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The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is set to close out its 75th season with a collaborative performance of Giuseppe ³Õ±ð°ù»å¾±â€™s “Messa da Requiem.â€� With vocal accompaniment from both Master Chorale of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) Shrine of the Ages choir, these three large forces will bring a powerful performance of one of the greatest choral-orchestral compositions ever written.

“Audience members will recognize the ‘Dies Irae� from the piece, which has been featured in several movies, and we are very excited about such a large community collaboration,� FSO’s Executive Director Michelle Wachter said.

³Õ±ð°ù»å¾±â€™s after the death of opera composer Gioachino Rossini in 1868. Verdi hoped to commemorate the anniversary of his passing with a Requiem Mass, a Catholic church tradition to honor the deceased, and started to put together the piece of music with contributions from some of the most prominent Italian composers of the time. For one reason or another, the plans fell through and Verdi was left with an unfinished piece of music.

Then, in 1873, novelist-poet Alessandro Manzoni died, whom Verdi greatly admired. He proposed a Requiem Mass for the first anniversary of Manzoni’s passing. This time, however, it would be completely his own work. He used his previous composition and finished the remainder of the piece, and it was performed in the church of San Marco in Milan in 1874.

Charles Latshaw, FSO’s music director and conductor, said that a piece of this magnitude only comes up every few decades for a conductor. “It's such a masterpiece, and I want to do it justice,� he said. “Our orchestra hasn't played it in well over 20 years, so it's a great opportunity to celebrate FSO's position in the arts of Flagstaff for the last 75 years and to do a big project.�

Latshaw has been preparing for the performance of “Requiem� since December. The FSO musicians have been working independently on their musical parts, while the Shrine of the Ages and Master Chorale each have their own rehearsal times. They all come together only days before the performance.

“We put the choirs and the orchestra together for just four days, and the soloists who sing the big operatic roles in this piece won't join us till Wednesday,� Latshaw said. “I love this process where everybody is working on their own, and we check in with each other, but then we all slam it together and the show happens Friday. I'm feeling very ready and excited for it.�

Timothy Westerhaus is the director of choral studies at NAU and the chorus master for the student group Shrine of the Ages. He began preparing the score for this performance last summer, and rehearsals kicked off in mid-February. Eric Betz is the rehearsal conductor for Master Chorale of Flagstaff, and they began practicing around the same time.

“The two choirs have never rehearsed together, but I have gone between the two of them making sure that we're as unified as possible,� Westerhaus said.

There are 49 singers in Shrine of the Ages, and 67 in Master Chorale, making a grand total of 116 singers on stage for Friday’s performance.

The collaboration between these three groups is a yearly tradition, Westerhaus said, highlighting that “there's something special about all of these different musicians coming together.�

“³Õ±ð°ù»å¾±â€™s ‘Requiemâ€� is definitely what we would call a masterpiece â€� a masterwork of the classical tradition. Each year we try to vary the style, the compositional genre or the composer’s background so that we have varied experiences,â€� he said.

One moment of the performance that most audience members may recognize is the “Dies Irae,� which has been used in several movies due to its dark and dooming sound. “It's about the day of wrath and the day of reckoning,� Latshaw explained. “It's extraordinary music, the kind of thing that grabs your attention from the start.�

However, Latshaw’s personal favorite moment to look forward to is when four extra trumpet players will be playing scattered throughout the auditorium. He referred to them as “the trumpets of doom.�

“The experience of hearing trumpets calling from all around the room and you're not exactly sure where they are � and then adding it into the sound of the orchestra � is absolutely electrifying,� he said. “It happened for only about two and a half minutes out of the whole ninety minute piece, but it makes it all worth it to me. The magic and the majesty of that sound is really special.�

Westerhaus appreciates how the music embodies Italian character and draws on dramatic, expressive opera � which he noted not only sounds good to hear, but also feels good to sing. His favorite moment is the “Lacrimosa� � a Latin term meaning “weeping� or “tearful.�

“This is a moment when you feel such tenderness for a dear loved one that may have passed away, and it's just the most glorious sound,� Westerhaus said. “I think whether you're a singer, a musician on stage or in the audience, it’s an experience that’s raw, vulnerable and tender in a very real human and connected way.�

Attendees can look forward to plenty more emotional moments in this iconic musical work. “It's rare for this large work to be performed, so it's just a real unique opportunity to experience something truly special,� Westerhaus added. “With so much of the music community coming together, I hope our broader Flagstaff community comes out in full force to enjoy it.�

As FSO prepares for its season 75 to come to a close, Latshaw points out the milestone it is for Flagstaff to have a professional orchestra staffed with local musicians for decades.

“It’s extraordinary � the kind of musical support we've had in the community, and the way that has raised the level of music programs in schools and feeds into NAU’s School of Music,� he said. “It's an incredible legacy, and the opportunity that we can put 200 performers on stage and a thousand people in the audience and have this great communal experience � that really can't be replaced.�

Support the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, alongside the Master Chorale and NAU’s Shrine of the Ages, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18. More information can be found at