“On Monday evening, the Florence Symphony Orchestra and the Florence Masterworks Choir performed a moving requiem inspired by the tragedy at Emanuel AME and captivated hundreds of concertgoers,” writes Joshua Lloyd in last Monday’s (3/27) Florence News (South Carolina). “The Rev. Eric S.C. Manning, pastor at Emanuel AME, opened the evening with a word of prayer and a blessing on the event. … The requiem, titled ‘Beyond the Years,’ was written by Charleston native Dr. Sarah Horick, who wanted to capture the awe-inspiring compassion and forgiveness shown by the victims’ families after the massacre. Terry Roberts, symphony director and conductor, said the work is a historic tribute to the love and strength displayed in Charleston in the days after June 17, 2015. ‘The ability of the families who lost their loved ones, the members of the Emanuel AME Church and Charleston’s people to rise above the expected reaction of this enormous tragedy and forgive was the greatest act of compassion,’ he said Monday night. The world premiere of ‘Beyond the Years’ drew hundreds of people to the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster [and] Senate President Pro Tempore Hugh K. Leatherman Sr.”
In photo: The Rev. Eric S.C. Manning, pastor of Emanuel AME in South Carolina, offers a prayer at the Florence Symphony’s March 27 world premiere performance of Beyond the Years, a requiem for the victims of the 2015 shooting at the church.
Posted April 7, 2017
