AURA Chamber Choir, under the direction of conductor Imant Raminsh, marks its 37th season with two concerts at All Saints Anglican Church, March 12 and 13.
Entitled Evening, the program features the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, an extraordinarily profound and moving work written before Brahms was 30 years old.
“The work was conceived as a tribute to his friend and mentor, Robert Schumann, but a particularly poignant movement (the fifth) was added after the death of Brahms’ mother with the text, ‘As one whom his mother comforteth, so I will comfort you,’” said Raminsh.
Accompanying the work will be AURA’s Marjorie Close on piano and celebrated organist Jim Leonard on pipe organ. Also performing will be Okanagan vocal soloists, mezzo soprano Mia Harris and baritone Mark Wells.
The concert will be introduced by a short set of unaccompanied pieces by Brahms’ contemporaries Hugo Alfven (Swedish), Felix Mendelssohn (German) and Antonin Dvorak (Czech) on the unifying themes of nature and evening.
All works on the program will be performed in their original languages.
Concert times are 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13. Tickets are $18 (students free) from choir members, The Bean Scene and at the door. A reception will follow each performance.
For more information, visit www.aurachamberchoir.com