Winnipeg, MB, October 31, 2021 – Two accomplished students of Canadian Mennonite
University will collaborate with the Mennonite Community Orchestra to present a pandemic silence-breaking concert.
Anna Schwartz, a third-year student at CMU, is the composer of Prairie Sunrise, which the orchestra will perform. Anna is a double major in piano performance and choral education, and studies composition with Neil Weisensel. This piece took first place in the 2021 Canada Music Week Student Composer Competition, hosted by the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association.
Johanna Klassen, soprano, is a fourth-year music education student at CMU. She won the 2021 Verna Mae Janzen music competition at CMU, where she studies voice with Dawn Bruch-Wiens. Johanna will perform two selections from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with the orchestra.
The additional repertoire of the concert features the MCO in ensembles for strings, winds, and brass in works by Dvorak, Mozart, Gabrieli, and others, all under the direction of Andrea Bell. This is the first scheduled concert of the MCO since March of 2019. That concert was canceled at the last minute due to the outbreak of COVID 19.
The concert will be held at Lutheran Church of the Cross, 560 Arlington St. at 3 p.m. on November 14.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and FREE for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult, and are available at the door.
Proof of vaccination and masking is required. The concert will be recorded live, with the recording being made available for purchase shortly after the concert.
Details can be found on the MCO website: www.mennonitecommunityorchestra.wordpress.com.
