John Hugo says he’s wanted to sing the tenor solos of Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in D Minor” ever since he heard a Nicolai Gedda recording in the late 1970s.
“Mozart’s work is wonderful in the first place,” says Hugo, chair of Liberty University’s music department and chorus master of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.
“It’s so dramatic. It’s kind of like Mozart at his scariest … The tenor gets to howl a little bit. It’s almost the same sensation you get when you get to be the villain (in a show).”
Hugo will be doing the howling when the Jefferson Choral Society (JCS) presents the piece in two concerts this weekend at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Moneta and 4 p.m. Sunday at Heritage United Methodist Church. They will be joined by a full professional orchestra.
“It’s really intense, and it’s really gripping,” Hugo says. “It keeps you on the edge of your seat a little bit.”
JCS Music Director Aaron Garber will conduct the performance and says everyone is mindful of the piece’s history.
“This music has been performed everywhere in the world, in all the great halls,” he says. “It’s really being a part of musical history to perform this work as a conductor, soloist, chorus singer or orchestra member.”
Garber says there’s a perfect nature to all of Mozart’s writing.
“When you break it down, it really is hard to find areas to improve (upon),” he says. “The way that Mozart composed, and just his overall genius, is what combines to be perfect. If there is such a thing.”
Tickets to the show are $15 for adults and $8 for children 12 and older.
They can be purchased online at www.LynchburgTickets.com, by phone at (434) 528-5700, or in person at one of the following locations: Arthur’s Jewelry in Bedford and Wyndhurst, Aylor’s Feed & Seed, the Blue Marlin Seafood Market on Bedford Avenue, Boonsboro Drug Store, Givens Books, Miller’s Jewelry in Altavista, VA-Bay on Timberlake Road and What a Blessing Bakery in Amherst.
Blue Newt to play benefit for local charities
The Blue Newt Band is performing a concert this weekend to benefit the Alliance for Families and Children and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Central Virginia.
The two organizations have been working together to raise awareness about child abuse prevention, says Melissa Gilmore, director of fund development at the Alliance.
The performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Oakwood Country Club. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Alliance, located on Memorial Avenue, or CASA, whose Lynchburg office is in the Department of Social Services on Ninth Street.
For information or to check out more of the Alliance’s child abuse prevention activities, visit www.alliancecva.org.
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