Born in 1952, James DeMars studied with Dominick Argento and currently teaches at the Arizona State University School of Music. Hugely ambitious and soundly constructed, An American Requiem (1993) is a stylistically eclectic, strongly approachable offering in four parts, interpolating English and Latin texts in an attempt to reflect the diversity of that nation’s cultural and religious life. The composer secures an ardent, polished response from his massed forces, and production values are consistently top-notch.'