The Battenkill Chorale presents “Rise to Life’s Beauty!” featuring Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” for chorus, chamber orchestra, and soloists on Saturday, April 22 at 7 pm and Sunday, April 23 at 4 pm, at Immaculate Conception Parish, 73 Main Street, Hoosick Falls.[private] The colorful orchestra for Dan Forrest’s ravishing “Requiem for the Living” includes harp, gong, bell chime, glockenspiel, cymbals, drums, strings, winds, and organ. Soloists are soprano Gene Marie Callahan, tenor Michael Gallagher, and organist Erich Borden. Shorter works by Estonian Arvo Pärt, Norwegian Ola Gjeilo, and Polish composer Henryk Gorecki complete the program.
Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” is a profoundly moving work that is taking the choral music world by storm. Soprano Gene Marie Callahan is an award-winning singer with extensive experience singing opera, oratorio, and recital work throughout the Capital District and Northeast. Tenor Michael Gallagher is also a scientist and composer who has worked with Broadway composers as well as writing works for choirs and symphony orchestras. Erich Borden is one of the leading organists in the Capital District, where he plays the renowned Frobenius Danish tracker organ at the Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church.
Tickets are $15 and can be reserved by calling (518) 692-7458 or emailing battenkilltickets@gmail.com.
The Battenkill Chorale, an 85-voice unauditioned chorus from six counties in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont founded twenty-two years ago by Artistic Director Janet McGhee, has matured into what is now recognized as one of the premier amateur choruses in the North Country and Capitol Regions. [/private]