New choral work inspired by October 7 events to premiere at Armstrong Auditorium April 26
Lamentations of Jeremiah - an Oratorio by Ryan Malone
EDMOND, Okla. (April 14, 2026)—A new choral work inspired by events of October 7, 2023, will debut at Armstrong Auditorium on Sunday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m. Lamentations of Jeremiah is an oratorio by Ryan Malone, an Edmond composer who witnessed some of the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas massacre while visiting Israel with his family.
Malone, director of music at Herbert W. Armstrong College in Edmond, is a prolific composer, having scored hundreds of works. Dozens of these set sacred biblical text, but over the years, one biblical poem was too dark for him to consider: the book of Lamentations. That changed on October 7. The book of Lamentations is considered the Hebrew Bible’s most sophisticated poetry—setting the heartbreak and horror of Jerusalem’s destruction in 585 B.C.E. with unrivaled artistic elegance and intensity.
“Having spent a few days prior to October 7 in Jerusalem amid the hustle and bustle of a busy, noisy city, I was stunned by the silence afterward,” Malone said. “I could actually hear birds singing.” Malone says his mind immediately went to the book of Lamentations, which opens with the words, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people!” (Lam. 1:1 KJV)
In the ensuing days when he and his family were trapped in Israel, struggling to get a flight out of the country, Malone began meditating on the possibility of setting the book of Lamentations to music. The result? Now for the first time in modern history, Malone has set every word to music in his oratorio Lamentations of Jeremiah. The work is scored for full orchestra, chorus and soloists.
Featuring the 109-member Armstrong Choral Union and 35-piece professional orchestra, Malone’s groundbreaking work is set in both English and the original Hebrew, and is a mix of a traditional orchestral atmosphere blended with Middle Eastern modes and sound ideals. The premiere will feature three soloists: Malone’s wife, soprano Paula Malone (The Widow), tenor Mark Jenkins (The Prophet) and bass Rob Glaubitz (The Lord).
The world premiere of this epic work will take place at 2:00 p.m., Sunday April 26 at Armstrong Auditorium. Tickets are available from $35 for adults and $30 for youth ages 6-17. Please visit ArmstrongAuditorium.org or call the Box Office at (405) 285-1010.
To get a sense of the musical themes in the oratorio, Malone set some of the music as a suite for cello and piano, recorded by his son, cellist Seth Malone, with his father at the piano. It can be streamed on Spotify and Amazon Music.