SONOS Chamber Orchestra presents a "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" fundraising concert to benefit the Good Shepherd Church Organ Restoration Fund. This concert will feature the U.S. premiere of Karl Jenkins' Requiem for orchestra, chorus, soprano solo, boy soprano solo, and Japanese shakuhachi flute. Also on the program are two sublime pieces of Japanese composer Somei Satoh, and American composer Aaron Jay Kernis (a Washington Heights/ Inwood resident). Also on the program is a not-often heard March of Mozart, to honor the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Erik E. Ochsner	Christina Arethas	James Nyoraku Schlefer	Sky Jarrett

Karl Jenkins’ Requiem is a dramatic and powerful work that takes its inspiration from both Western and Oriental musical traditions. It incorporates Western melodic style and elements of world music, such as Japanese harmonies and melodies, and instruments. It is a Mass set to texts from both the Christian Mass, written in Latin, and Japanese jisei, which are traditional Japanese haiku that highlight the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth. Karl Jenkins said "It was a moving and rewarding time for me when composing this work, with its blend of traditional Latin text combined with the haiku poems from Japan and a thrill to bring what are seemingly disparate elements together such as a fabulous orchestra from Kazakhstan, the best of Welsh choirs and our brilliant soloists." In some tracks Jenkins combines the two styles, as in Farewell, which is intoned by male voices in a monastic style as a counterpoint to the Japanese text sung by the female voice. Karl Jenkins has said that the Requiem is dedicated to his late father "...who was a musician, friend and inspiration."

Welsh-born Karl Jenkins , who has been called "the most popular living composer", is one of the most successful contemporary British composers, writing music that speaks to audiences across the world. Following the huge success of his Adiemus project, which has gone gold in many countries, and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, Karl Jenkins has now completed his new piece Requiem, which is being released on EMI Classics this spring.

Good Shepherd Church has been generous enough to host SONOS the last two seasons of concerts. From our first meeting, we were told their organ needed work done, and so now we’re Neighbors Helping Neighbors by putting on a fundraiser.

Read the complete concert's Program (PDF document)