Share this Story : The Sarnia Observer Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Eric Bunnell's People: Choral Connection revives Mozart’s Requiem for April 3 performance

Members of Choral Connection include semi-professional artists and music teachers

The sound of Mozart’s Requiem will fill Knox Presbyterian Church on April 3, when Choral Connection presents the 1791 masterwork with voices of 40 choristers, soloists and an 18-piece orchestra.

Hugh Van Pelt, the choir’s artistic director and conductor, returns the choir to music it last sang about 10 years ago, selecting the piece because it is a favourite of several members.

Eric Bunnell's People: Choral Connection revives Mozart’s Requiem for April 3 performance Back to video

It’s familiar territory for Hugh as a performer.

“I’ve sung the choral parts maybe 15 times, and solo, probably four,” the tenor says.

Mozart, of course, was a premier composer of operas, and Hugh likes the dramatic elements he also wrote into in the Requiem, which was completed by another composer following Mozart’s death and, today, has been finished in as many as 19 versions. (The choir is singing the earlier, traditional presentation.)

“I think there’s like a certain bareness to it. Especially like, say, even the last chord of the piece. It’s an open fifth. It doesn’t include the third, which usually warms the chord up. It just seems like a stark landscape that arrives at the end.

“Which you could argue doesn’t give a lot of hope, maybe.

“But for me, it’s just the nature of that little moment.”

Members of Choral Connection include semi-professional artists and music teachers, and the four soloists for the Requiem include established singers with national and international careers.

Tickets are available by clicking through choralconnection.ca or by calling 519-633-7228.

Concerts on the calendar

There’s lots coming up in coming weeks on the local concert calendar.

The St. Thomas Music Festival wraps the 2026 competition with its signature showcase, the Keynotes concert of top performers and awards night, at 7 p.m. on March 27 at Central United Church.

“There will be many of the top winners performing, as well as the distribution of many scholarships which are enabled annually due to the many service clubs who donate to this worthwhile cause,” says festival mainstay Frank Exley.

Admission is by donation.

Meanwhile, The Undercovers, a tribute band featuring the music of........

© Sarnia Observer