Phoenix Chorale to Open Season with Howells' Requiem

Phoenix Chorale will open its 2026-27 season October 10 and 11 with Life, Love, and Light, a program exploring joy, love, remembrance, grief and consolation.

Artistic Director Christopher Gabbitas will lead the ensemble in a program anchored by Herbert Howells' Requiem, returning to Phoenix Chorale's repertoire for the first time in more than a decade.

Howells began composing the Requiem in the 1930s, and the work's association with personal loss deepened following the death of his nine-year-old son, Michael, in 1935. The program will also feature Howells' 1946 Gloucester Service.

"Life, Love, and Light is about the power of memory and human connection to enrich our lives," Gabbitas said. "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," he continued. "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."

The program pairs Howells' music with works by Reena Esmail, Adolphus Hailstork, Ysaye M. Barnwell and Ingram Marshall. Esmail's TaReKiTa and Tuttarana draw on Indian and Western musical traditions, while Hailstork's Songs of Life and Love explores human connection.

Barnwell's Wanting Memories reflects on the people and experiences that remain after they are gone, while Marshall's Hymnodic Delays explores memory through layered sound.

October 10 – Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

The first performance of Life, Love, and Light will take place Saturday, October 10 at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 100 W. Roosevelt Street in downtown Phoenix. A post-concert reception will follow.

October 11 – Camelback Bible Church

The program will be repeated Sunday, October 11 at 3 p.m. at Camelback Bible Church, 3900 E. Stanford Drive in Paradise Valley. The performance is sponsored by Millicent Wesley.

Tickets are $50 for adults, $45 for seniors and military members, and $25 for youth under 16. Tickets are on sale through phoenixchorale.org or by calling 602-253-2224.

Phoenix Chorale will also release its forthcoming album Promised Land, a new recording of American music, on October 9, one day before the season-opening concert.