El Camino College Presents "A German Requiem"

From El Camino College:

The El Camino College Chorale, Concert Choir, Mixed Chorus and Orchestra will perform Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem” at 8 p.m. May 7 in Marsee Auditorium.

Featuring 125 singers and 66 musicians, this collaboration will be led by Joanna Medawar Nachef, ECC director of choral activities and Dane Teter, ECC director of instrumental music. The choral and instrumental music departments will come together for a powerful performance of this major lyrical work for choir, orchestra and soloists.

Featured performers include accomplished opera singer and ECC voice faculty member Erin Wood, who has performed all over the country, with reviewers praising her “soaring soprano” with a "volcanic outpouring of sound."

ECC alumnus, baritone Anthony Moreno, who has sung in Austria and Italy with Ars Nova Sinfonia under the direction of ECC music professor William Doyle, will add his lyrical tone to the concert. Moreno has been honored with the Torrance Performing Arts Consortium’s “Making a Difference” award, among other operatic honors.

“A German Requiem” was originally composed in German based on texts from the Lutheran Bible. Brahms’ intent was to make this requiem a consolation for the living, not mourning for the dead. It will be presented in English to allow the audience to grasp the universality of Brahms’ message and his desire to express the theme: “sorrow is (or will be) turned to joy.”

Tickets to the performance are $10 and may be purchased at www.centerforthearts.org, by phone at 310-329-5345 or toll-free at 800-832-ARTS. High School students may receive a complimentary ticket at the box office with a student ID. The Ticket Office is open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Campus Parking is $3. Marsee Auditorium is located on El Camino College Campus 16007 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance.