This week, Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer John Harbison will see two performances of his Requiem, a work completed in 2003 as a response to the attacks on September 11, 2001.

The performances, happening at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on May 12-13, 8pm, will be recorded for future worldwide release on Naxos, and will feature the Nashville Symphony and Chorus conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, soprano Jessica Rivera, mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone Kelly Markgraf.

“This is an important work, reflective of a critical time in our history, and we are honored to be documenting it for posterity,” says Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director. “It has all the elements of the great pieces of music we all love, from Brahms-like fugues coupled with complicated and exciting harmonies, to the Dies Irae movement that hearkens to the great music of Verdi and Mozart describing the final judgement day.”

The concert programmes for May 12-13 also include Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1. Tickets start at just $20, by using the promo code SPRING, and you can purchase them online or by calling 615.687.6400.