The concerts will take place on Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25 at the Franco Center in Lewiston.

The Maine Music Society Chorale and Orchestra, joined by professional soloists Sarah Bailey, Jazmin DeRice, Martin Lescault, and Carl Steidel, will present a program featuring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem” on Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. Both performances will take place at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston.

Mozart’s “Requiem” is a work shrouded in mystery. For whom was it composed? And, since Mozart was in the process of composing it by dictating to his assistant while literally on his deathbed, who completed the work after his death? Although much of the music exists only in sketches, the Requiem has become one of the composer’s most beloved works.  

Mozart was a freakishly gifted and highly trained musician. From a young age, he composed in all musical genres, from opera to ballroom. In the Requiem, he not only deployed these diverse musical forms to create dramatic contrasts between different parts of the whole, but he also melded them in places to create vivid musical textures.  

The program will also include “Solemn Vespers for the Sabbath,” composed at the request of the Archbishop when Mozart was only in his 20s. Here one finds more contrasts as the trumpets, trombones, and drums provide a militant tone in the opening psalm, while violins and soloists create a soothing and intimate ambience in the second.

Throughout the Vespers and the Requiem, Mozart displays his mastery of musical styles, ensuring that the listener is never bored. It is interesting to note that some of the themes from these works are still widely recognized today from, of all places, their widespread use in TV commercials.

For a preview of what you’ll hear at the concert, listen in as Maine Music Society’s John Corrie and Susan Trask appear on 105.5’s Breakfast Club on Tuesday, March 20 at 8 a.m. You can also like MMS on Facebook or visit www.mainemusicsociety.org.

The Franco Center is located at 46 Cedar Street in Lewiston. Advance general seating tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $10 for students. Children ages 11 and under enter free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Tickets may be purchased at the door for an additional $2.

To buy tickets in advance, call 333-3386, visit the Franco Center box office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or see www.mainemusicsociety.org.