In a world shadowed by conflict and loss, music has long served as one of humanity’s most powerful calls for peace. The La Cañada Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and LCPC Orchestra invite the community to a profound and moving afternoon concert on Sunday, March 29 at 2 p.m., exploring the urgent theme of World Peace in This Deadly 21st-Century World.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Featured work: “The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace”

The centerpiece of the program is the landmark choral work “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” by acclaimed Welsh composer Karl Jenkins – one of the most performed choral compositions of our time. Originally commissioned to mark the turn of the millennium, this powerful, genre-defying mass draws on texts ranging from the Latin Mass to the Islamic call to prayer and a poem by Rudyard Kipling, weaving them into a searing meditation on the devastation of war and the longing for peace.

The performance will be accompanied by a stunning 4K video presentation from the BBC, immersing the audience in the full emotional and visual scope of Jenkins’ masterwork.

Rounding out this extraordinary afternoon are works by two of the most celebrated voices in Western music:

• John Williams – Selections from his iconic scores for Munich (2005) and Saving Private Ryan (1998), two of cinema’s most sobering and humanizing portrayals of war and its aftermath.
• Johann Sebastian Bach – Sacred works by the Baroque master whose music has offered solace, beauty and spiritual depth across three centuries.

Pre-concert presentation at 1:30 p.m.

Arrive early and deepen your experience. At 1:30 p.m., the LCPC director of Music & Worship Arts will offer a special presentation: “An Historical Overview of Sacred Heritage Lost to Conflict,”

This illuminating talk will explore the incalculable cultural and spiritual losses the world has suffered when sacred sites, musical traditions and artistic heritage are destroyed by war – providing rich context for the music that follows.

The concert is on Sunday, March 29. The pre-concert talk is at 1:30; the concert is at 2 p.m. LCPC is located at 626 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada. Admission is free.

The LCPC Chancel Choir and Orchestra are dedicated to the life of the spirit through music of the highest quality. This concert is offered as a gift to the community and a prayer for a more peaceful world.

For more information, call the church office at (818) 790-6708 or visit lacanadapc.org.