PPM to Give Homecoming Performance of 1969 Work for Chorus and Chapel Organ
Frank Lewin preparing “Requiem Mass for Robert F. Kennedy” with soloists Sylvia Jones and Leo Goeke for premiere on May 27, 1969.
On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot by 24-year-old Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy’s assassination, of course, sent shockwaves through the nation as it grieved the loss of yet another prominent public figure in a decade plagued by such losses.
On June 8, 1968, 43-year-old Princeton resident and composer Frank Lewin stood amid a crowd of silent onlookers as the train carrying Sen. Kennedy’s body to Washington, D.C. rolled slowly by. It was in that moment that he was inspired to compose Requiem for Robert F. Kennedy.
The piece received its premiere as part of a Requiem Mass for the Dead on May 27, 1969 at the Princeton University Chapel. The performance brought together Princeton musical luminaries and a Chapel packed full of attendees wishing to pay their respects. The Princeton High School choir was conducted by William R. Trego, and joined at the organ by longtime and much-loved area keyboardist, Nancianne Parrella.
On May 9, 2026 at 4 p.m., Princeton Pro Musica has the distinct honor of bringing the Requiem back to the Chapel for the first time in nearly 60 years as part of its American Resonance concert.
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An article about the performance appeared in the Evening Times of Trenton on Wednesday, May 28, 1969. 
The resolution of the image is not exceptional, but the text has been extracted, and can be read by clicking here or on the image of the article.
The author of the article notes that Lewin’s work “captured perfectly the spirit of supplication which is the essence of the mass for the dead. His requiem […] is neither operatic nor symphonic, as are so many of the great masses of the past.” He further characterizes it as “…simple yet powerful, modern yet tonal. It has in fact many passages of haunting beauty.”
As the chorus of Princeton Pro Musica has been preparing the piece for performance, that has been our exact experience. The haunting beauty of the vocal lines, considered in the context of the zeitgeist of the late 1960s, has been a wholly fulfilling experience, and the performance on May 9 is certain to be a moving event for all.
Lewin’s Requiem will be performed alongside two other works of particular beauty, also composed in the 1960s: Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Margaret Brooks’ St. Francis’ Prayer. The program is rounded out by two more modern American pieces and a work for solo organ, performed by Princeton University organist and PPM collaborative keyboard artist, Eric Plutz.