George Halverson Fiore, Associate Chorale Director
May 19, 2002
Dear Choir/Chorale:
Imagine on September 11, 2002, a world
standing together to remember. Humanity
gathered for a moment in time, to lift up its voice in song, in prayer, in
honor of those who perished one year ago.
We, the members of the Seattle Symphony Chorale, have made it our goal
to remember those now gone and to embrace those left behind in a great
worldwide vision on the first anniversary of 9-11.
We wish to honor those who perished that day, with a commemorative
performance of Mozart's Requiem
– a performance that will soar around the world – a Rolling Requiem.
We hope you will accept this invitation to join us.
Picture Mozart's
Requiem ringing out around the Earth.
The melody begins west of the International Dateline in New Zealand and
the Philippines. It crosses the
ocean to Japan, Siberia and China. This
swelling tribute flows on to Africa, India and Italy.
It soars across another ocean and touches Brazil, Guatemala and New
York. Then, visualize it moving
across North and South America, and on through islands in the Pacific, as it
completes its circle. Across each
country and around the world, humanity gathers to bring healing to those so
deeply affected by the losses of September 11th.
The Invitation
The Seattle
Symphony Chorale invites your choir to join other choirs in every time zone to
perform Mozart's Requiem on
Wednesday, September 11, 2002, at 8:46 AM, the time of the first attack on the
World Trade Center. Your voices
will unite with others to create 24 hours of continuous singing – a “Rolling
Requiem”.
Why Mozart's Requiem? In
late January of this year, the Seattle Symphony Chorale performed this
masterpiece. Following the concert, one of our singers had a chance encounter
with a patron. This unknown woman
shared a vision she had as she listened to the music. “Halfway through your performance, I had this wonderful idea.
Wouldn't it be great if somehow all the best choruses … could join
together and ring the area around Ground Zero?
You all could sing the Requiem in honor of those who died. There'd
surely be enough of you to represent one voice for each one lost.”
Her vision captured members of the chorale who began to meet as a
committee. The vision grew and
became the Rolling Requiem.
Instructions for Becoming A Rolling
Requiem Choir
1.
Commit
your choir to sing Mozart's Requiem on Wednesday, September 11th
at 8:46 AM. (Please feel
free to join other choirs in your area in one grand performance, if this feels
appropriate.)
2.
To
register, go to our website www.rollingrequiem.org.
You may also mail your registration to:
Rolling Requiem
227 Bellevue Way, NE – #459
Bellevue, WA 98004.
Send the following information:
§
The name of your choir.
§
The number of singers in your Rolling
Requiem choir.
§
The name of a contact person for your
choir.
§
The address, telephone, fax and email for
the contact person.
3.
Obtain
copies of Mozart's Requiem for
your choir members. We suggest
the Barenreiter edition, which you can order from most local music stores or
online at various sites.
4.
Reserve a place
for your concert and arrange for appropriate accompaniment, conductor and
soloists.
5.
Work with your
local police and/or government to establish security for your concert.
6.
Decide whom to invite to your concert.
If it is the general public, develop a publicity plan.
“One Voice for One Lost”
In keeping with
the original vision, we would like to suggest that each member of your choir
wear a heart-shaped badge bearing the name of one who perished on 9-11.
We suggest that you create a template in the shape of a heart, leaving
space in the center to write the name of one who perished.
When you send us the number of people who will sing, we will send you a
list of names to be put on your singers' heart badges.
In this way, we will be sure that every person lost on 9-11 is honored
with a heart badge worn by a Rolling Requiem singer.
Security
It is important
for every one of the Rolling Requiem choirs to perform with the knowledge that
their concert is safe. We urge
you to discuss security with your local police and/or government to ensure
that your concert is secure. In
the United States, every state now has an Office of Homeland Security.
Contact your governor to request support from your state's Homeland
Security office. Outside the
United States, go to the appropriate office in your government to ask for
help.
Help Us Invite Other Choirs to Join
the Rolling Requiem
The Rolling
Requiem is open to all choirs. We
urge you to extend an invitation to other choirs to participate. Go to www.rollingrequiem.org
to let us know who they are and how to contact them. Or mail us the following information:
■
The name of the choir.
■
A contact person with a mailing address, an email address, and
telephone and fax numbers.
In addition, if
you would like to help us by organizing choirs in your city, state (if
applicable), region or country, please let us know either by going to our
website or by mailing the information to us.
Thank you for helping us to spread the word in your community and
around the world!
Additional Information
In order to tell
you and many others around the world about the Rolling Requiem, we are
creating a website. Go to it for additional
information, including:
§
A means for participating choirs to ask
questions regarding the Rolling Requiem.
§
Regular updates.
§
A media inquiry section. .
It is our belief
that the Rolling Requiem tribute will serve as an affirmation of love, healing
and support in this troubled time. In
the same way that so many reached out to help immediately after the attack,
humanity will come together as one voice, encircling the world, to commemorate
an event that we will never forget.
If you have
questions, please visit our Website at www.rollingrequiem.org
or write to us at the address listed above. Thank you.
We look forward to your participation in the Rolling Requiem tribute
toward healing and peace.
Sincerely,
Cindy Lee
Madeline Johnson
President,
Seattle Symphony Chorale
Chair, Rolling Requiem Committee