Violinist Calvin Dyck, the Pacific Spirit Choir, a professional orchestra, and soloists from Toronto and Chicago will present German Requiem by Johannes Brahms on Saturday, May 14.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Central Heights Church, 1661 McCallum Rd.
The seven-movement work is the largest that Brahms ever wrote (70 minutes in length), and features a full symphony orchestra, soprano and baritone soloists, and chorus – in this case, the 85-voice Pacific Spirit Choir.
The choir, with director Gerald van Wyck, is based at West Vancouver United Church, and is known for presenting the great classic choral works, and for frequent tours.
A highlight of their 2015 Europe tour was singing at the famous Gaudi “La Sagrada Familia” cathedral in Barcelona, where they were hailed as the finest choir to sing there in the last five years.
Soprano Bahareh Poureslami is currently in a master’s program in Chicago. She has performed as a soloist with many groups, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Vancouver Oratorio Society.
Born in Toronto but raised in Vancouver, Baritone Max van Wyck is currently in a master’s of opera performance at the University of Toronto. This fall he looks forward to moving to Montreal as a young artist with L’Opéra de Montreal.
Also featured is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending.” The work is inspired by the English poet and novelist George Meredith and derived from folk tunes.
Begun in 1914, The Lark Ascending was disrupted by the First World War in which Vaughan Williams served as an orderly, and was completed in 1921.
The Lark will be performed by Dyck accompanied by the orchestra. Tickets are available at King’s Music or House of James.