The Helios Ensemble is directed by founder and Music Director Benjamin Hansen. Fridayβs concert at Catalina United Methodist Church will cost $15 for adults and $5 for students.
Tucsonβs Helios Ensemble will join the internationally feted Wartburg Choir in concert on Friday, April 26, as the group makes its way across Arizona and California.
The Tucson stopover is part of the college choirβs spring tour and will feature music centered on the human spirit and ability to overcome adversity. At the heart of βWe Will Rise!β is Abbie Betinisβ βBar Xizam,β translated from the Persian Farsi language, the title means βUpward, I Rise.β
Also on the program will be masterworks by Johann Sebastian Bach and Lili Boulanger; beloved hymns by F. Melius Christiansen and Albert Brumley; and an American Freedom song arrangement by Tom Trenney. The a cappella group, which hails from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, also will perform a reimagining of the well-known Protestant hymn βA Mighty Fortress Is Our God,β scored for choir, piano and electric guitar by Kyle Pederson.
Helios Ensemble will perform as part of the concert. The choir is under the baton of founder and Music Director Benjamin Hansen.
Fridayβs concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Catalina United Methodist Church, 2700 E. Speedway. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students with an ID.
Wartburg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and takes its name from the German castle where Martin Luther took refuge during the Reformation.
