Central Oregon Mastersingers will perform a unique arrangement of a Great Choral Work — Dvořák’s Mass in D — on Sunday, October 8 at 3pm at the Nativity Lutheran Church, 60850 Brosterhous Road, in Bend. The concert is free, however, reservations are recommended. Donations are welcome and appreciated.
What makes this composition unique, explains Mastersingers Director Christian Clark, is that the music was “originally scored for pipe organ,” he said. “Though I absolutely love choral and organ works, Central Oregon is not known for its pipe organs. I came across a stunning version transcribed by Joachim Linckelmann for wind quintet and immediately took to the colors and texture of this combination for choir and a smaller ensemble.”
Mastersingers will share the October 8 stage with the Central Oregon Symphony’s Wind Quintet, who in addition to playing the Dvorak Mass will also be featured in Heinrich Schmid’s Wind Quintet, Op. 28.
“I’m excited to share the stage with several of the most talented local musicians I know, all of whom perform with the Central Oregon Symphony, as well as other ensembles,” said Clark. “Soloists will come from the Mastersingers choir,” he added.
The October 8 performance is the first in the Mastersingers 2023-24 season. On December 9 and 10, the group will perform an engaging musical dramatization of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, in its annual holiday concert at the Tower Theatre. Mastersingers is also working on a June 2024 opportunity to sing in Italy. Tentative plans include tours of Sorrento, Pompeii, and Rome.
