Oct. 10-11 concerts mark the Chorale’s first performance of the choral masterwork in more than a decade
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Phoenix Chorale opens its 2026-27 season October 10 and 11 with Life, Love, and Light, a program tracing the human experience from joy and love to remembrance, grief and consolation.
At the center of the program is Herbert Howells’ deeply personal Requiem, returning to Phoenix Chorale’s repertoire for the first time in more than a decade. Artistic Director Christopher Gabbitas leads Phoenix’s best choir in a work widely regarded as one of the great achievements of choral music.
Howells began composing the Requiem in the 1930s. Its association with personal loss became even more profound following the death of his nine-year-old son, Michael, in 1935. Intimate and contemplative rather than dramatic, the music moves through grief toward consolation and the promise of eternal light.
“Life, Love, and Light is about the power of memory and human connection to enrich our lives,” said Gabbitas. “Even in times of loss, we find hope and comfort remembering the warmth of those whom we love. Through the music we trace the memories of relationships now past and Herbert Howells’ Requiem further expresses that reminiscence with extraordinary beauty and intimacy. Bringing it back to Phoenix Chorale after more than a decade gives us the opportunity to hear this remarkable work anew, surrounded by music that celebrates life, connection and remembrance.”
Also featured is Howells’ 1946 Gloucester Service, another example of the rich, expressive choral writing for which the English composer is known.
The concert pairs Howells’ music with works by living composers Reena Esmail, Adolphus Hailstork and Ysaye M. Barnwell, along with the late contemporary composer Ingram Marshall.
Esmail’s TaReKiTa and Tuttarana bring rhythmic energy to the program, drawing on Indian and Western musical traditions. Hailstork’s Songs of Life and Love celebrates human connection, while Barnwell’s Wanting Memories reflects on the people and experiences that remain with us after they are gone. Marshall’s Hymnodic Delays further explores memory through layers of sound that seem to emerge from the past.
Together, the works give shape to the concert’s central idea: what we love is never lost.
Life, Love, and Light will be performed at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix, followed by a post-concert reception, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Camelback Bible Church in Paradise Valley.
LIFE, LOVE, AND LIGHT
Saturday, October 10, 2026 | 3 p.m.
Post-concert reception
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
100 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix
&
Sunday, October 11, 2026 | 3 p.m.
Camelback Bible Church
3900 E. Stanford Dr., Paradise Valley
Tickets:
$50 Adults
$45 Seniors/Military
$25 Youth under 16
Single tickets are on sale now at phoenixchorale.org or by calling 602-253-2224.
The Sunday, Oct. 11 performance is generously sponsored by Millicent Wesley.