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CORVALLIS - Choral masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Gabriel Faure open the Corvallis Repertory Singers' third season on Saturday evening, Oct. 19. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 1165 N.W. Monroe St. in Corvallis.

Its theme is "Passages: Choral Music about Transitions."

Conductor Steven M. Zielke, from Oregon State University, characterizes Bach's "Magnificat in D" as "ebullient and graceful, full of vigor and also of tenderness." The work celebrates a pivotal transition in Christian theology: the moment of the incarnation. It is the song of Mary as she responds to the Angel's news that she will bear the Messiah. Faure's "Requiem" uses texts of the mass that set forth the assurance of salvation, in contemplating a transition which comes to each person: the passage from life to death.

The Corvallis Repertory Singers are 30 professional and amateur musicians selected by Zielke, who is also director of choral activities at OSU. Soloists for the Bach "Magnificat" are soprano Laura South-Oryshchyn, mezzo-sopranos Gale Hazel and Susan Peck, tenor Tom Burt, and baritone Peter Butler. Faure soloists are soprano Patty Gerig and baritone Peter Butler. The works are accompanied by a chamber orchestra, with Brian Conatser at harpsichord and organ.

This winter (Feb. 1), the ensemble will offer two master works with a theme of "War and Peace." Paired with Joseph Haydn's "Mass in Time of War" is Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem," based on the powerful war poetry of Walt Whitman and Wilfred Owen.

The final program of the season will be performed twice, April 12 in Corvallis and April 13 in Albany. It features poetry set to music by Johannes Brahms, Randall Thompson, Paul Hindemith, and P.D.Q. Bach. All Saturday concerts are at 7 p.m.; the Sunday concert in April is at 3 p.m.

Season tickets for the three concerts are $25 for adults and$8 for students. Single-concert tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for students. They are available at Scandinavian Trading Company and Grass Roots Books, at The Emporium in Timberhill Shopping Center, at the OSU Department of Music in 101 Benton Hall, and at Sid Stevens Jewelers in Albany. Tickets may be available at the door as space permits.

For more information, call 541-737-4061.