Church to Hold 9/11 Anniversary Concert

In honor of Sunday marking the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, residents are invited to remember that day at a one-night performance to honor those who died.

Frances Burmeister, director of music at the , where the event will be held, regards this event as very important one for the community as a whole.

“The concert will allow people who want to memorialize the event through music,” she said. “The music at this concert will highlight the event in a very powerful way.”

Burmeister said concert’s central piece, Mozart’s Requiem, is ideal for the event after hearing the worldwide “Rolling Requiem” in 2002.

“I was in Newburyport, and it was one year after the attacks of Sept.  11. On that anniversary, the whole world did a performance of the ‘Rolling Requiem’, where when one performance of the song finished, another one started,” she said.

Following that experience, Burmeister and other community members wanted to resurface the tradition of “Requiem” by conducting its production on the day’s tenth anniversary.

“Ten years seemed like a really appropriate time to do this,” she said. “It was a very significant day in our history and we wanted to honor it."

Another element about this particular event Burmeister said is its performers.

 “We have a mix of people who have joined together for this wonderful event,” she said. “Just a fabulous group of soloists, community members and professionals who want to express whatever deep feelings they have about 9/11.”

In addition to the Chelmsford and surrounding areas musicians and singers, Burmeister said the concert will feature soloists.

“The soloists coming are just out of this world,” she said. Some featured soloists will be Mindy Hinkel, Neal Ferreira, Glenn Billingsley and Frederick A. MacArthur.

Following the hour-long concert there will be refreshments served at a casual meet-and-greet hour.

“We want people to just enjoy each other’s company and decompress a little bit,” said Burmeister.

Though the event is free, Burmeister and other members of the   anniversary concert are accepting donations for the Chelmsford Military Community Covenant Task Force, a non-profit organization she feels strongly about.

“I remember the amount of stress my mother was under when my father was off in the Navy,” she said. “This organization really helps alleviate some of that stress. This organization is wonderful. They just jump in and help out families with members in the military in any way they can.”

Burmeister, the event will be a very “soul-jerking” experience.

“The horror and sadness of the day will come out in the music,” she said. “The power of music brings people a level of awareness to the rest of the world. And we will be performing some very powerful music.”