Norwegian Composer’s ‘Sunrise Mass’ To Be Performed by Masterworks Choir

OCEAN CITY – It’s not often you can ask a composer any question about their musical work, but guests will get a chance if they attend the Nov. 23 Ocean City Masterworks Choir free concert at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, East Eighth Street and Central Avenue.
Typically, the choir performs oratories by Beethoven, Brahms, Handel and other works by composers who are long dead. The performance this month is “unique” according to Music Director John Bate, “because this composer is still alive. He lives in New York City, which is close by, and initially we asked him to conduct our performance. He told us he doesn’t conduct, that he prefers to play the piano and compose. But he was willing to participate in a question-and-answer session before our event, so that’s what we are doing.”
That session with Norwegian composer Ola (pronounced Yay-lo) Gjeilo will begin at 3:15 p.m. The concert begins at 4 p.m. A free-will offering will be accepted.
Gjeilo said he enjoys Q&A sessions because it opens a dialogue with the audience. “Probably the most frequent question I get is what inspires the piece that I am performing,” he said. “I enjoy doing Q&A sessions and do them quite frequently.”
The Masterworks Choir consists of 60 singers who will perform Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass,” a four-movement piece that Bate called “mystical and ethereal. While the text is religious and in Latin, it invokes beautiful emotions. The music is very agreeable to the ear.”
Gjeilo said he was inspired to compose “Sunrise Mass” after viewing the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Beowulf. “Both movie scores were a major influence in the piece,” Gjeilo said. “It starts out a little spiritual, meditative, almost spacey and becomes more emotional and finally more grounded at the end. It’s a harmonic piece that is easy to listen to, and should appeal to all age groups.”
A 60-member choir and 24 string players from Philadelphia and Ocean City will perform the music; unusual, Bate said, because of the number of string players and “the fact that it’s only string players and not percussionists, for example.”
Choir members are from Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties, and range from 16-90 years in age. Several have been members of the choir for its 44-year history. The choir performs two concerts, in summer and fall.
“The group was started by Esther Weil, who was associated with the Arts Center and wanted to have Handel’s Messiah performed by a local group,” explained Bate, who has been director for 27 years. “We usually perform works by the typical well-known composers. This was something different that was brought to me by two of our choir members.”
“Sunrise Mass” was commissioned in 2007 and had its world premier in Oslo a year later. “I love Latin Mass text and classical works,” Gjeilo said. “Two Norwegian choirs commissioned the work for a large choir and orchestra. It was something I wanted to write.”
Gjeilo also will perform a couple of piano pieces from his 2007 album, “Stone Rose,” during the Ocean City concert. “I’ve been a pianist since I was a little kid,” he said. “This piece crosses over a couple of styles: classical, pop and jazz. I like to improvise, and this piece is pretty laid back.”
Gjeilo was born in Norway in 1978 and moved to the U.S. in 2001 to begin composition studies at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he lives with his wife. His works are performed worldwide, and are available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify among other social media vehicles.
Anyone seeking information can contact masterworkschoir@gmail.com. Parking for handicapped is available at the Wesley Avenue parking lot.
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.