Our major choral and orchestral concerts for the season highlight two deep and moving works by living composers: the Pittsburgh premiere of Reena Esmail’s Malhaar: A Requiem for Water and the return of Nancy Galbraith’s Flute Concerto, which Resonance Works commissioned and premiered in 2019.

In Hindustani music, Malhaar refers to a family of raags that beckon rain. As drought worsened in Southern California, Reena Esmail was inspired by the legend that the greatest musicians could cause a downpour performing this raga. Intertwining the worlds of Hindustani and Western classical music and texts from the traditional Latin Requiem mass, the words of Wendell Berry, William O’Daly, and interspersed Hindi, the result is “a fresh and profound choral jewel” (San Francisco Classical Voice), which has taken the choral world by storm since its 2023 premiere. Esmail calls this a “hopeful'“ requiem: “While the collective loss has been so tremendous, we can still hold out hope that if we change our relationship to the earth, we might beckon the rain back.”

Resonance Works’ first world premiere, Nancy Galbraith’s Concerto for Flute written for Lindsey Goodman has established itself as a major addition to 21st century repertoire, with performances around the country since our 2019 premiere. We are excited to bring its energetic, colorful, and transcendent soundscape back to our concert stage showcasing the stunning virtuosity, “bold interpretations, and impeccable technique” of flutist Lindsey Goodman.