REQUIEM
by Johannes Brahms
sung in English

Chancel Choir and Orchestra Concert
Sunday, May 16, at 7:00 p.m.

 A milestone musical event will occur on May 16th, when our Chancel Choir, soloists and Orchestra will perform Johannes Brahms famous German Requiem.  Sung in English and featuring soprano Susan W. Kane and baritone Scott Gregory, the Requiem is unlike almost all other works of that name in history. 

For this Requiem, Brahms selected texts from the Bible, drawing from the Psalms, Song of Solomon, books of the New Testament, and the Apocrypha.  It is in seven parts or movements, composed by Brahms as a memorial service to the great composer Robert Schumann.  Each movement begins with the theme of sadness or grief, but immediately turns into comfort, consolation, and joy.  

Since its first performance in 1865, the Requiem has been hailed as on of the great major choral/orchestral works in all of history, and our Choir members are excited to have the opportunity to learn and share this music. 

The concert will be conducted by William Hatcher, Director of Music.  Janice Stewart will be at the organ, and the contractor for the orchestra is Nancy Swanberg.  

Scott Gregory, received his B.S. Choral Education from Dickinson State College; his Masters Degree from the University of New Mexico, and pursued doctoral studies at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.  Mr. Gregory has sung with various opera companies, including leading roles with Chicago Opera Theater, Whitewater Opera, and the National Opera Company. He spent five years in Hamburg, Germany in the German production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in the roles of Raoul and Viscount de Chagny.  Last February, he appeared in a double-bill of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury and the world premier of Rumpelstiltskin, and this spring he appeared in A Little Night Music at the Lyric Opera. 

Susan W. Kane’s “crystal-clear voice and impeccable technique” (LA Culture Spot, May 2009) has captured audiences from coast to coast in performances of opera, operetta, oratorio, art song, and symphonic and chamber works.  Her most recent opera role, Micaëla, in LA TRAGEDIE DE CARMEN, won her the above acclaim. Recent orchestral performances include the Dvorak TE DEUM with the Bakersfield Symphony and a Christmas concert with the California Philharmonic at the Ambassador Auditorium.  Reviews highlight her “generosity of spirit and charm” as well as her “excellent performance.”   As a champion of both new music and music by women composers and Kane has had several pieces written for her, the most recent being Songs from the Long History of Happiness by Sara Carina Graef that have been performed from Miami, Florida to Los Angeles, California.  Last year Kane released her first solo CD recording or art songs and arias in 2009 entitled A MOMENT OF JOY (available on iTunes).

A graduate of The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Kane studied under soprano and vocal pedagogue, Barbara Honn. A teacher of exceptional talent and commitment, Kane has been an invited master teacher at the New Israeli Opera Young Artist Program in Tel Aviv and an invited lecturer for the Los Angeles Opera’s Education and Community Programs on the topic of “Training the Next Generation of Opera Singers.”   Kane maintains a private studio as well as being a tenured faculty member at CSULA.