Texarkana Regional Chorale Conductor Marc-André Bougie will take the fruits of his pandemic-era composing work to Carnegie Hall with a performance of his "Requiem."
Bougie composed the work during the pandemic downtime as the local chorus was sidelined since March, as many choirs were by the spread of the coronavirus. He's scheduled to conduct his "Requiem" with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and soloists on March 19, 2022, in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, and he will invite his TRC singers to join.
Bougie said the Regional Chorale will likely restart performances this coming fall, given the state of the pandemic, although if things improve a spring performance of some sort is possible.
At least three major works, including that "Requiem," would be on tap with a 2021-2022 season, said the conductor and composer. His "Requiem" received an initial test performance at his church.
"Last summer I was able to organize a very small-scale performance of the 'Requiem' at Sacred Heart so that we could get a recording of the piece. Of course there's nothing like playing a piece to know what needs to be worked out or not, so it was important to try to fit that in, staying safe and not getting anybody sick," Bougie said.
MidAmerica Productions will present the Carnegie Hall event. They'd been in touch with Bougie to see if he had anything interesting happening, he said. He sent that recording, and they invited him to have it performed at Carnegie Hall.
"(The year of) 2021 obviously would be way too close to comfort, given our situation, but I'm pretty sure that by 2022 we'll be in a different place. I think people will be ready to go somewhere, New York City for sure. Go see some shows, go sing the piece, and have another experience of a lifetime," Bougie said.
About the TRC crew joining, he said, "When we have invitations like this, I extend the invitations to all the singers I work with. I presume a large number of TRC performers will join in. Other choirs are also invited from the area, from all over the country for that matter."
Typically, about three to five choirs can combine to sing at Carnegie for this type of event. However, the number of choristers will be capped at a lower number for Carnegie, Bougie said.
As for the Regional Chorale's plans for a season here in Texarkana, he says they're still on standby.
"I'm pretty confident that we'll be back in the fall for a full season. It's not looking too good for the spring. Of course, I'm keeping our options open. If things were to get better by March or April, we could always schedule something in," Bougie said.
However, the "Requiem" would need a large ensemble. He doesn't want to plan large events and then have to back out. And while some choirs have presented concerts online, in reality everybody is singing from a click track, the conductor said.
"So it's not really happening at the same time. There's lots of production involved. Basically people record their parts separately and they're synced in," Bougie said, noting the restrictions for groups to assemble likely won't last much longer. He thinks by the end of the spring, things could be better.
As for a repertoire for when the Regional Chorale gets going again, there's the Bruckner "Te Deum," which the TRC was supposed to sing in Paris. The Regional Chorale had been scheduled to perform in Paris this past year, but due to pandemic fears that trip was canceled.
Also on tap will be Whitbourn's "Son of God Mass." That was also slated to be sung in Paris.
"These are two fantastic pieces that I want us to finally get to perform this year. There's enough work in these two pieces to keep us busy. Also, the 'Requiem' I wrote is a pretty demanding piece, so we'll need to work on that," Bougie said. They're substantial works, all three of them.
"The music will be there when it's time to start again," the conductor said. Look for fundraising events to be announced early in 2021.
Bougie and his wife Candace Taylor just moved, too, to a home that makes hosting small gatherings for musical events possible. He's looking forward to hosting such musical experiences in the future.