UK Symphony, Choirs join forces for season finale performance of Verdi’s Requiem
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of John Nardolillo, will close its 106th season with a powerful season finale performance, joining once again with the University of Kentucky Choirs to present Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. The concert is 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
The UK Choirs, under the direction of Jefferson Johnson, Lori Hetzel and Beth Wilson, will be joined by guest soloists Angela Brown, soprano; Ellen Graham, mezzo-soprano; Norman Reinhardt, tenor; and Anthony Clark Evans, bass-baritone. This final performance of UK’s Symphony Orchestra and Choirs will showcase the combined talents of instrumentalists and vocalists from the UK School of Music in one of the great choral-orchestral masterpieces of the classical music repertoire.
Originally premiering in 1874, Verdi’s Requiem is a work of operatic intensity and spiritual reflection, blending thunderous drama with profound lyricism. Originally composed in memory of Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni, the Requiem continues to move audiences with its emotional depth and musical grandeur.
New this season: Rey M. Longyear Pre-Concert Lecture Series
Arrive early for the inaugural edition of the Rey M. Longyear Pre-Concert Lecture Series, 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall. UK School of Music Ph.D. candidate Lauren Alexander will discuss the evening’s repertoire. Seating for the lecture is reserved; a concert ticket includes access to the lecture.
Tickets
Tickets to the UK Symphony Orchestra and UK Choirs season finale are $20 for adults and $10 for students (additional online processing fees may apply) and are available at the Singletary Center ticket office, by phone at 859-257-4929 or online at SingletaryCenter.com. Students can also get one free ticket in advance through the Singletary Center ticket office and must present their IDs at the door the day of the event. Free tickets are not available on the day of the performance.
The UK Symphony Orchestra and the UK Choirs are housed in the School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts. The UK School of Music has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, music therapy, composition, and theory and music history.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.