Music "In Time of War"

Although several months still remain until Veterans Day, some are currently commemorating the service and sacrifices of America’s troops. Boston choir Coro Allegro accomplishes just that with its concert “…In Time of War,” which will take place at Sanders Theatre this Sunday.

Founded in 1990, Coro Allegro is a nonprofit Boston chorus for members of the LGBT community and allies that specializes in classical music. Yoshi Campbell, a member of the Board of Directors, praises the strong sense of community and acceptance fostered by members of the chorus. “It’s a culmination of performing.... Together, we are all allies,” she says.

After its recent release of two CDs—“Awakenings” and “In Paradisum”—Coro Allegro will celebrate artistic director David Hodgkins’s 20th anniversary season with “…In Time of War.” International organization Veterans for Peace serves as a community partner for the concert.

Hodgkins developed this concert after being inspired by composer Lee Hoiby’s setting of U.S. Private Jesse Givens’s final letter home from Iraq. Each of the pieces that Coro Allegro will perform revolves around this theme of war and the armed forces. “[The concert] seems a very tangible, public acknowledgement in honor of their service,” Hodgkins says.

Coro Allegro will open with “The Lamentations of Jeremiah,” written by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera after World War II. It will be followed by Hoiby’s “Last Letter Home,” an emotionally powerful piece that serves as the concert’s thematic centerpiece. Practices of this piece have proved emotional, with singers being moved to tears. “It’s a call to those to see the suffering caused by war,” Campbell says. This contrasts with composer Peter Eldridge’s “Come Home,” a jazz piece initially written for Grammy-winning a capella group New York Voices. The chorus rounds out its performance with Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia” and Joseph Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War.” Soloists for the concert will include soprano Teresa Wakim, mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, bass Thomas Jones, and tenor Stefan Reed.

Above all, “…In Time of War” is intended to be a powerfully emotional performance, Campbell says. “[The concert] is a way to honor the suffering of all in war and the bravery of those who served, but also to be reminded in a really intentional way of our shared humanity,” she says.