Three Goshen music ensembles performing together Sunday

Nov. 15—GOSHEN — The Goshen Community Chorale, the Maple City Community Orchestra and the Open Fifths are combining forces for a special joint performance for the first time since the pandemic at 4 p.m. Sunday at Goshen College Music Center Sauder Hall.

Each organization has been part of Goshen's musical community for many years. The Goshen Community Chorale began in the 1980s, the Maple City Community Orchestra since the 1990s, and the Open Fifths a decade ago. These groups have collaborated on occasion in past years, but this event marks the first time they have come together since the disruption caused by COVID. The program will include music from both France and Brazil, along with a more contemporary composition based on Tibetan themes.

Featured works include "The Requiem" and "The Cantique de Jean Racine" by the French composer Fauré, both of which are well-known and beloved by musicians and audiences everywhere. A lesser known choral work, "Magnificat-Alleluia," by the 20th century Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos, will also be performed. Soloists for this performance will be Rebecca Dengler Kaufman, Ellen Graber Kraybill and Scott Hochstetler. The orchestra alone will also be playing selections from Villa-Lobos's String Quartet No. 1, which illustrate his strong interest in Brazilian folk music.

In addition, the program will include "Tse Go La," a contemporary work by the American composer and ethnomusicologist Andrea Clearfield, which was premiered in 2012. It is based on her fieldwork with traditional Tibetan people in an isolated area of Nepal.

This performance, which will be under the direction of Victoria Petrak and Bradley Kauffman, is made possible, in part, by grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, as well as contributions from supportive local individuals and corporations.

There is no charge for this event, but donation baskets will be placed at the door.