Join us Sunday for a
Conversation with Composer Dan Forrest
Dan Forrest, the nationally known and critically acclaimed composer whose choral works include “Requiem for the Living,” is the guest for the next edition of Maestro Moments, the free online series of musical conversations sponsored by the Corvallis Repertory Singers.
Steven Zielke, the artistic director of the Repertory Singers and the director of choral studies at Oregon State University, will lead the conversation, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. The Zoom session is free, but registration is required. Click on this link to register: https://bit.ly/2L5O5Sr
The Repertory Singers, a professional choral ensemble, have performed pieces by Forrest: In 2016, the ensemble performed “Requiem for the Living,” likely his best-known work. Last year’s annual “Candlelight and Carols” concert featured the Repertory Singers performing another major Forrest work, “Jubilate Deo.”
But there’s another reason why Forrest is an apt guest for the December edition of Maestro Moments: Forrest often crafts new arrangements of beloved Christmas songs such as “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night.” (In fact, he’s just released an album, “A Dan Forrest Christmas,” that showcases his carol arrangements.)
Forrest, a New York native who now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, started his musical career with piano studies but found himself drawn to composition – and specifically, writing choral pieces. “I feel that the human voice is the ultimate instrument,” he said in a 2016 interview with the Gazette-Times.
Forrest also is proud that he creates music that’s accessible to audiences. “I do write for audiences,” he said in the 2016 interview. “I don’t really make apologies about that.”
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