BRAHMS REQUIEM FOR TWO PIANOS & TIMPANI, FEATURING SOLOISTS RICHARD ZELLER AND ARWEN MYERS, PIANISTS NAOMI LAVIOLETTE AND COLIN SHEPARD (Photo) - 04/01/26

Portland, OR – April 2, 2026 — OREGON REPERTORY SINGERS invites you to experience Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem in a fresh and compelling way, performed in a rarely heard version for choir, two pianos, and timpani. This more intimate scoring brings the music into sharp focus, letting Brahms’s warm harmonies and powerful choral writing shine with clarity and energy. Unlike the traditional Latin requiem, Brahms designed this work to comfort the living—to offer reassurance, hope, and peace to those who mourn rather than prayers for the dead. Soloists RICHARD ZELLER (BARITONE) and ARWEN MYERS (SOPRANO) add depth and expressive beauty to this deeply human journey, making the experience both profoundly moving and immediately relatable. This is Brahms at his most personal: reflective, radiant, and full of compassion.

“What Brahms understood, and what this music teaches, is that mourning is not the opposite of joy: It is the path to reclaiming joy after loss…. That Brahms's answer to grief still speaks so directly—more than 150 years after he wrote it—is a testament to what great art can do. That this choir is still here after 52 years, still gathering, still singing, still refusing to look away from the full weight of human experience — I think Brahms would understand that too. Together, with beauty, we endure.” – Ethan Sperry, Conductor and Gil Seeley Artistic Director

EVENT DETAILS

Saturday, April 25, 2026  |  4 PM

Sunday, April 26, 2026  |  4 PM

Tickets starting at $31.50*

First United Methodist Church of Portland, 1838 SW Jefferson St., Portland, OR 97201

Tickets: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=ors

CONCERT PARTNER

HOPEWELL HOUSE is our concert partner for Brahms’ Requiem because we share a belief that comfort, dignity, and care—especially at the end of life—are worthy of our deepest attention. Brahms’ Requiem is not a work about fear or judgment, but one of compassion for the living and solace for those who grieve. Hopewell House embodies these same values, providing equitable, compassionate end-of-life care for individuals and families, regardless of circumstance. Together, we affirm that this stage of life deserves tenderness, presence, and beauty.

Hopewell House is a 12-bed residential care facility in Southwest Portland exclusively for individuals on hospice and in their final phase of life. Partnering with residents’ hospice teams, their clinical staff and skilled volunteers provide 24/7 care, allowing loved ones to find meaning in their final chapter. Donations support access to Hopewell House for those with financial barriers, maintenance to the home, and training for their dedicated staff and volunteer community.

“Hopewell House is honored to be partnering with the ORS for this spectacular event. Please consider supporting this vital community organization." – Hopewell House

CONCERT SPONSOR

“I am delighted to help sponsor ORS's presentation of the Brahms Requiem. I volunteer with ORS where I am a Board member, and at Hopewell House where I am the co-lead of the volunteer Garden Team. This concert showcases the powerful vocal artistry of ORS with a unique two-piano accompaniment in a musical work that has been described as "a radiant, joy-filled work about death." Hopewell House is a community resource that provides individuals with compassionate end-of-life care and supports their families and friends through the process. Bringing these two organizations together to share their assets with the greater Portland community brings me great joy.” – Sherril Gelmon, ORS Board Member & Concert Sponsor

GUEST ARTISTS

“Brahms Requiem is one of those pieces I love to come back to again and again. Every time I sing it, I hear it in a new way. The wonderful two-piano arrangement takes that to a new level. The sound world of the pianos is completely different than the original orchestration, and it's like hearing (or singing, in our case) a whole new piece, but with the same transcendent beauty and humanity of the orchestral version. It's much more than just the notes on the page. It reminds us that life is beautiful, our humanity is beautiful, and that death isn't the end— whatever that means to you. It is a humbling piece to perform.” – Arwen Myers

"I first performed with ORS in 1988. It was one of my first professional gigs with conductor Gil Seeley singing Haydn's The Creation. Since then, I have returned numerous times through the years to sing again with ORS led by Gil and now recently with the inspiring Ethan Sperry! It is wonderful to be back again to sing one of my favorite pieces, the Brahms Requiem. This is truly one of the Masterpieces of Western Music and I always feel humbled and privileged to sing it. This piece is full of the human condition, and I am moved each time I experience it." – Richard Zeller

“The Brahms Requiem has completely captured my heart! To be sitting at the piano at the center of such harmonic and emotional beauty is a true gift.” – Naomi Laviolette

“To witness the rich and textured writing of one of the masters of choral music and piano chamber music from the piano bench is one of those 'pinch me I'm dreaming' moments. This piece will push and pull you, rock and lull you, and surround you. This might be the only time I get to share the stage with a collaborative pianist as accomplished and sublime as Naomi LaViolette, so the real treat is this precious moment together. Thank you, Ethan, for programming this and letting Portland experience a Brahms Requiem with two pianos!” – Colin Shepard

ORS 2026–2027 Season Performances:

●          Creo by Hyo-Won Woo with Portland Youth Philharmonic, October 17 & 18, 2026 at The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

●          Glory of Christmas, December 6, 12 & 13, 2026 at First United Methodist Church.