LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky School of Music will mark its academic year with a Celebration Weekend at the Singletary Center for the Arts, featuring the final performances by longtime choral director Jefferson Johnson before his retirement at the end of the spring semester.

The weekend opens 5:15 p.m. Friday, April 24, with an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding students. At 7:30 p.m., the UK Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Nardolillo, will open with Brahms' Symphony No. 3, followed by the UK Choirs performing Johannes Brahms' "Ein Deutsches Requiem." Johnson will conduct the orchestra and combined choirs, who will be joined by The Lexington Singers for the masterwork.

Johnson's choice of the Brahms requiem holds symbolic significance. The piece was the first choral-orchestral work he conducted at UK in 1995, and he has long intended to make it his final performance. "He wanted to humanize it and make it personal," Johnson said of Brahms' decision to set the work in German rather than Latin. "It is a requiem for the 'living.'"

Johnson, an Endowed Professor of Choral Studies at UK since 1993, has shaped the university's choral program into a nationally recognized ensemble. Under his direction, UK Choirs has grown in both size and national reputation, earning awards and recognition that have elevated the program's profile across the country. Beyond UK, Johnson serves as Music Director of the Lexington Singers, a community chorus of approximately 180 voices that has performed internationally.

UK music alumni Catherine Clarke Nardolillo, soprano, and Chris Burchett, baritone, will anchor the vocal solos. Proceeds from the benefit concert will support scholarships for future UK music students.

The weekend continues 3 p.m. April 26, with the UK Wind Symphony performing "Corfu Festival" featuring guest conductor Sokratis Anthis of Ionian University, followed by an awards ceremony for band students. The celebration concludes at 7:30 p.m. with "Imagine," a joint concert featuring the UK Symphony Band and UK Concert Band performing works by composers including Eric Whitacre and David Biedenbender.

For tickets and information, visit finearts.uky.edu/music/events/school-music-celebration-weekend.