Christ Church in Short Hills To Present The Fauré Requiem In A Special Concert Of Remembrance

As part of its 140th Anniversary, Christ Church in Short Hills will present a Special Concert of Remembrance featuring Gabriel Fauré's Requiem and Cantique de Jean Racine on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 4:00 pm.

The Concert to be held at Christ Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, will feature the Christ Church Festival Choir, Orchestra, Organ and vocal soloists conducted by guest conductor and Christ Church parishioner George Mathew. The Christ Church Festival Choir, under the direction of Christ Church Organist and Choirmaster, Dr. Andrew Moore, will include choristers from the Community Congregational Church in Short Hills, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Millburn, Temple B'Nai Jeshrun and other area institutions. The Festival Orchestra will comprise distinguished artists from major New York orchestras including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and others. Short Hills resident and soprano Tharanga Goonetilleke, and baritone Charles Schneider will be the featured soloists for this performance of the Faure Requiem.

The Rev. Bowie Snodgrass, Rector of Christ Church in Short Hills, will introduce the concert. The Concert is presented free of charge. Free will donations are welcome. A Reception will follow the performance in Parish Hall.

About the Program

This program is presented both as a memorial to those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a commemoration of the 140th Anniversary of Christ Church in Short Hills and those who have passed on in our church and community these 140 years. Fauré's Requiem, often described as a gentler, more meditative and peaceful rendering of the Mass for the Dead, and its companion piece, the Cantique de Jean Racine, are particularly meaningful vehicles for this occasion. These works come to us simultaneously honoring the great musical, poetic and liturgical traditions of the past, those of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic eras. They also invite the listeners to immerse themselves in an ancient mystical tradition of trance-like repetition which underlies much of the music - an invocation of an eternal music that never ceases, quietly sounding beyond the relatively brief window of time that is the present moment. The "deeper music" of Christ Church and our ever-expanding community and neighborhood reflects its story of decades and centuries and we are all invited to share it at this time - our time, as we emerge from the pandemic remembering those no longer with us.

About the Artists

Award-winning Indian-American conductor George Mathew is the founder and Artistic Director of Music for Life International, a global social enterprise, which creates social impact and public diplomacy through music. He has appeared in the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania and Europe as conductor, pianist and speaker. Since 2006, Mr. Mathew and MFLI have presented a series of global humanitarian concerts at Carnegie Hall, which have brought together hundreds of musicians from over 120 of the world's most distinguished orchestral, chamber and choral ensembles to raise funds and public awareness for major international crises. He has served as Artistic Director/Conductor of the New Year's Eve Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York and was the Founder Conductor of the Children's Concerts at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

Critically acclaimed soprano, Tharanga Goonetilleke's performances have been praised by the Washington Times as 'Magical' and her voice by The New York times as 'appealingly rich'. Tharanga is the only Sri Lankan woman to attend The Juilliard School where she received her Artist Diploma for Opera and Master of Music degree. She received a Bachelor of Music degree with a minor in Biology from Converse College, SC. She is also an Associate of the Trinity College of Music, London. She has over a dozen major operatic roles under her belt including Mimi ( La boheme/Puccini), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte/ Mozart), Ginevra (Ariodante/Handel) and Blanche (The Dialogues of the Carmelites /Poulenc ). She made her New York City Opera debut 2011. In 2015 Tharanga was named a TED Fellow. She has been a passionate advocate for music as a vehicle of social impact.

Baritone Charles Schneider has performed more than 30 operatic roles throughout the country since his professional debut in the summer of 1999. Some of his favorites include: Figaro (Le nozzle Di Figaro), Conte du Luna (Il Trovatore), and Schaunard (La Boheme). In Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus he was hailed as a "flawless baritone" in his "charmingly malicious" portrayal of Dr. Falke"(Toby Grace, Out in Jersey). Most recently Charles has performed the role of The Bonze in Boheme Opera NJ's 2023 critically acclaimed production of Madam Butterfly and he will be singing the role of The Sacristan in Tosca for Garden State Opera in early May. As a soloist, Charles has sung the major choral works of Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, and Faure with organizations such as, The North Carolina Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and The New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra. He is on the voice faculties of Rider University and The Lawrenceville School and is the director of music at Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church in Liberty Corner NJ.

Dr. Andrew Moore is the Organist and Choirmaster of Christ Church in Short Hills. Dr. Moore is Chairman of the Music Department at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Dr. Moore earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia and holds a Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from The Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied under John Weaver, chair of the Organ Department. He also has studied improvisation with Gerre Hancock and the harpsichord with Lionel Party, the acclaimed harpsichordist of the New York Philharmonic.

The historic, renowned organ at Christ Church in Short Hills is a 63 rank Aeolian-Skinner opus 1347 designed by organ builder Joseph Whiteford in 1960. It is the largest of its kind in the state of New Jersey. The organ was restored in 2015 and the new antiphonal organ and Trompette en Chamade were tonally designed by organ builder, Bynum Petty.

Christ Church in Short Hills

Christ Church in Short Hills, established in 1882, is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Christ Church in Short Hills is located at 66 Highland Avenue, Short Hills. For more information, please visit: www.christchurchshorthills.org