Carrington Conducts Der Tod Jesu by H. Graun

The Grinnell Singers will join forces with Minnesota’s Lyra Baroque Orchestra to perform Der Tod Jesu by Heinrich Graun, a concert-length work for choir, orchestra and soloists at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12, in Sebring-Lewis Hall in the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, 1108 Park St., Grinnell. The performance is free and open to the public.

The Lyra Baroque Orchestra is a professional period-instrument ensemble centered in the Twin Cities, and led by Dutch harpsichordist Jacques Ogg. Directing the piece will be Internationally renowned conductor Simon Carrington, co-founder of The King’s Singers and professor emeritus of music at Yale University.

The soloists have an extraordinary array of talent. Soprano Maria Jette, who has an angelic voice, is beloved by Twin Cities audiences. The Spanish mezzo soprano Nerea Berraondo has been hailed as “one of the most powerful and evocative voices of the current Spanish vocal landscape.” The versatile tenor Roy Heilman has been described as “sweetly lyrical” by the Minneapolis StarTribune. Grinnell College alumnus Thomas Meglioranza, a baritone, has received rave reviews by the New York Times, which wrote “sublime is the first word that comes to mind.”