Memorial Concert Information
Please join us on September 11, 2015 when Prayers and Remembrances will be performed at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall by True Concord Voices and Orchestra which will also coincide with their release of Far In The Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus.
Prayers and Remembrances (2011) was commissioned for the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy by True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Eric Holtan, Music Director, and Mrs. Dorothy Vanek, in loving memory of her husband, Robert Vanek, and in memory of friends of the Vaneks from United and American Airlines who were lost on September 11, 2001.
For more information on the concert, please visit: https://www.dciny.org/concerts/true-concord-voices-orchestra/.
Regular tickets can be purchased by calling Centercharge at 212-721-6500, or by visiting
http://www.lincolncenter.org/show/true-concord-voices-orchestra.
Free Tickets for Families Of Victims And First Responders
Families of victims and first responders of the September 11th terrorist attacks can receive free tickets to the memorial concert at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
Families of victims and first responders can reserve their free tickets here: http://bit.ly/1hzttgX (please note that there is a limited number of free tickets available)
For more information on the free tickets for families of victims and first responders click here.
Far In The Heavens
Far In The Heavens is comprised of recently composed and previously unrecorded works by Stephen Paulus, including two works that were commissioned and premiered by True Concord Voices & Orchestra: The Incomprehensible for their fifth anniversary season in 2009, and Prayers and Remembrances for the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy in 2011. GRAMMY®-award winning producer Peter Rutenberg of Los Angeles produced the album, and Mr. Paulus supervised the recording in Tucson, Arizona. Tragically, Stephen Paulus suffered a major stroke just six weeks after recording the album. He never recovered, and passed away in October 2014 after being in a coma for more than a year.
The Original Program Note From Composer Stephen Paulus
Prayers and Remembrances (2011) was commissioned for the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy by True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Eric Holtan, Music Director, and Mrs. Dorothy Vanek, in loving memory of her husband, Robert Vanek, and in memory of friends of the Vaneks from United and American Airlines who were lost on September 11, 2001.
The idea for Prayers and Remembrances began with Eric Holtan. He approached me a few years back with a vision of writing a commemorative work for chorus and orchestra. We had several discussions and emails, especially about the text, and eventually, with the commission in place, I was ready to begin.
My concern was to write a work that would not only honor the 9/11 tragedy and all those who perished, but also one that would address the memories, the grieving and the recovery for anyone dealing with a circumstance in which loved ones had perished. Early on, Eric and I decided we wanted to create a work that would be spiritual but not necessarily religious. The goal was to find a combination of poems that were both secular and sacred—from poets who addressed grief, recovery, and a spiritual focus in life—that would highlight common beliefs across distinct religious traditions. I ended up with a healthy mix of poets from different cultures, centuries and faiths.
The orchestra is approximately the size of the Mozart Requiem (since that was to be the companion work on the concert), with the addition of flute, oboe, horns, harp, and percussion.My approach was to use the orchestra to adorn and emphasize the text. I consider the words such an important part to a piece like this, and my intention, as always, was to make sure the choir could be heard without being overwhelmed by the orchestra.
Throughout the work I have been conscious of trying to bring melodic and harmonic ideas to the fore that would suggest hope, light and a future. To me, this seems to be the hardest thing to accept in any tragedy, whether it involves one person or thousands. So there are sometimes bright, colorful harmonies or melodies in both the orchestra and the chorus: this is not a work meant to wallow in self-pity or dwell in tragedy. I am hopeful that the sounds and words meld, going at least some distance towards repair and healing.
I am so grateful to True Concord Voices & Orchestra and their wonderful director, Eric Holtan, for asking me to create a work for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. I hope this piece will have reason to be performed in other situations. And I am especially grateful to Dorothy Vanek for her generosity in commissioning the work. Without patrons and wonderful performers, composers would simply be artists working alone, like a tree falling in the forest when no one is around to hear it. —Stephen Paulus
The above text is from the composer's introduction to the work before its world premiere performance on September 11, 2011.
Handwritten Manuscript Scans From Prayers And Remembrances
Below is the first page from each of the movements of Prayers and Remembrances.
Video Of The 2011 Rehearsals With Composer Stephen Paulus
Below is footage from True Concord Voices & Orchestra's 2011 rehearsals with composer Stephen Paulus before the world premiere of Prayers and Remembrances:
For any questions or inquiries please email Andrew Paulus at ap@stephenpaulus.com
