Requiem
Saturday 17 May 2025 at 7.30pm
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, 2 Hill Street, Thorndon, Wellington
After an action-packed 10th anniversary year in 2024, Supertonic choir of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington is back to bring you one of the greats.
On Saturday 17 May, Supertonic will present Requiem, with the incomparable Requiem in D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the centrepiece. Performed in the rich acoustics of Wellington Cathedral with a small orchestra, this performance of Mozart’s Requiem will include guest soloist Carleen Ebbs.
The timeless Requiem has made appearances across the entertainment spectrum - in films, video games, advertising and even reality television. As featured in Bioshock Infinite, the Lacrimosa made an appearance at our 2023 pop-culture concert High Score. Whether or not you have attended a performance, it’s more than likely that you will have heard some of it before.
A requiem is a mass for the souls of the dead; the text asks God to accept their souls into heaven. Although commissioned to write this requiem for the wife of a patron, it is believed that by the time he reached his final days of life, Mozart felt he was writing this mass for his own funeral. It was ultimately completed by others, as he did not finish writing it before his untimely death at just 35 years of age on 5 December 1791.
To complement the requiem, the first half of the concert will focus on the duality of life and death and contrasts in nature with a selection of contemporary works. Life by Jacob Narverud is set to the text of Barter by 20th-century poet Sara Teasdale. With a cascading introduction this unaccompanied SATB piece includes a calming, rhythmic call and response between the upper and lower voices. Tundra by Ola Gjeilo is a beautiful ode to the relationship between flat, unmoving and calm landscapes and the clouds that are in constant motion above them.
With Requiem, Supertonic hopes to bring the timeless mass to both dedicated fans and those who are curious about connecting to classical music through the monumental works of composers like Mozart.
Tickets are now available to purchase by clicking the button below:
On Saturday 17 May, Supertonic will present Requiem, with the incomparable Requiem in D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the centrepiece. Performed in the rich acoustics of Wellington Cathedral with a small orchestra, this performance of Mozart’s Requiem will include guest soloist Carleen Ebbs.
The timeless Requiem has made appearances across the entertainment spectrum - in films, video games, advertising and even reality television. As featured in Bioshock Infinite, the Lacrimosa made an appearance at our 2023 pop-culture concert High Score. Whether or not you have attended a performance, it’s more than likely that you will have heard some of it before.
A requiem is a mass for the souls of the dead; the text asks God to accept their souls into heaven. Although commissioned to write this requiem for the wife of a patron, it is believed that by the time he reached his final days of life, Mozart felt he was writing this mass for his own funeral. It was ultimately completed by others, as he did not finish writing it before his untimely death at just 35 years of age on 5 December 1791.
To complement the requiem, the first half of the concert will focus on the duality of life and death and contrasts in nature with a selection of contemporary works. Life by Jacob Narverud is set to the text of Barter by 20th-century poet Sara Teasdale. With a cascading introduction this unaccompanied SATB piece includes a calming, rhythmic call and response between the upper and lower voices. Tundra by Ola Gjeilo is a beautiful ode to the relationship between flat, unmoving and calm landscapes and the clouds that are in constant motion above them.
With Requiem, Supertonic hopes to bring the timeless mass to both dedicated fans and those who are curious about connecting to classical music through the monumental works of composers like Mozart.
Tickets are now available to purchase by clicking the button below:
Our musical co-directors
Virginie Pacheco:
Virginie began her musical training in France, where she graduated with Honors from the University of Nancy with a Bachelor in Musicology. After completing diplomas in Recorder and music theory, Virginie settled in Montreal to pursue her Masters in Conducting at the Université de Sherbrooke. She quickly became an acclaimed emerging conductor, winning the Iwan Edwards award in 2015. She has participated in masterclasses throughout the world, and in 2017 spent a summer residency with the Ontario Youth Choir. Isaac Stone:
Isaac is a music teacher at Tawa College in Wellington, where he does a mix of classroom teaching, singing teaching and choir directing. He has a BMus in Classical Singing from the New Zealand School of Music. He has directed Wellington Youth Choir, the Tawa College Blue Notes as well as Supertonic. In addition to this, he has been a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir, the New Zealand Youth Choir, Inspirare and is now a member of Voices New Zealand. |
The Choir
Supertonic is a Wellington-based choir that strives to push the boundaries of what choral music can be.
The choir was formed in 2014 and since then has performed concerts that cover the entire musical spectrum, from Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor, Vivaldi's Gloria and Faure's Requiem to pop and rock spectaculars celebrating Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Elton John and Queen.
The choir has performed alongside Brett McKenzie and The Muppets in the Jim Henson Retrospectacle, joined and Mama Kin Spender at the local Coastella music festival, performed in national Anzac and Armistice day broadcasts, and in 2023 flew to the Armageddon Expo in Auckland to perform High Score: Legendary soundtracks in concert.
Supertonic's co-musical director Isaac Stone has led the choir since its inception. A teacher of classroom music and leader of the choral programme at Tawa College in Wellington, he places a premium on making choral music that is enjoyable and accessible to singers and audiences alike.
The choir was formed in 2014 and since then has performed concerts that cover the entire musical spectrum, from Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor, Vivaldi's Gloria and Faure's Requiem to pop and rock spectaculars celebrating Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Elton John and Queen.
The choir has performed alongside Brett McKenzie and The Muppets in the Jim Henson Retrospectacle, joined and Mama Kin Spender at the local Coastella music festival, performed in national Anzac and Armistice day broadcasts, and in 2023 flew to the Armageddon Expo in Auckland to perform High Score: Legendary soundtracks in concert.
Supertonic's co-musical director Isaac Stone has led the choir since its inception. A teacher of classroom music and leader of the choral programme at Tawa College in Wellington, he places a premium on making choral music that is enjoyable and accessible to singers and audiences alike.