Come sing Fauré’s Requiem with Pipe Organ in summer 2022!

Fauré’s glorious Requiem is one of the most popular choral works of all time, and is renowned for its strength and beauty. Join us in the unparalleled acoustic of historic Knox United Church (400 Edmonton St.) for a time of creating community through music. We will meet for 10 Tuesdays (starting June 14th) from 7 to 9 p.m., organist Dorcas Windsor orchestra will join us for the final few rehearsals before the concert.

SummerChör Winnipeg is an initiative of  Winnipeg composer, conductor and educator Neil Weisensel, who also Co-Directs the popular World Village Gospel Choir with his wife Rachel Landrecht..

To register to sing, email [email protected] or fill in the form below. The fee for singing with us this summer is $75, you can pay via e-transfer to the email address above, or cash/check at rehearsals. High School and University students with a valid student card sing for free!

Winnipeg SummerChör presents Requiem by Gabriel Fauré Sat. Aug. 13th at 2:00 p.m.

Conductor: Neil Weisensel

Assistant Conductor: Anna Schwartz

Accompanist: Cary Denby

2022 Rehearsals (singers should be able to attend at least 8 of the rehearsals, with some exceptions possible depending on skill/preparation level)

Choir rehearsals:

All Tuesday evenings from Tues. June 14th to Tues. Aug 9th, from 7 pm to 9 p.m.

Final organ rehearsal: Friday Aug. 9th, 7-9:30 p.m.

Performance: Sat. Aug 13th at 2:00 pm

All rehearsals and performance at Knox United Church, 400 Edmonton St.

Principal Conductor Neil Weisensel is a conductor whose experience as a composer gives him an “inside track” on conducting masterworks of the choral repertoire. For 8 years he was Guest Conductor of the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting repertoire that included the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi, Fauré, John Rutter, and Duruflé along with other choral/orchestral works like Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.  Neil has been a conductor/music director for many professional ensembles including Vancouver New Music, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Little Opera Company, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Arts Club Theatre, University of Manitoba, and the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra. Neil is the recipient of a major Canada Council New Chapter grant to produce a new dramatic musical work on the life of Louis Riel, which was premiered in March 2019 with the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Neil is Adjunct Professor at Canadian Mennonite University’s School of Music teaching Composition and Theory , and his original operas have been performed across Canada and internationally. Vancouver Opera premiered his anti-bullying opera, Stickboy, in 2014.  His website is www.neilmusic.com

Assistant Conductor Anna Schwartz is a 4th year music student at CMU studying piano performance, music education, conducting, and composition. This past year, she composed and conducted her first opera, Emily in New York. Anna is a synesthete, which means she experiences sound and colour simultaneously, which results in a visual map of any piece of classical music she hears. In partnership with visual artist Shirley Elias and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Anna created a map of Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral piece Scheherezade and Elias crafted a series of paintings around the colours Anna sees during this piece of music. This multi-media concert event was extremely well-received, and included a collaboration with Dr. Julia Simner, one of the leading neurologists on synesthesia in the world.

At the National Conference of Undergraduate Research 2021 in Washington, D.C., Anna presented her original composition for full orchestra, Prairie Sunrise, written with the intention of creating mental and emotional space for the listener to experience. This piece was performed by the Mennonite Community Orchestra in their fall 2021 concert.

SUMMERCHÖR VIDEOS FROM 2017 (MOZART REQUIEM) AND 2018 (BRAHMS REQUIEM) CAN BE SEEN BELOW