Long Beach Symphony Performs Brahms Requiem and More Next Month

On Saturday, March 9th, 2024, Long Beach Symphony and Maestro Eckart Preu will celebrate Spring with the music of Guillaume Connesson, Vaughan Williams, and Johannes Brahms, featuring solo performances by Elissa Johnston, Kevin Deas, and the powerful choral talents of the Long Beach Camerata Singers.

The evening begins with living French composer Guillaume Connesson’s “Cosmic Trilogy” (2010) as it rejoices in the vastness of the universe, its mysteries, and gorgeously illustrates the journey of life through the birth, radiance, and death of a star. Disparate influences of Indian raga and John Adams-esque modernism combine to convey the universal impact of time passing and how moments of the past and future come together to define the present. 

Inspired by lovers gazing at the stars in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice,  Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music” captures the wonder of the night sky and its unfathomable mysteries.  The magic of the universe looking back upon itself is highlighted by the sweeping, lush orchestral arrangement. Come see why “Serenade to Music” reportedly brought audience member Sergei Rachmaninov to tears.

The evening closes with Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem,” a mournful meditation on death and redemption. Brahms’s poignant musical prayer (composed between 1865 and 1868) offers comfort and grace in the face of grief and commemoration of life. “A German Requiem” reflects the painful losses Brahms experienced in his own life, composed after the passing of both his adored mother and his mentor, Robert Schumann. Baritone Kevin Deas and Soprano Elissa Johnston join the Long Beach Camerata Singers in an evening celebrating the mysteries of life, death, and humanity’s place in the infinite universe.

Event Details: 

Connesson Cosmic Trilogy (Aleph), Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music, Brahms Requiem

Date: March 9th, 2024

Time: 8:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM

7PM Pre-Concert Talk with Maestro Preu will add further insight into the evening’s selections.

What to expect: Live classical music performed by orchestra, soloists, and choir, outdoor fountains, full bar, live music in the lobby, mingling, sipping during the concert.

Venue: Long Beach Terrace Theater

Address: 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802

Tickets calling (562) 436-3203, ext. 1 or LongBeachSymhphony.org

Audiences can enjoy a relaxed, fun, yet elegant evening along the dancing fountains, fire pits and bars on the Plaza, and a 7pm Pre-Concert Talk that will give further context into the evening-- with the ability to “Sip & Enjoy” in the concert hall. 

This vocally powerful event will take place on Saturday, March 9th, 2024, at 8 pm at the Long Beach Terrace Theater (300 E. Ocean Blvd.). Doors open at 6:30. Individual concert tickets start at $32 at  https://aabn.short.gy/bMmyU5 or by calling (562) 436-3203, ext. 1. For more information, visit LongBeachSymphony.org.

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