This concert for choir and full orchestra explores humanity’s enduring questions about death and what lies beyond. At its core are two major works: the gripping Requiem in D minor by Johann Aiblinger—a near contemporary of Ludwig van Beethoven—and the world premiere of a World Requiem by our composer-in-residence, Terry Schlenker.

Aiblinger’s rarely heard masterpiece brings dramatic intensity and Classical-era grandeur to the traditional Latin Mass, while Schlenker’s newly commissioned work expands the form in a bold and deeply human way. Drawing on sacred texts from many of the world’s major religious traditions, World Requiem offers a multifaceted meditation on mortality, remembrance, and hope—illuminating both the diversity and the shared threads of belief surrounding death.