About the Program

Music Director Aram Demirjian leads one of the choral repertoire’s most profound and deeply human masterpieces in a program exploring themes of remembrance, reflection, and consolation. Joined by soprano Ashley Fabian, baritone Ethan Vincent, and the Knoxville Choral Society, the KSO performs Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem, a work unlike the traditional Latin requiem mass.

Demirjian describes Brahms’ Requiem as a work written not for the dead, but for those left behind. Rather than following the traditional liturgy, Brahms selected passages from the German Bible that speak to comfort, hope, and the shared experience of grief. That perspective shapes the entire program.

The evening opens with Michael Schachter’s Four for Gideon and selections from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, inspired by the poetry of Robert Frost. Together, these works create a thoughtful introduction to Brahms’ vision of remembrance and renewal, culminating in one of the most enduring achievements of the choral-orchestral repertoire.