Our Good Shepherd Catholic Parish Music Ministry continually strives to uphold the great traditions of music in our worship, as well as expanding into sharing our musical gifts with the community. This weekend, in lieu of the usual monthly Sunday Salon at the Serra Center, our Core Choir is joining forces with the COS Chamber Singers and COS Community chorus, under the direction of Mr. John Sorber, with a string ensemble and organ to present a concert at Saint Mary’s Sunday, November 4th at 4 pm at Saint Mary’s. Tickets are $10
The concert begins with a series of selections performed by the Chamber Choir, followed by our own Core Choir. Our featured presentation will be the well-known setting of the Requiem Mass by French composer Gabriel Fauré, Messe de Requiem, composed from 1887-1890.
Fauré’s Requiem is unusual in that it exudes a sense of restfulness, humanity and tenderness, which Fauré composed in a conscious departure from the expected painful, morose qualities so often found in requiem compositions. Fauré said his work is “…dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest…I see death as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than a painful experience…I have sought to escape what is thought right and proper, after years of accompanying burial services on the organ!”
The work is comprised of seven movements:
I. Introit et Kyrie
II. Offertoire
III. Sanctus
IV. Pie Jesu
V. Agnus Dei
VI. Libera me
VII. In Paradisum
We are delighted to feature this rare opportunity to enjoy the music of Fauré and to embrace our musical history through the Messe de Requiem,and offer it in particular as we commemorate All Soul’s Day Friday, November 2nd.
Our presentation is made possible through collaboration with Mr. John Sorber.
Guest Musician Spotlight:
John Sorber is head of the vocal department at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA and is the conductor of the Sequoia Chamber Chorale. Mr. Sorber has conducted elementary, middle school, high school, community college, community chorus and church choirs. In addition to his teaching, Mr. Sorber has served as a musical theater director, choral adjudicator and clinician, honor choir manager at local and national levels, teacher mentor, tenor soloist, and has taught voice students privately.
Mr. Sorber is excited to be continuing the strong choral traditions at COS. As the head of the vocal and choral departments he oversees the vocal music majors, conducts the Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, and is the vocal music director for the COS musicals. Under Mr.
Sorber’s direction, the community based Sequoia Chamber Chorale has performed major works and other quality choral literature. He also served as the California ACDA Ethnic and Multicultural Music Repertoire and Standards Chairperson from 2013-2015.
In the spring of 2018, Mr. Sorber directed the Sequoia Chamber Chorale in preparation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which was performed with the Sequoia Symphonic Orchestra. He was honored to be the quest conductor for the 2017 California ACDA Central Section TTBB Men’s Honor Choir and the 2015 CMEA Capitol Section High School Honor Choir. He has also been the guest conductor for multiple "Real Men Sing" events throughout California. During his teaching career, Mr. Sorber has received the “Crystal Apple Award” for excellence in teaching (2014), the CMEA Central Section Choral Educator of the Year (2006), the TKMEA Choral Educator of the Year (2006), the EDHS Teacher of the Year (2003), and the "Excellence in Education" award (2002).
Mr. Sorber received his Bachelor of Arts from Fresno Pacific University in vocal performance and music education and his Master of Arts degree in choral conducting at Fresno State University. He resides in Visalia with his beautiful wife Shawna and their children Abigail and Charles.
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