Sir Karl Jenkins © David Williams
Sir Karl Jenkins, The World Orchestra for Peace, The World Choir for Peace and the SAHC (2023)
Photo: Dagmar Titsch with thanks to Rondo Media and Gareth Owens
· The World Orchestra for Peace presents with Brucknerhaus, Linz –
where singers of the massed World Choir for Peace and Hard Chor Linz
will be joined virtually by 450 singers of the Stay at Home Choir
· Concert designated UNESCO Concert for Peace 2023
and will be available to view worldwide via livestream
· Soloists include Ruby Hughes, Kathryn Rudge and Roderick Williams
19 November 2023 – Brucknerhaus, Linz – 18:00 CET/17:00 GMT
Sir Karl Jenkins, one of the world’s most performed living composers, will conduct the world premiere performance of his latest work One World at Brucknerhaus, Linz on 19 November 2023, featuring hundreds of performers from over 40 countries. 450 musicians on stage and in the hall from the World Orchestra for Peace, World Choir for Peace, Hard Chor Linz, the Choir of the Musische BORG Linz, singers from the state youth choirs of Austria and from across the world will be joined by 450 singers from the Stay at Home Choir with synchronised AV projection, virtually joining from 30 countries – the first time such a feat has been undertaken for a world premiere under the baton of the composer.
In keeping with the work’s themes, the concert has been designated UNESCO Concert for Peace 2023 andwill be available to watch worldwide via livestream. The performance also includes world-class soloists such as soprano Ruby Hughes, as well as mezzo-soprano Kathyrn Rudge and baritone Roderick Williams who both featured on the One World recording which reached Number One in the UK Classical chart. In the spirit that inspired the creation of One World, Sir Karl Jenkins and all the performers are giving their services for this concert without fee.
The work addresses a fractured world – populist governments, climate change, epidemics, disregard for human rights and war – while proclaiming a vision of a peaceful and egalitarian planet. Jenkins incorporates elements of different cultures and religions and draws inspiration from texts such as the Bible, the Hindu Gayatri Mantra as well as in works by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, the Lebanese-American author Khalil Gibran and librettist Carol Barratt.
One World has been co-commissioned by the World Orchestra for Peace and the World Choir for Peace. The World Orchestra for Peace was founded by conductor Sir Georg Solti and director Charles Kaye in 1995 for a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary the founding of the United Nations. In more than 30 concerts since then, over 750 leading orchestral players from 125 orchestras in 71 countries have come together to bear witness to “the unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace”. They were designated UNESCO Artists for Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors in 2010. The World Choir for Peace was founded in 2018 by artistic director Nicol Matt, who brought together a chorus of over 2000 to sing with the World Orchestra for Peace under the baton of Sir Karl Jenkins in Berlin for a concert of his Armed Man – A Mass for Peace, commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War.
Sir Karl Jenkins said: “I am very much looking forward to conducting the amazing musical forces we will gather together at the Brucknerhaus, Linz, for the world premiere of my ‘One World’ in November. I started work on the score in the depths of the first pandemic lockdown in the UK, but then being in isolation is normal life for a composer. I would like to pay thanks to Nicol Matt for his creative input with regard to text and structure during the gestation of this piece.
“The title of one movement from ‘One World’ encapsulates what the project is all about; Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for ‘repair the world’. The work for choir and orchestra heralds a vision of a peaceful and egalitarian planet that treats nature and ecological issues with respect and where human rights are universal. Where truth is truth and news is never ‘fake’, where leaders do not lie, transparency is a given and all faiths live together in peace.
“I am most grateful for the support and help we have received from the Austrian Republic, the Province of Upper Austria, The City of Linz, all the performers and many others who have contributed to making it possible. And to Dietmar Kerschbaum at Brucknerhaus and Charles Kaye for their steadfast support as the presenting partners for this premiere.”
Charles Kaye, Director of the World Orchestra for Peace, said: “The World Orchestra for Peace is delighted to be the presenting partner of Brucknerhaus for this unique world premiere event. Together with the World Choir for Peace we have been happy to commission Sir Karl Jenkins’ new choral creation One World and to lend our support to every aspect of this profoundly humanitarian work and project.”
Tickets for the concert are on sale now on the Brucknerhaus website. Details for the livestream of the concert will be confirmed in due course.