I’m listening to a recording of Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living as I ponder what I’d like to share with all of you, our Windward Choral Society audience.

Why this work? Why did I choose this work for WCS?

Last summer, as I have done for the last 30 years, I hiked to the summit of Mauna Loa. While in my bunk at the apex of this most massive of mountains, I took out my iPod shuffle, put in my earbuds, and started listening to a recording of it. Those 40 minutes confirmed my hope and desire to bring the work to O‘ahu to share with all of you.

I find the work raw, honest, vivid, and pure. No platitudes here. Although we may come from different faith backgrounds (or no faith background at all), we cannot get through life without experiencing grief in some shape or form.

This work (by a very young composer, by the way) taps into that grieving process in a profound way: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Requiem for the Living has it all, and is written for us in the here and now. The Hawaiian songs which begin our concert, Ku‘u Pua I Paoakalani, Palehua, and Nani Ko‘olau, start us off right here on O‘ahu.