FREE concerts
The performances will last ~2 hours, including one intermission
Click below to reserve your seats!
Erin Ridge, soprano
Mariya Kaganskaya, mezzo-sooprano
Kevin Gino, tenor
Andrew Pardini, bass
Ming Luke, music director
Natalia Ter Agapova, assistant conductor
Verdi Requiem is one of those “pieces that have a greatness that extends beyond the written page…”
We open our 60th anniversary season with Verdi’s Requiem. During WWII, Rafael Schächter led performances of this work from a smuggled copy of the score while he was interned in the Terezin concentration camp. To finish the season, BCCO has commissioned a new Terezin Requiem by composer Michael Schachter, a descendant of Rafael Schächter, which will be premiered at BCCO’s June 2026 concerts.
“With these performances, we honor the artistry of the musicians, artists, poets and intellectuals who came together in difficult times.” — Ming Luke
“An opera in ecclesiastical robes… encompassing the entire spectrum of human emotion and expression. Verdi used his operatic sensibilities to speak straight to the heart: from the quietest, most intimate moments to the terrifying ‘Dies irae’… to the heartbreakingly beautiful melody of the ‘Lacrymosa.’ —Eric Choate
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A gift to BCCO has direct, local impact on the future of classical music in the Bay Area. Donations support our free concerts, emerging composer commissions, and the hiring of local orchestra musicians and vocal soloists. Your gifts underwrite our groundbreaking assistant conductor program whose graduates have gone on to foundational music director roles across the area. This concert also features the winners of our most recent vocal soloists competition, three of whom hail from the Bay Area. Click here to make an online gift, or visit our Support Us page form more options