Geri DeMasi, Director of Music at Claremont Presbyterian Church, has composed a new choral work to mark the losses that have come to our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic Requiem follows the traditional requiem form used by Verdi, Mozart, Britten, and other well known composers. Claremont Presbyterian Church invited DeMasi to compose the work as a way for our community to come together not only to mourn all that has passed since March 2020, but also to look forward in hope.

Composer DeMasi grew up in Claremont and is a graduate of both The Webb School and Pomona College.

Our guest conductor, Ruth Charloff, is conductor of the UCR Chamber Singers and UCR Orchestra at the University of California, Riverside. She leads the choir at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona and is also Associate Conductor of the Claremont Symphony Orchestra.

The first performance of Pandemic Requiem will take place Sunday, April 10 at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary and live streamed at facebook.com/claremontpres. The performance is free and open to the public. Claremont Presbyterian’s Sanctuary Choir will be joined with other singers from the community for this premier performance.

To download the Pandemic Requiem program, click here.