The Chattanooga Boys Choir and the Adult Choir of First Baptist Church will present John Rutter's Mass of the Children on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the sanctuary of First Baptist, starting at 7 p.m.
In addition to the two choirs, the performance will also feature soloists Kristen Wiram and Vic Oakes and a chamber instrumental ensemble. The concert is free and the public is invited.
Next week's performance marks, to the exact date, the premier performance is this work in New York City's Carnegie Hall and was conducted by Rutter himself.
Mass of the Children is a work of great significance because of the role of the children's chorus, singing as an equal with the adult choir. The work incorporates the traditional Latin mass with the addition of two great works of poetry -- Awake My Soul by Thomas Ken and Little Lamb by Williams Blake. It begins with the image of waking at dawn and ends with a prayer for care while sleeping.
In addition to Feb. 13 being the anniversary of this work and Ash Wednesday, it is the desire of the performing groups that those attending be reminded of the importance of all children and our call to care for them. As part of this emphasis, those attending will be given the opportunity to donate to the Newton Child Development Center, which is an educational day care facility located in the College Hill Courts housing development.
First Baptist Church is at 401 Gateway Ave., just below Cameron Hill. Dr. Thomas Quisenberry is the senior pastor while Jeff Parker serves as the Minister of Music.
Call the church at 265-2257 or go to
www.fbcchattanooga.org for additional information.