Manfred Honeck to lead PSO, Mendelssohn Choir in Saint Vincent concert

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh will perform Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 on Sept. 21 in Saint Vincent Basilica, Unity.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. with PSO music director Manfred Honeck conducting.

A pre-concert benefit reception is set for 5:30 p.m. in the nearby Fred M. Rogers Center on the Saint Vincent College campus.

“Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last symphony upon which Anton Bruckner worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896; the symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903,” according to a concert press release. “Bruckner dedicated it ‘to the beloved God’ (in German, ‘dem lieben Gott’). It represents an important link between late romanticism and modernity.”

A ticket is $25 for the concert only.

A $100 ticket includes the reception and reserved concert seating. A portion of the ticket price will benefit Saint Vincent’s Students First Fund, which assists students with financial needs.

The reception menu includes appetizers, a carving station with apricot-glazed turkey, pasta station with tri-color asiago tortellini, dessert and coffee.

Under the direction of Austrian conductor Honeck since 2008, the PSO performs many new American works in addition to the classics. The symphony has a long history of recording and touring both nationally and internationally.

The mission of the 110-year-old Mendelssohn Choir, under the direction of Matthew Mehaffey, is to reinvent choral music for the 21st century. Its members come from diverse backgrounds and professions.

For concert information and tickets, call 724-532-5030 or visit eventsquid.com/event/6318.