About the Great Bend Chorale:
The Great Bend Chorale is an award-winning, un-auditioned choral ensemble open to all, age 14 and older, regardless of skill level or training. Led by Great Bend Center for Music’s founder and Artistic Director, Matthew Melendez, the ensemble specializes in transformative choral-orchestral performances presented alongside professional teaching artists, creating opportunities for singers of every experience level to perform some of the world’s greatest masterworks.
The Great Bend Chorale opens its 2026–27 season with one of the most profound works ever composed: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, performed with full orchestra. Left unfinished at the composer’s death and completed by his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr, the Requiem has captivated audiences for more than two centuries with its extraordinary emotional depth—moving from terror and grief to consolation, mercy, and hope. Complementing this monumental masterpiece are two beloved gems of the sacred choral repertoire: Anton Bruckner’s luminous Locus Iste, a serene meditation on sacred space and divine presence, and Josef Gabriel Rheinberger’s exquisite Abendlied, whose warm, flowing harmonies offer a tender evening prayer for peace and protection. Together, these three works create a concert of breathtaking beauty that explores remembrance, faith, and the enduring power of the human voice to comfort, inspire, and unite.
PROGRAM
Bruckner — Locus Iste
Rheinberger — Abendlied
Mozart — Requiem in D Minor, K. 626
Attendance & Rehearsals:
Fall term choristers will meet:
- Tuesdays beginning September 15 at 6:30pm in-person at Faith Lutheran Church.
- Saturday, Oct 3 for a retreat from 9am – 2pm.
- Orchestra Rehearsal, Thursday, November 12 at Faith Lutheran Church, 6:30-9PM
- Concerts Friday, November 13 and Sunday afternoon, November 15