Sellner will lead the Akron Symphony Chorus (ASC) and members of the Akron Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in a kaleidoscope of sacred choral favorites from Scarlatti, Bach, Schubert, and Galbraith.
Composed by Galbraith in 1999, Missa Mysteriorum began as a commission for the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh under renowned chorus director Robert Page, who, along with Galbraith, serves on the music faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. Praise for the Mass was reported in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette calling it "…both spiritual and radiant, with an immediacy that cannot be ignored."
"My thought [in composing Missa Mysteriorum] was to combine my experience as a church musician with my experience as a composer of postmodern contemporary art music," Galbraith said.
Sellner, a Carnegie Mellon alum and long-time student and protégé of Galbraith, was anxious to work with the Akron Symphony Chorus to present a piece that the ensemble had never performed in its 54-year history.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that my career path would have been completely different had it not been for Nancy Galbraith," Sellner said. "She showed me what was possible, and kept me connected to and inspired by music at a time when it seemed more logical to do something else. She is a great mentor, colleague, and friend, and I am very excited to introduce her music to the people of Akron.
"I sang in performances of Missa Mysteriorum in 2002 with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh under conductor Robert Page. The audience reaction was electric and instantaneous, and the mood was more like a rock concert than classical music event."
The Chorus's reaction to Missa Mysteriorum was so profound that choristers immediately began raising funds to secure orchestral accompaniment for the concert, as the work was originally written for chorus and wind ensemble. As a result of their efforts, members of the Akron Symphony Orchestra's winds and percussion sections will perform with the Chorus.
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