Our heritage is rich and in good hands, if the Bermuda Heritage Concert 2011, under the direction of Marjorie Pettit, is anything to go by.Over 140 performers comprising an orchestra and two choirs received a standing ovation on Sunday May 15 for their performance in tribute to the late William ‘Bill’ Duncan, former organist at St John’s church, where the annual Heritage Concerts are held.The first half of the evening featured the St John’s Youth Choir performing an interesting programme of songs ranging from the glorious anthem ‘Non Nobis Domine’, arranged by Patrick Doyle, to the wistful Lennon and McCartney ‘Yesterday’, and encompassing the range of emotions one might experience at the passing of a dear friend.Master of Ceremonies Anthony Pettit began the concert with a brief tribute to Mr Duncan, “who revelled in music”, and expressed gratitude for a life which had been “all in praise of music”.A quartet comprising Katherine Allison, Anna Cutler, Katie Masters and Holly Stevens opened the evening with a gorgeous rendition of the beautiful and stirring ‘Non Nobis Domine’ (Not to us Lord, but to your name be the glory), from the film score of Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Henry V’.The theme of lamentation for lost youth and glory was developed with choral renditions of Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’ and the Scottish ballad ‘The Skye Boat Song’.Soloist Jenna Kessaram beautifully expressed the melancholy of lost love in her rendition of the traditional Irish song ‘The Salley Gardens’ before the tempo changed with three charming Hungarian folk songs.Andrienne Miller’s solo of the Maori Lullaby ‘Hine e Hine’ turned the musical theme melancholic once again, and was followed by a choral rendition of ‘Yesterday’ and Francesca Dill’s solo ‘Castle on a Cloud’ from ‘Les Miserables’ performed with a sense of longing in her strong, clear voice.Operatic selections, ‘Break o’Day’ from ‘Die Fledermaus’ and the Hebrew Chorus from ‘Nabucco’ continued the theme, with the latter recalling the memories in one’s heart of times gone by and ending with a prayer for fortitude to endure suffering and loss.The final selections concluded this part of the programme on a note of triumphant hope, with Rubenstein’s ‘The Wanderer’s Evensong’ (featuring Katie Ewles, Catriona Tait, Jenna Kessaram and Adrienne Miller) ushering in the change of mood. Caldwell and Ivory’s “Hope for Resolution’, dedicated to Mandela and de Klerk, was a moving piece with an interesting and sudden shift in style.Two spirituals, ‘At the River’ and ‘Elijah Rock’ ended the Youth Choir’s programme with all the promise of eternal life.The young people who opened the concert showed skill, discipline and enjoyment of the selections from our global musical heritage, proving that music is a universal language spoken across the generations. It was gratifying to see a significant number of them join the adults for the second half of the concert.Following the intermission, the audience was treated to Mozart’s powerful, majestic Requiem, expressed fully in the choral ensemble and the experienced soloists, Aylin Sezer (soprano), Kerri-lynne Dietz (mezzo soprano), Gary Burgess (tenor) and Peter Nash (bass).This moving work captures exactly the tension between fear and wonder as the soul stands at the cusp between one life and the next, and no faultless recording could capture the timbre of a live performance in an ecclesiastical setting.From the thrilling opening ‘Requiem’ to the triumphant ‘Agnus Dei’ the ensemble fulfilled the hope expressed at the beginning of the concert to do William Duncan justice.While the focus may have been primarily on the choir and soloists, the orchestra, under the leadership of Kerry Haslam, must be commended for providing orchestral accompaniment for such a challenging and varied programme.That Marjorie Pettit and her dedicated team of volunteers and parents, professional and amateur musicians is able to present programmes of such consistent quality is something Bermuda should never take for granted.It was in the words of one audience member, “A glorious evening”.