Florence Camerata, Collegiate Singers, Other UNA Voices Join Forces for ‘Choral Masterworks’ Performance of Mozart’s REQUIEM
Mar. 2, 2014
By Terry Pace, Communications and Marketing
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Florence Camerata will present Mozart’s immortal Requiem for its next “Choral Masterworks” performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at Norton Auditorium on the University of North Alabama campus.
The Requiem – under the direction of Dr. Ian Loeppky, who leads the Florence Camerata and also serves as director of choral activities at UNA – will feature the UNA Collegiate Singers, the Shoals Chamber Singers and the Florence Camerata Orchestra, along with Tiffany Bostic-Brown, soprano; Kathryn Hedlund, alto; Kevin Thomas, tenor; and Terrance Brown, bass.
“The Requiem of Mozart is probably better known to the casual listener than he or she may be aware,” noted Loeppky, an associate professor of music at UNA. “Movements of it have found their way into popular culture again and again, particularly the Introit and the ‘Lacrimosa,’ and it is hard to find better examples of pathos and sorrow embodied in notes and words.
“Others may know Mozart's Requiem from the 1979 Peter Shaffer play Amadeus, and the later film of the same name,” he continued. “Thanks to this film, the Requiem is surrounded by legend and mystique quite unlike any other work in the symphonic-choral repertory, though the relationship between Mozart and Salieri is likely not as antagonistic as the film would suggest.”
Austrian-born composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) began writing the Requiem in Vienna but left the work unfinished at his untimely death (at the age of 35) on Dec. 5, 1791.
“His wife Constanze commissioned several composers to finish it,” Loeppky explained. “It was Franz Xavier Süssmayr who completed this task only a few months after Mozart’s death, and it is this version that you will hear Thursday night. It is a tribute in itself to the power and passion of Mozart’s inspired musical genius, and one that audiences and choruses have returned to again and again for over 200 years.”
Founded by Loeppky in 2006, the Florence Camerata is an accomplished community chorus and has become known one of the finest community choruses in the state. The group is open to all area singers ages 17 and older.
“The Camerata’s mission is to provide Shoals audiences with the finest choral performances possible,” Loeppky remarked, “to provide a musical outlet for those in the area who love to sing and to share with audiences the joy that only live performance can offer.”
Prior to the Requiem performance, a special pre-concert talk will be given by Alan Flowers – an instructor of music at UNA – beginning at 6:45 p.m. in the UNA Choral Room.
Admission to the Requiem is $15 for adults and $8 for students, seniors (65 and older) and military veterans. Tickets are available in advance at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts in downtown Florence, or at the door at Norton before the performance. For more information, visit the Camerata’s website at www.florencecamerata.com.
A high-resolution photo of Dr. Ian Loeppky is available for media use on the UNA Gallery at: http://www.unalionsden.com/archive/photo.php?id=4040