Oratorio Chorus to perform Mozart's Requiem

The Sioux County Oratorio Chorus, in conjunction with the Northwestern College Heritage Singers, a chamber orchestra and four guest soloists, will present Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in D minor” on Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton, Iowa. 

The performance will include solos by soprano Shannon Salyards, adjunct faculty at Morningside College; tenor Dr. Ben Kornelis, professor of music at Dordt College; bass Dr. Brandon Hendrickson, assistant professor of music at the University of South Dakota; and mezzo-soprano Heidi Ackerman, a 2008 Northwestern College graduate who is a member of the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus.

Tickets are $8 in advance/$10 at the door for adults and $5 for students. Tickets can be purchased at Northwestern College’s music department and Dove Bookstore in Orange City, the Dordt College music department and True Vine Christian Book Store in Sioux Center, and Touch of Hope Book Store in Sheldon. 

Ackerman, an Arizona native, performed at Northwestern’s Christ Chapel with the Army ensembles on March 15. She earned a master’s degree in vocal performance from Arizona State University after graduating from Northwestern as a music major. Before joining the Army in 2013, she taught elementary and junior high music, directed church choirs and a community chorus, soloed with the Phoenix Symphony, and performed in such productions as “Otello” and “Madame Butterfly” with the Arizona Opera Company.

Ackerman will speak in Northwestern’s chapel service Friday at 10:05 a.m., telling how the Lord used her preparation at Northwestern and elsewhere to lead her to where she is today. “We are thrilled to have Heidi back on campus to solo in the ‘Requiem’ and work with some of our student vocalists,” says Dr. Thomas Holm, professor of music at Northwestern and director of the Oratorio Chorus. “As a follower of Christ, she has combined natural ability with hard work and her passions for performing and teaching; I think we will find the story of her journey inspiring.”

Holm says it’s a privilege for the musicians to perform the Mozart work at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. “We have the distinct pleasure of performing this in a church setting quite similar to those in which Mozart’s works would have originally been performed. Among others, similarities include architecture, stone surfaces, high ceilings, stained glass windows and the quite live acoustics. We look forward to a deeply enriching experience.”