April 21, 2026
Contact Mary Ellen Haupert at 608-796-3770 or mehaupert@viterbo.edu
VITERBO MUSIC DEPARTMENT TO PRESENT THE ARMED MAN: A MASS FOR PEACE CONCERT AT HOLMEN HIGH SCHOOL MAY 3
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University choirs under the direction of Dr. Michael Sauer will perform Sir Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3 in the Holmen High School Trygve Mathison Auditorium.
The concert is free and open to the public. It will feature Viterbo’s three choral ensembles, Viterbo Choral Arts, the Concert Choir, and Ninth Street Singers.
A Mass for Peace was commissioned by the English Royal Armories to mark the transition from one millennium to another. It reflects on the passing of ‘the most war-torn and destructive century in human history’ and looks forward in hope to a more peaceful future. It was first performed in 2000 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, conducted by Jenkins himself.
The texts were chosen jointly by the composer and the then Master of the Royal Armories, Guy Wilson. What makes the work distinctive are the lyrics drawn from many parts of the world and from diverse religions and cultures.
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