SCRANTON - Following a sold-out candlelit Nosferatu live performance on October 15th and two sold-out candlelit Mozart Requiem performances in October 2025, the NEPA PHIL (Candle)LIT Festival returns with a second candlelit choral requiem on Thursday, November 12th at 7:00PM at Elm Park United Methodist Church in Scranton. The NEPA Philharmonic, Music Director Mélisse Brunet, and the Marywood University Concert Choir present (Candle)LIT Brahms Requiem, highlighting the transcendental beauty of Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, "A German Requiem", in a special performance of the moving masterpiece in the historic local church. Audiences will be immersed in the emotional depth of this humanistic work of mourning, hope, and the beauty of life, alongside a thousand electric candles. The concert will be 70-80 minutes in length without intermission, with a Pre-Concert Talk starting at 6:00PM. Tickets start at $29 for adults and $16 for students with ID, with higher ticket prices at the door and for premium seating. Tickets are available at NEPAPHIL.org or by calling 570-270-4444.

The Brahms Requiem concert will be a Deaf-Inclusive performance and will include live ASL interpretation in partnership with Interpretek, along with English-translation supertitles. Haptic vests, bone-conduction headphones, and amplifying headphones will also be provided in partnership with Silent Sound System. Deaf-Inclusive accessibility for this performance is made possible by a generous grant to the Philharmonic from the Margaret Briggs Foundation.

For patron accessibility, the Elm Park Church elevator is currently out of service due to a mechanical issue and will be unavailable for this performance. Access to the church for this performance will require ascending 1 flight of stairs (14 steps) from street level on Linden Street. As such, an ADA Livestream ticket option to watch the concert live from home is available for $29 at NEPAPHIL.org or at 570-270-4444. Patrons who have already purchased tickets may request the livestream link, or any refunds or exchanges, by calling 570-270-4444. The livestream will begin at 6:00PM, including both the Pre-Concert Talk and the concert itself, and will only be available for live viewing.

Baritone Sunghoon Han, originally announced as one of the soloists for this concert, will unfortunately need to withdraw from this performance; the NEPA PHIL is grateful to welcome Phillip Bullock as the baritone soloist on November 12th. Joining Mr. Bullock alongside the Philharmonic are previously announced frequent NEPA PHIL collaborators, soprano soloist Jessica Leigh and the Marywood University Concert Choir. 

In addition to support from the Margaret Briggs Foundation, (Candle)LIT Brahms Requiem is supported by NEPA PHIL Season Sponsor PNC Bank and Symphony Series sponsor Thalenfeld Family, along with Munley Law, Paul & Adrienne Horger, and Christine & Harry Zike. Tickets for the concert and livestream are available at NEPAPHIL.org or by calling 570-270-4444.

American baritone Phillip Bullock’s recent successes include the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Three Decembers at Eugene Opera which was well-reviewed, and his return to Virginia Opera where he inaugurated the role of Theoliver “Jake” Jeter Loving vs. Virginia in Damien Jeter’s world premiere. He was a Resident Singer with American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice 2023–2025 cycle led by Artistic Director Steven Osgood and made his debut with PEAK Performances as Derrick Wheatt Blind Injustice, a role he also sang at Lincoln Center with MasterVoices.  Past highlights include his appearances as Zodzetrick in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha in his return to Cincinnati Opera where he also sang the roles of Cato and Watchman in Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith’s new critically acclaimed opera, Castor and Patience, voted the Best New Opera of 2022 by The New York Times.  Future appearances take him to Opera Tampa where he sings Figaro Il barbiere di Seviglia, and he continues his work with The Metropolitan Opera as extra chorus. https://www.phillipbullock.com/

Jessica Leigh, soprano, is a versatile singing actress comfortable in a wide range of repertoire. Recognized for her artistic honesty and effortless vocal production, she is dedicated to creating an experience through music. This intentionality shines through each performance, whether it be Schumann’s tender “Mondnacht,” Violetta’s fiery “Sempre Libera,” or the heartbreaking “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress. Ms. Leigh’s interpretation of the soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 was described as “transcendent,” and her rendition of Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” from the hit musical Les Misérables was noted for its “piercing delivery.” She has been part of numerous programs and companies including Opera Columbus, UK Opera Theatre, Opera Maine, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Bay View Music Festival, and The Lexington Theatre Company. Performance credits include the title role in Susannah, La Traviata (Violetta), Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna), Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), La Bohème (Mimì), Sondheim on Sondheim, and Songs for a New World. As a concert artist Jessica has been a guest of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra for Carl Orff’s Carmina burana and Poulenc’s Gloria; the NEPA Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem; and she debuted with the Canton Symphony Orchestra in March 2026 for Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. Ms. Leigh is also a member of a prestigious touring company, The American Spiritual Ensemble, who recently headlined the international music festival La Folle Journée and performed over ten concerts to sold-out audiences. https://jessicaleighsoprano.com/

Silent Sound System is a Wilkes-Barre-based global leader in headphone technology, used widely for yoga, fitness, music festivals, sensory inclusion, theater, dementia care, art installations, hypnosis, silent discos, conferences, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, mobile DJs, cruises, guided tours, celebrations, and more. Silent Sound System creates an immersive environment that allows listeners to feel like they are in their own world of sound. It provides an avenue to have events even in areas that would normally have too much background noise or not allow amplified sound. Their BASSpak is a tactile bass system that allows one to experience concert-level bass and music submersion without disrupting others. For more information, visit https://silentsoundsystem.com/.