Community Corner
Video: "A Celebration Of Life" at Vienna Presbyterian Church
Three choirs -- including the Vienna Choral Society -- unite as one to sing local composer's requiem
When Jennifer Rodgers Beach took over the Vienna Choral Society at the beginning of this season, she had just 36 members.
Today, the nonprofit's musical roster boasts about 65 singers, who perform at events sponsored by community organizations in and around Vienna.
On Saturday, the group marked the end of its season by joining the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oakton and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville for "A Celebration Of Life," a 120-voice performance featuring Washington,D.C.-area composer Cliff Hardin's Requiem.
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The requiem pulls from hundreds of years of text -- from Ecclesiates to literature from modern day poets -- in a piece that explores life, dying and death.
"Requiem powerfully evokes the complex themes of anger, grief, remembrance, and gratitude that are common to our experience of losing a loved one," the society wrote.
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A portion of the event's ticket sales benefited The Washington Home and Community Hospices, a Washington, D.C. non profit that helps those fighting aging issues and chronic or terminal illness.
Beach and Mark Vogel both performed and directed the performance. For a look behind the scenes, watch the video in the media player above.
Vienna Choral Society will have a post-season performance at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday at Viva!Vienna!
