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| Johannes Brahms |
From our friends at the Cathedral Choral Society...
Cathedral Choral Society Presents 'Brahms Requiem' for the First Performance of the 2014/15 Season
Music Director J. Reilly Lewis’s 30th Season Opens with Brahms Requiem
The Cathedral Choral Society, Washington’s oldest symphonic choral group, will present Brahms Requiem on October 19 at 4:00pm at Washington National Cathedral. Led by J. Reilly Lewis in his 30th season with the Cathedral Choral Society, this performance will feature three of the pinnacle composers of the Romantic Era: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms.
Schubert’s Overture in B-flat major, D. 11 (Der Spiegelritter) and Schumann’s Nachtlied, Op. 108 set the stage for Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45. The dramatic, dark, and beautiful Requiem was the central work of Brahms’ career, as well as his most personal, composing it following the death of both his mother and long-time friend and mentor Robert Schumann.
“We are pleased to start off the season with this beloved and uplifting music. This Requiem is an extraordinary work. It was written with a spacious acoustic in mind, so this concert at Washington National Cathedral is really a perfect marriage of music and space,” said Music Director, J. Reilly Lewis.
The Cathedral Choral Society is pleased to present soloists; Martha Guth, soprano and Dean Elzinga, bass baritone. Guth has performed with orchestras and in venues throughout the world, including with the Bachakademie Stuttgart, Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center. In 2007, she won first prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in London, and was recently named the winner of the Sorel Organization’s Emerging Artist Award.
Elzinga maintains an active schedule as an opera and orchestral soloist. He has appeared in featured roles at the Metropolitan Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, and has taken leading roles at New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, and Seattle Opera, among others. He has taken principal solo bows in great halls such as the Concertgebouw and the Hollywood Bowl, and sang Mozart’s Figaro, Leporello, and Méphistophélès at the Vienna Volksoper.
“This will be Reilly’s 30th season as Music Director. In this season he will continue to present creative programming that surprises and captivates,” said Executive Director, Genevieve Twomey. “Each season our goal is to present a series of concerts that showcase major works of the choral repertoire alongside new and lesser heard works. Our first concert of the 2014/15 Season is no exception.”
About the Cathedral Choral Society:
The Cathedral Choral Society is the resident symphonic chorus of the Washington National Cathedral. Now in its 73rd season, the 130-voice chorus presents an inspiring concert season at the Cathedral and shares the joy of choral singing throughout the Greater Washington DC Area through its outreach programs.
For Tickets:
Regular priced tickets prices begin at $25. Tickets for children and students with valid ID under the age of 25 are $15. Senior and veterans special pricing is also available. Season subscriptions are still available and provide the best seating at the best price. Complimentary parking is included with ticket purchase in the Cathedral’s underground parking garage courtesy of the Cathedral Choral Society. To purchase tickets, or for additional information please call please call (202) 537-2228 | (877) 537-2228 or visit the website, www.cathedralchoralsociety.org.
At a Glance:
• Brahms Requiem, October 19, 4:00 p.m., Washington National Cathedral
• Tickets start at $25
• Pre-concert conversation with J. Reilly Lewis at 3:00pm
• Cathedral Choral Society, J. Reilly Lewis, Conductor
• Martha Guth, soprano
• Dean Elzinga, bass baritone
