The Santa Barbara Choral Society wishes to show its appreciation to all Thomas Fire and mudslide first responders by providing two free tickets (while they last) to each first responder who wishes to attend the upcoming 70th Anniversary concert April 7.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 8, at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave.

The repertoire includes Josef Haydn’s “Mass in Troubled Times” (Lord Nelson Mass) featuring chorus, orchestra and a quartet of solo voices: Rena Harms, soprano; Nina Yoshida Nelsen, mezzo; Benjamin Brecher, tenor; and Ralph Cato, bass, as well as selections of Vaughan Williams, Ola Gjeilo and Christopher Tin.

As the community’s oldest choral ensemble, Santa Barbara Choral Society takes seriously its mission to bring great choral works to life for the community and to offer the healing power of music in times of shared suffering and grief.

Thus, the “Mass in Troubled Times” is a relevant choice in light of the recent catastrophic events in the community and the loss of life that it wrought. Our times have certainly been troubled of late.

Collectively besieged by cataclysmic weather — instead  of the predations of war, as was the case in Austria when Haydn penned this work — the local community yearns, as did the Austrian audiences of his day, for a return of peace and security.

Like them we can find solace in the same powerful music.

First responders and their families interested in attending can contact the SBCS office by email at info@sbchoral.org or call 965-6577 to reserve seats. Tickets will be held at will call pre-concert at the venue.
 
For general admission tickets, go to sbchoral.org.

— Mary Dan Eades for the Santa Barbara Choral Society.