Analysis Of Sir Karl Jenkins Requiem And Dance

The Williamsport Civics Chorus will proudly perform the Sir Karl Jenkins' “Requiem” and Dance. The Japanese fusion performance will be on Sunday, April 24 at 3 p.m. At the Williamsport Area High School auditorium. This is the first time this has come to northcentral. Pennsylvania.

Jenkins, a Welsh composer has gotten great acclaim in the United Kingdom as well as around the World. The work “Requiem” is composed in 2005, but still pays respect of choral positions of the past. It however also has modern hip-hop rhythms and inclusive, multi-cultural influences. Along with the music, Director Michael Connor commissioned original choreography from Jaclyn Gailit-Lutz which will be performed by the Turning Pointe School of Ballet.

The performance

“ One can experience Jenkins' music as uplifting and soul-stirring and quickly find so much to enjoy in the Requiem.”

She explains that when Michael Connor's was presented with the opportunity, he knew that it needed to be done in Williamsport. “The performance incorporates elements of World Music (Japanese Haiku), hints of Arvo Part, Philip Glass, and chill out pop, this Requiem Mass for vocal soloists, large choir, shakuhachi flute, harp, Japanese drums, and orchestra is a moving, dazzling masterpiece.” She

“We want to fine music accessible to all through education, participation, and inspiration". It goes without saying that this concert involves tremendous collaboration with community members--from singers, orchestral musicians, dancers, regional soloists, and the myriad of people behind the scenes who help us fund, plan, and stage our performance. We are bringing a new work to the area, one that fuses spiritual traditions of East and West--how much more educational and inclusive can that be! Lastly, the musical selections themselves are beautiful, inspiring, and hopefully as rewarding to the listeners as they are to the performers in our common quest to make sense of life's brevity.” she explains.

The show involves dance, something that not typical of a Williamsport Civic Chorus performance. “Dance inspires.” Hemmendinger explains” it allows us to express ourselves when words and music are insufficient, including the joy that we feel over new found love and the determination we have in the face of great worry. We all want to be understood, and if we could speak the words that describe our feelings, how deep and powerful they would surely be. Why involve dance? Perhaps the better question is, "Why would we not involve