From the hushed opening of the Requiem aeternam to the thunderous cries of the Dies irae, Verdi’s Requiem is one of the most powerful choral masterpieces ever written.

EPSG:4326

Verdi’s Requiem

University of Michigan

The 86th season of the Toledo Symphony opens with a celebration of joy and freedom featuring Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which returns to the Peristyle for the first time since 2011. Known for its instantly recognizable "Ode to Joy", Beethoven's masterpiece is paired with Samy Moussa's Elysium for Orchestra which carries Brucknerian undertones used to depict the evolution of thought, ideas, and the ultimate ethical aspiration for the common man.

Ode to Joy - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Toledo Museum of Art

Saturday night’s program opens with Rachmaninoff’s warm and melodious Symphony No. 2, a lush and sentimental work of immense power and beauty that has not been performed on a UMS program in over 30 years. The program also features Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4, which incorporates melodies from spirituals, including a beautifully-orchestrated theme from “Wade in the Water”; The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Grammy-winning record of Price’s first and third symphonies (2022 “Best Orchestral Performance”) helped spark intense global interest in the Arkansas-born composer.

The Philadelphia Orchestra in two different programs

As many as 250 singers from southeastern Michigan, northern Ohio, and Canada have joined each session in singing through great choral repertoire with some of the nation’s most respected choral conductors and outstanding soloists. We rehearse portions of the score during the first half, break for refreshments, and then re-convene to sing through the entire work.

Summer Sings 2023: Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana

In 2020, conductor Dennis Russell Davies became chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic, which was founded in 1956 and serves as a living tribute to Leoš Janáček’s music. Janáček was educated in Brno and spent most of his life there, and his extensive experience working with and composing for choirs was evident in his compositions.

Brno Philharmonic Performance

Handel composed his oratorio Messiah over the course of a single month in 1741, six months before its triumphant premiere at a new concert hall in Dublin. Nearly 300 years later, Handel’s Messiah fills Hill Auditorium with its ravishing beauty brought to life by friends and colleagues from the community. Music director Scott Hanoian conducts the UMS Choral Union and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in this annual holiday tradition.

UMS Choral Union

Sep 26, 2025

Verdi’s Requiem

27 - 28 Sep, 2024

Ode to Joy - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

UMS Choral Union