Schiller Institute NYC Chorus 9/11 Memorial Concert brings New Yorkers together with Beethoven's message:

All People Become Brethren

The memorial was presented to a packed house of nearly 1,000 people at the grand, state-of-the-art Salvation Army CMT Concert Hall in lower Manhattan.

The program opened with the FDNY Ceremonial Unit presenting the National Anthem and Invocation, and special guest, NYC actor and playwright Gary Marlon Gere, an FDNY Honorary Battalion Chief who spent seven months at Ground Zero, documenting—and digging—alongside the FDNY.


Following works of Mozart and Dvorak, and American Spirituals, the heart of the program opened up with 130 choristers and 56-piece orchestra presenting two powerful musical works: Brahms’ “Naenie” and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, both composed to the poetry of the great Poet of Freedom, Friedrich Schiller.

CONCERT PROGRAM PDF

YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK

The title ‘“Naenie” refers to an ancient funeral song, and the song is a profound meditation on death, beauty, and mortality. 

By contrast, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony presented Schiller poem "An Die Freude," in the final choral movement expressing the joyful recognition of the beauty and power of the brotherhood of our one humanity.

Many people in the audience had never heard the entire 4-movement Symphony, and were deeply moved by hearing the choral movement as the culmination of the unified development of the work as a whole. 

Please watch the event and follow us on YouTube and share your thoughts in the comments below the video.

Would you be interested in joining the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus? There are no auditions -- hard-working beginners are welcome. We rehearse on Thursday evenings near Lincoln Center. Call John at 201-233-8615

The Schiller Institute NYC Chorus, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is able to present meaningful classical music year after year through the thoughtful and generous donations of supporters and followers. 

While this concert took place in one evening, and was free and open to the public, the work (and fun) that made it happen included more than 40 rehearsals over over nearly four months, hundreds of participants, countless details and endless planning, at a cost of over $80,000. Please help to keep this cultural force for humanity alive with a donation of any amount. 

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All rehearsals and performances are at the classical "Verdi tuning" at C = 256 Hz.