Tulsa Symphony covers both the tragedy of war and the magic of Harry Potter during its November concert series.
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, conducted by James Bagwell, has been described as a defining masterwork of the 20th century due to its complexity and grave subject matter.
“Completed in 1962, the War Requiem weaves together the Latin Mass with wartime poetry by Wilfred Owen, a British soldier killed in action during World War I,” marketing director Lauren McKinney says. “The monumental piece is a poignant and serious response to the horrors of war.”
Unlike most performances this season, the symphony teams up with other groups for this show, including the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, the Tulsa Opera Chorus and Youth Opera, the University of Tulsa Concert Chorale and Symphony Orchestra, and the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities.
“The War Requiem is epic – it has six movements and makes use of a full orchestra, chorus, chamber orchestra, children’s choir and many soloists,” McKinney says. “The large-scale orchestration of the piece is one reason it’s not performed very often. We couldn’t do something of this size without several other professional musical groups, and we’re so lucky that Tulsa has so many incredible musicians.” The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11.
Fans of the second Harry Potter film can enjoy the score in its entirety and a screening of the movie during the symphony’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets In Concert show. This isn’t the first time the orchestra has performed the piece.
“Harry Potter is such a phenomenon,” McKinney says. “Fans of the series are passionate, fun and love hearing the wonderful score performed live. After hearing so much positive feedback last fall, we knew Tulsa wanted more Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
Chamber of Secrets runs at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 and 2 p.m. Nov. 18. For tickets, visit tulsasymphony.org.
