Richard Rossi was in Paris on Sept. 11.

He was performing Johannes Brahms’ requiem “Nanie” when he heard about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Rossi said he felt playing the requiem was the best way to pay homage to the victims of the attack.

“It was the perfect piece to honor those who died during 9/11,” he said.

Rossi took this idea a step further the next year when he used the “Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms” concert at Eastern as a memorial performance for the families of those who died.

The performance had a dramatic effect on the audience.

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” Rossi said. “It was one of the most moving pieces I’ve ever conducted.”

Rossi said the performance by the Eastern Symphony Orchestra was meant to let people use such beautiful music to heal the pain caused by the terrorist attacks.

“It was a way of offering the gift of music to bring solace and peace to those who were still alive,” he said.

Rossi, director of orchestral and choral activities for Eastern, also said he thought the concert would allow survivors and others who were affected by the Sept. 11 attacks to remember the lives of those who died.

This year’s “Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms” concert will take place at 4 p.m. on Sunday in the McAfee Auditorium. There will be a $5 charge to get into the event.

Rossi expanded the scope of this year’s memorial concert to encompass all those who had died of all forms of violence.

Rossi said he wants to honor the passing of all victims of violence, not limiting the sentiment to those who have died in war. One recent example Rossi cited was the violence in schools like Virginia Tech.

However, Rossi wanted to emphasize, this concert has no political agenda or ulterior motive within it.

“It’s not a political statement,” he said. “It’s a remembrance of those who have died.”

While it is not advocating any political philosophy, Rossi said, he hopes audience members take away a better understanding of the importance of peace in all things.

He considers the last movement of the concert, Bach’s “Dona Nobis Pacem,” to be the perfect way to bring together an awareness of peace on the part of the audience. “Dona Nobis Pacem” translated from its original Latin, means “Give Us Peace.”

The piece is the final movement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” which will follow Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7” and Brahms’ “Nanie,” respectively.

Sophomore vocal music education major Ashley McHugh said she feels honored to take part of this memorial concert and wants the concert to be successful in bringing comfort to people.

“I hope it makes a difference,” she said.

McHugh called music a “different language” and said it can help people connect on a deeply emotional level. She said the music allows her to see how violence truly affects people.

“The music really emphasizes the heartfelt emotions of such tragedies for me,” she said.

Senior music education major Allen Rotert said he thinks the selections will be considerate of the somber nature of the concert, but also provide the audience with enjoyment and lift their spirits.

“It’s so gripping,” he said. “It’s beautiful.

Rotert said the selections chosen by Rossi were great for this venue because they consider the sad context of the concert, while still providing the audience with joy and hope at the end.

Rotert said Brahms’ “Nanie” was the perfect somber composition to include in the concert since it was written as a result of a friend of Brahms’ death, while the end of the concert would give the audience hope because of the peaceful goals of Bach’s “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

The Composers

Of the three composers featured in this concert, Beethoven is the most recognizable name.

However, to achieve this fame, he stood on the shoulders of Bach, just as Brahms would do to Beethoven years later looking for inspiration.

Rotert, who begins student teaching next year, said he believes any attempt to rate any of these composers higher than the other would be inappropriate.

“To say that one is better would really undermine the rest of the masters,” he said.

Jonathan Bellman a professor who has written extensively on Brahms, shares a similar sentiment when it comes to trying to rate the individual impact of Beethoven, Bach or Brahms.

“Anyone can latch onto a single name but they have all had the same impact on music,” he said.

Bellman said Brahms has as much significance on music as Beethoven or Bach, as they are three of the biggest figures in music.

Rossi said he chose to focus on these composers and compositions in the concert not only for the emotional benefit of the audience, but also for the education of the students in the orchestra and chorus.

Rossi said he tries to have these three composers featured in a concert every two or three years in order to ensure students have at least one opportunity to perform these works in a live concert.

“They were writing music with the idea that there is something more,” he said. “What comes out of it is something very profound.”

Rossi said he hopes as students perform these pieces, they take away a sense of that depth and mastery so prevalent in the works of Beethoven, Bach and Brahms.

Though Rossi expects students to be affected by the composers, some like Rotert have already found inspiration from the three men.

Rotert said one of the first symphonies he heard was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He said this was not long before he had joined his school band and hearing it cemented his choice to enter the musical field.

He said the music created such a great feeling within him, he knew he wanted to make such art.

“Music has an intrinsic value that has always existed without form,” Rotert said. “I want to share that feeling with the world.”

To sophomore music education major Sharon Walker, playing music by the composers is important step in completing her repertoire.

Though Beethoven, Bach or Brahms did not personally influence her, she still values their contributions to music and the difficulties their works present.

“You really come to appreciate the artists and the effort you have to put in to play their music,” Walker said.

Rossi said exposure to musicians like these is a principal reason he has tried to have these concerts every two or three years.

He said this guarantees a student has played music by one of the masters in a concert setting at least once before they graduate.

Rossi said even if students do not come to appreciate the three composers after the concert, it will at least introduce them to the work and, he believes, allow them to better understand them as they grow as musicians and as people.

At least, he said, this is how the experience has been for him.

“They continue to unfold and become more profound as I get older,” Rossi said.

The Compositions

Music scholars like Rossi and Bellman say each of the pieces hold a deeper message for audiences and were written in the hopes of drawing emotional responses and provoking questions from listeners.

This depth played a role in their choice for this concert, Rossi said.

Rossi said with “Nanie,” Brahms is trying to ask why people have to die.

“The Brahms itself seems to enforce the idea that we don’t live forever,” Rossi said.

Bellman, head of academic studies in music at the University of Northern Colorado, said Brahms achieved this depth by drawing upon his own musical creation as well as the traditions and trends of the classical era of music, even though he was composing music in the romantic period of music.

One musical form, which Brahms successfully revived from the classical era, was variation.

Variation form is a classical technique where the same piece is repeatedly played and altered throughout the song.

During the romantic period, which ran roughly from 1820 to 1900, variation form had fallen out of favor with musicians but Brahms, drawing inspiration from Beethoven and Bach, made it popular again with several of his classically composed compositions.

“Brahms rescued variation form,” Bellman said.

He said Brahms did this by showing how he could handle the form as well as Beethoven, Bach or even Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, while combining it with contemporary techniques to create a near limitless range of composition.

Even with all of the influence from previous classical giants, Bellman said, Brahms still managed to keep his music unique and rooted in his own interpretation of classical music.

“It was never anything but Brahms,” Bellman said.

Bellman, who is a pianist, was inspired by Brahms, as he said he expects most, if not all, pianists have been.

“I don’t think there is a pianist alive who hasn’t been affected by Brahms,” he said.

This influence is due to Brahms most recognizable work, “Brahms’ Lullaby,” which is performed on the piano.

However, Brahms, just like Beethoven or Bach, did not limit himself to writing for one instrument in his compositions.

Though most of the works are ensemble pieces featuring equal parts of the orchestra and chorus, Brahms’ “Nanie” features several oboe solos.

Rotert will play the oboe during the concert, referring to the instrument as Brahms “primary voice” toward the beginning of “Nanie” and saying the oboe was meant to sound like “a weeping cry.”

Rotert said it was his and the rest of the orchestra and chorus’ duty to bring the work to life, which does make him nervous, but only until showtime.

“I’m nervous until the stage lights come on,” he said. “Then it becomes a team effort and my nerves go away.”

Walker said the difficulty of the pieces requires the students who are playing them to spend a lot of time learning the pieces and trying to understand the music.

Though this is difficult and takes a lot of time, Walker said it gives students a better perspective of the composers.

“You really come to appreciate the artistry and effort the artists put into the music,” Walker said.

Rossi said this understanding on the part of the students was one of the things he hoped to achieve with this concert.

He also said he would like to think the students would appreciate the depth of their work after playing it and understand these composers were writing music for more than just its entertainment value.

“They’re writing music with the idea that there is something more,” Rossi said. “What comes out of that is something very profound.”