Centenary College Choir and friends to perform Brahms’ Requiem
SHREVEPORT – The Centenary College Choir, joined by alumni, family, and friends in the local community, will perform Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem on Sunday, March 27, at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Shreveport.
Nicknamed "Requiem for the Living," Brahms' masterpiece is among the highest pinnacle of choral works in the repertoire. For this special program, the Centenary College Choir will be joined by alumni, family, and friends of the Choir, and accompanied by full orchestra. The Choir dedicates the performance to all those lives lost these past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Choir will sing a new edition of the work prepared by Dr. Cory Wikan, Dean of the Hurley School of Music at Centenary. Wikan has carefully edited the English singing translation from legendary conductor Robert Shaw's scores and notes and his edition is in the process of being published. While originally in German, Shaw's English version is perhaps the most faithful to the original meaning of the text and is beautifully set for singers.
“The past few years have been difficult for all of us, and certainly recent iterations of the Centenary College Choir have been necessarily limited in many of the public performance traditions due to COVID-19 related concerns,” said Dr. David Hobson, director of the Centenary College Choir. “I believe this performance will be a meaningful milestone for our students, our community, and our tradition, as we entrust the Divine's gift of music to yet again stir our souls to remember, reflect, comfort, and transcend our human limitations of fear and grief.”
Notable performers for the event include soprano Dr. Janani Sridhar, assistant professor of music at Centenary, and bass Dr. Horace English, who retired in 2013 after a 29 year career at the Hurley School.
The performance of Brahms’ A German Requiem is free and open to the public.