The upcoming year marks an important milestone for the Brattleboro Music Center’s Concert Choir, as Susan Dedell leads the BCC in her final year as music director. Culminating 29 years of visionary programming and compelling performances, she has chosen an exciting year of music, starting with the highly acclaimed Requiem of Karl Jenkins and Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna,” which will be performed at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., Brattleboro, on Saturday, January 20, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, January 21, at 3 p.m.

Jenkins’ Requiem will feature Junko Watanabe, soprano, and Elizabeth Brown on the Japanese shakuhachi. The piece weaves five Japanese haiku memorials into the Requiem Mass n a transporting work that creatively reaches across cultures. Combining warm Western harmonies and melodies with the purity of Japanese songs, the Requiem is “the ultimate in postmodern Requiems” (Music Week). Strings, horns, flutes (including Japanese shakuhachi), and percussion create a deeply moving and exalted celebration of the cycle of life.

Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” is simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, gracious and exciting for both chorus and orchestra. Lauridsen (b. 1943) is considered the brightest star in the American choral firmament. His unmistakable sound is an amazing balance between the contemporary and the timeless.

Tickets for the concerts are $15, $10 for students and are available at https://bmcvt.org/brattleboro-concert-choir