The Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys opens its 37th season with a service of Choral Evensong in the beautiful Basilica of St. Adalbert, and we would love for you to join us.

Rooted in centuries of English cathedral tradition, Evensong is a sung service of psalms, canticles, readings, prayers, and anthems woven together. In the midst of busy lives, it is an invitation to be still and to look up. Whatever you are carrying this season, whether joy or sorrow, pain or contentment, we hope you will come lift your eyes with us and find peace, beauty, and a glimpse of the transcendent in sacred song.

The music in this service spans more than a century of the English choral tradition. Hear the serene beauty of Stanford’s Beati quorum via, the captivating, rapturous sweep of George Dyson’s Magnificat in D, and the exuberant joy of Benjamin Britten’s Jubilate Deo in C. At the heart of the service, Walford Davies’ setting of Psalm 121 gives voice to this year’s theme: a quiet, confident lifting of the eyes toward the One from whom our help comes.

The service will include:

Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D — George Dyson

Beati quorum via — Charles Villiers Stanford

Jubilate Deo in C — Benjamin Britten

Preces and Responses — Gabriel Jackson

A Prayer of King Henry VI — Henry Ley

Psalm 121 — Henry Walford Davies

This season is my first as Artistic Director, and I am delighted to carry forward the great tradition of English choral music here in Grand Rapids, following in the footsteps of Scott and Jane Bosscher. I have been moved by what happens when men and boys come together in song: our boy choristers are learning to lead, to sing with skill and heart, and to find their place in a tradition far older than themselves, alongside gentlemen who set an example worth following.

Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

No tickets required. A free-will offering will be received.

- Dr. Eric D. Reyes, Artistic Director