The British composer Karl Jenkins burst onto the twenty-first century music scene with his oratorio The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. It premiered in 2000 and has been performed more than 1,000 times since.
In recent years Jenkins has composed and recorded other major works including Requiem, Stabat Mater, and Stella Natalis. He’s written music for the London Symphony and for the singers Bryn Terfel, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Evelyn Glennie. His recordings have been bestsellers, yielding 17 gold and platinum discs. His music, tuneful and soulful, transcends the boundaries between classical and popular music.
With his 2011 work The Peacemakers, Jenkins once more delves into the human yearning for peace. He has assembled more than 20 texts extolling peace from writers and thinkers throughout the ages. Some passages were written or spoken by iconic figures who have shaped history, while others, equally profound, come from less well-known people.
The Peacemakers, Jenkins writes in his preface, “is dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives during armed conflict: in particular, innocent civilians.”
This weekend’s performances by the Corvallis Repertory Singers will be the West Coast premiere of The Peacemakers. Come and hear it on Saturday, Nov. 9 (7 p.m.) or Sunday, Nov. 10 (3 p.m.) at the First United Methodist Church in Corvallis. Order your tickets here.