Over 200 Musicians to Perform Brahms’ Requiem Saturday, May 13, at Queens College
—Presented in tribute to Lawrence Eisman, Aaron Copland School of Music professor emeritus, former Choral Society director, and alumnus—
Flushing, NY, April 12, 2023—Over 200 musicians comprising the Queens College Choral Society (QCCS), Treble Choir, Vocal Ensemble, and Orchestra will perform Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem on Saturday, May 13 at 8 pm in tribute to Lawrence Eisman, Aaron Copland School of Music (ACSM) professor emeritus, former Choral Society director, and alumnus, who died in February 2021. Brahms’ Requiem is a beloved masterwork—an uplifting, majestic, and moving piece composed to offer comfort to those in mourning. James John, Choral Society music director, will conduct the performance, which will take place in Colden Auditorium of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.
Eisman, a 1955 graduate of the college, served on the ACSM faculty for over 40 years and led the college’s Center for Preparatory Studies in Music from 1981 to 2009. Guest alumni—among them Eisman’s former students—will perform in Eisman’s honor, including Edward P. Norris, III, Glen Cove High School choral director. Norris’ Select Chorale will open the concert with a special tribute to Eisman.
Soloists for Ein deutsches Requiem will be Jennifer Grimaldi, soprano, and Andrew Wannigman, baritone, both members of the ACSM voice faculty. The program will also include Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. Brahms wrote the overture in 1880 as a tribute to the University of Breslau for granting him an honorary doctorate.
Founded in 1941, QCCS is open to students and staff of Queens College and members of the public of all skill levels, from high school students to adult community members. It typically performs two concerts a year with an orchestra—in May and December—devoted to such works as Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Bach’s Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah. The Choral Society has also performed multiple premieres of new works, most recently 1001 Voices: A Symphony for Queens, commissioned by the Queens Symphony Orchestra. Conductor John, an ACSM faculty member for over 20 years, also leads the college’s Vocal Ensemble and its graduate program in choral conducting.
Tickets are $20 and are available through the Kupferberg Center Box office at (718) 793-8080 or online here. Group discounts for high school students and teachers are also available. Click here for directions to Kupferberg Center for the Arts.
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