School of Music ensembles to perform Nov. 1 at Bass Hall

German conductor Helmuth Rilling will lead the orchestra and choir at the Bass Hall performance.

Fort Worth, TX

9/24/2010

The Fort Worth-TCU Symphonic Choir and TCU Symphony Orchestra, joined by selected alumni of the University, will give a special performance of Brahms’ German Requiem Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth. Esteemed German conductor Helmuth Rilling, one of the world’s leading interpreters of choral-orchestral repertoire and preeminent expert on the choral music of Bach and Brahms, will lead the performance.

General admission is priced at $20 for adults, $10 for students and seniors are on sale at Bass Hall, phone 877-212-4280.  The event is dedicated to the memory of the late Prof. Ronald L. Shirey, longtime director of choral activities at both TCU and University Christian Church who passed away Nov. 1, 2009. Proceeds benefit the Ronald L. Shirey Choral Fund.

Soloists include Shirey’s former students soprano Ava Pine, an up and coming young talent on the operatic stage, and David Grogan, currently a voice professor at UTA. Dennis Schrock, interim director of choral activities at TCU, is preparing the choir and Maestro Germán Gutiérrez, TCU director of orchestral studies, is rehearsing the symphony ensemble.  Richard Gipson, director of the TCU School of Music, notes, ‘We are indeed privileged to have Maestro Rilling conduct this iconic work in memory of Professor Shirey.   Ron Shirey defined choral music at TCU, and honoring him in this way is most fitting.”

Rilling has appeared as guest conductor with most of the world’s major orchestras. Last year alone, his schedule included five performances at Lincoln Center in New York and Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic.  A believer in the power of music to cross political boundaries, Rilling has a special relationship with the Israeli Philharmonic, being the first German conductor to conduct in that country after World War II (and has since returned more than 100 times). He has been artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival since its inception in 1970.