehouse College and Georgia State University and obtained his doctorate at the University of Michigan, under noted composers Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers.

Simon is quickly becoming one of classical music’s most sought-after and honored figures. He has served as composer-in-residence for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since 2021. He also holds the role of composer chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the first in that institution’s history. In 2026–27, he is set to become composer-in-residence at Amsterdam’s celebrated concert hall, the Concertgebouw. “I’ve been wanting to do more performances in Europe,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine, and this residency definitely helps in that.”

In 2021, the Los Angeles Philharmonic approached Simon about a possible commission. “It was basically carte blanche,” he said. He knew he wanted a film component because of Los Angeles’ important ties to the movie industry, as well as a choral element. Many of his most significant creations in recent years have been choral works in part because of his love of writing for the voice. He also has an extensive history with choirs, from childhood, and as a singer and accompanist for glee club during all of four of his years at Morehouse. “I know a lot about writing for choir,” he said. “It’s my experience.” 

After some reflection, Simon told the L.A. Phil that he wanted to write a mass in line with his musical heritage, combining gospel music with themes of spirituality and faith. “They gave me a lot of support for that,” he said. The resulting 50-minute work combines a jazz combo, a narrator, gospel soloists and a gospel choir. “I wanted to make sure that everyone has their own equal weight in the piece,” Simon said. “Everybody has equal time, including the soloists.” Featured as soloists at Ravinia will be soprano Kymberli Joye and tenors Zebulon Ellis and Bernard Holcomb. 

Structured as 16 movements in three acts, Good News Mass draws on elements of the traditional Catholic Mass, but it updates and adapts that form with a libretto by Courtney Ware and poetry by spoken-word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, who will take part in Ravinia’s performance. Adrian Dunn, the founder and music director of his namesake touring choir, likes the stylistic variety in the piece, from sections that have a traditional choral sensibility to others that have what he called a “quartet gospel, down-home, Southern feeling” and still others that sound like the liturgical music heard in African American churches today. 

The Adrian Dunn Singers have appeared twice previously at Ravinia, in performances also led by Alsop. “You can just tell that she loves collaborating with folks, and she is always present and wanting to bring the best out of everyone involved,” Dunn said, “and I think that’s always a major plus when you are premiering works.” The usually 12-member choir has been augmented to some 80 singers for this concert, and they have been rehearsing since May. “It will be exciting,” Dunn said.

The L.A. Phil premiered the piece in April 2025 with a performance that music critic Mark Swed described in the Los Angeles Times as creating a “near frenzy” in Walt Disney Concert Hall. “Stylistically, Simon smoothly moves from charismatic symphonic writing through a wide range of African American musical styles, leaving improvisational room for the vocal soloists.”

While more performances of Good News Mass are scheduled, including a set at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in April 2027, Simon has other projects under way as well. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is premiering his The After Party! in September and taking it on a subsequent European tour. Written for countertenor John Holiday, the work celebrates the birth of the Harlem Renaissance.

“I’m very happy,” Simon said. “I wake up everyday grateful for the things that I’ve been able to do, and the things that are still coming. It’s been a wild ride, but it has been very much enjoyable.”

This is an excerpt from an article published in the Ravinia magazine. To read the full piece, click here.