Three Choirs, One Orchestra to Perform Brahms Requiem May 6

The Knox College Choir, Monmouth Chorale, and Galesburg Community Chorus join forces to perform one of the best-known choral works, "A German Requiem," by Johannes Brahms, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, in Central Congregational Church, on the Public Square in Galesburg.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, and free to all students, and are available at the door.

"The Brahms Requiem is an epic work, challenging to perform and thrilling to hear," said Laura Lane, professor of music at Knox College and director of the Knox College Choir. The Monmouth Chorale and Galesburg Community Chorus are directed by Tim Pahel, associate professor of music at Monmouth College.

Lane will direct the combined choirs totaling 135 singers—50 from Knox, 40 from Monmouth, and 45 from the Galesburg Community Chorus—along with two soloists, baritone Wayne Tigges and soprano Michelle Areyzaga.

Accompanying the choirs will be a 42-member orchestra of professional musicians from throughout the region.

A native of Iowa, Tigges has performed with the San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Austin Opera, and Washington National Opera. He also has sung in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Saint Luke's, and Teatro Regio di Parma.

Areyzaga has performed operatic roles with the New York City Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Birmingham, Ravinia Festival, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. As an orchestral soloist, she has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival, Richmond Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and the Grant Park Music Festival.

The performance of the Brahms is the final concert of the 2016-17 season for the Galesburg Community Chorus, the oldest community music organization in the Galesburg area. The Monmouth Chorale is a highly selective mixed ensemble that performs regularly on and off campus. The Knox College Choir, the premier choral ensemble of the College, will conclude its 2017 season with a Mother's Day Concert at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, May 14, in Knox's Kresge Hall.

The performance of the Brahms Requiem is sponsored by Blick Art Supplies, with additional grant funds from the Galesburg Community Foundation, the City of Galesburg, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.