It’s big, it’s loud, it’s Mahler! Central’s music department presents a powerful combination of voices and symphonies with “Symphony No. 2, Resurrection” by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler.

The performance will feature more than 200 musicians, including Central’s Symphony Orchestra, the Central Men’s Chorus, the Central Women’s Chorus and the Yakima Symphony Chorus.

The performance will be directed by Nikolas Caoile, who serves as the director of orchestras at Central, music director of the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor for the Salem Chamber Orchestra.

While this is not his first time conducting Mahler’s “Resurrection,” Caoile said he is still approaching it as if it is the first time. According to Caoile, the piece will be very complex, especially since he will be directing an extremely large orchestra and choir with off-stage musicians.

Caoile compares Mahler’s symphony to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which also combines vocals and instruments. He describes Beethoven’s 9th as a description of how all men are created equal, whereas Mahler’s symphony is about the meaning of life.

According to Caoile, Mahler completed many of his compositions within one year, but “Symphony No. 2” took him 10 years to finish.

Along with representing the meaning of life, the piece also refers to a higher power. Mahler had been challenging his spiritual beliefs at the time, having been raised Jewish but drifting towards Christianity. However, the higher power in the piece does not signify any specific religion.

“At first, [life] seems trivial and meaningless,” Caoile said. “But over the course of the piece’s 70 minutes, it becomes clear that life means more. Some of the final words uttered, ‘I come from God, to God I return,’ underline the spiritual content of the piece.”

According to Megan McCormick, a senior choral conducting major, Mahler’s “Resurrection” will feature at least 100 singers, and the piece is the “peaks and valleys of human emotion wrapped up in one work.”

“It’s fun for sopranos because we get to use our full voice,” McCormick said. “But I think everything that Mahler does is using the utmost extremes of emotion and voice.”

McCormick said working with Caoile is “fun and efficient.” McCormick worked with Caoile when he was the director of the singers, orchestra and harpsichord player for Central’s performance of “The Marriage of Figaro.”

The alto soloist for the performance Melissa Schiel said she is in a “spiritually exposed position” as a soloist for “Symphony No. 2,” but that it is a challenge because the alto solo is very low and has to be sung with purpose.

Schiel said “Symphony No. 2” is more impressive when heard live than from a recording. “[The piece is about] mankind being in pain and wanting to return to heaven.”

Schiel added that a person doesn’t need a religious background to enjoy Mahler’s symphony.

Mahler’s “Symphony No. 2, Resurrection” will be performed on Sunday, May 17 at the McIntyre Music Building. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for Central students.