The
2002- 03 Archdiocesan Cathedral Concert Series
The 34th Annual Cathedral Concert Series, a season of exceptional
musical events for the Newark community, began its 2002-03 performance
series on Sunday, September 15. The magnificent architectural setting
of the Cathedral Basilica, with its splendid acoustics and a world
class pipe organ, combine to stimulate the listeners’ spirit
to greater artistic heights.
The mission of the Cathedral Music program is to lead and uplift
the community in sung prayer by way of embracing of the assembly’s
call to full, conscious and active participation. While affirming
and celebrating the unique diversity of our community, the program
acknowledges the Church’s rich heritage of music, and strives
to compliment it with the vast resources of music from the current
day.
The Cathedral Choir offers a wide spectrum of choral music spanning
several centuries, languages and cultures. Comprised of both professional
and amateur singers, the membership represents many walks of life
and a diversity of Christian religious traditions. The Cathedral
Choir sings regularly at the Sunday Noon Mass as well as for other
special events taking place in the Cathedral Basilica.
Secure on-site parking for all events is available at the Cathedral
Basilica lot on Clifton Ave.. The doors open one hour before the
concert, and seats are available on a first come basis. Special
group seating is available for Sunday afternoon performances. In
addition, a guided tour of the Cathedral Basilica is conducted following
each of the Sunday concerts.
For more information, contact the Cathedral Music Office at (973)
484-2400 or on the web at www.cathedralbasilica.org/concert/index.html
Editor’s Note: A complete listing of performers, dates and
suggested donations follows.
The
34th Annual Cathedral Concert Series, 2002-03 Schedule of Events
Sunday, October 20, 2002, 4 p.m.
Organ Recital with Jennifer Pascual
Progam to include Gregorian chant-based works of Duruflé,
Hakim, Manari, and Tournemire.
Dr. Jennifer Pascual, Associate Director of Music Ministries at
the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred, received a Doctor of Musical
Arts Degree in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, NY. She also holds a Master of Music Degree in Piano
Performance from the Mannes College of Music in New York City and
Bachelor of Music Degrees in Piano and Organ Performance and Music
Education from Jacksonville University in Florida. She has served
as organist and choir director in the Dioceses of St. Augustine,
Florida and Rochester, New York, and the Archdiocese of New York.
Dr. Pascual has also been on the Artistic Staff of the Boys Choir
of Harlem, Inc. since 1994.
Suggested donation - $10
Sunday, November 17, 2002, 4 p.m.
Organ Recital with Felix Hell
Felix Hell was born on September 14, 1985 in Frankenthal/Pfalz,
Germany. He took his first piano lesson at the age of seven after
having heard the C-Major Prelude out of the Well-Tempered Clavier
of J.S. Bach, which he played by heart after a few days of listening
to it and observing the player. Eight months later he took his first
organ lesson and after two months was able to demonstrate his success
to Professor Leo Kraemer, Principal organist of the Roman Catholic
Cathedral in Speyer, Germany. In 1994, he took part in the Federal
German competition for young musicians Jugend Musiziert, receiving
two first prizes in organ. At the age of eight, he was on duty for
his first service as a liturgical organist at a Roman Catholic Mass
on Easter 1994.
In August 1994, he gave his first concert abroad in the great hall
of the Saratov State Conservatory. Following the concert, he was
invited by the Russian organist and composer, Oleg Yanchenko, Professor
at the Moscow Tschaikovsky Conservatory, to participate in a master
course, which he completed during his summer vacation in 1995. He
continued to take first prizes in the Federal German competition
Jugend Musiziert, winning two first prizes in piano in 1996 and
1999, and two more first prizes in organ in 1997.
Felix has given more than 200 recitals in the United States and
abroad, and has had the opportunity to play in the Munich Cathedral,
and the Cathedrals of St. Patrick and St. John-the-Divine in New
York. Recently, Felix performed in two of Russia's most prestigious
concert halls, the great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, and
the Tschaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.
Suggested donation - $10
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 , 8 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
The Thirty-second Annual Christmas Carol Sing
A Christmas tradition for 32 consecutive years, the Carol Sing has
become one of the most significant Christmas concerts in Northern
New Jersey. The ambiance of candle light and seasonal decor along
with the Cathedral Choir, organ, brass, percussion and thousands
of participants combine to create and event that must be experienced.
The event is conducted by Cathedral Director of Music Ministries,
John J. Miller. Along with traditional Christmas Carols, the concert
will feature the fiery Christmas Cantata of Daniel Pinkham.
Free-will offering
Sunday, February 16, 2003, 4 p.m.
The North Jersey Philharmonic Glee Club
Program to include works of Mozart, Beethoven, Thompson, Hall Johnson,
Leonard dePaur, Howard Roberts and J. Hamilton Grandison.
Now in its 63rd year, the North Jersey Philharmonic Glee Club continues
to delight broad cross-sections of music lovers with its zeal and
desire to serve the public through choral music. Hailed by the Conductors'
Club of New York City as “...one of the finest male choruses
in the United States," the group will perform under the direction
of J. Hamilton Grandison and will be accompanied by Philip H. Field,
noted pianist, organist, choral director, and composer.
Suggested donation - $10
Sunday, March 16, 2003, 4 p.m.
Organ Recital with Craig Cramer
Program to include works of Gigout, Auguste Fauchard,
and pieces based on bell themes.
Dr. Craig Cramer, Professor of Organ at the University of Notre
Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, maintains one of the most active recital
careers in the country. Cramer has performed in forty-two states
as well as in Canada and his annual European concert tours have
taken him to Belgium, The Czech Republic, England, France, Germany,
Luxembourg, Poland, Scotland, and Switzerland. Dr. Cramer's performances
are frequently heard on the nationally-syndicated program "Pipedreams"
(American Public Radio).
Suggested donation - $10
Friday, April 18, 2003, 8 p.m.
Choral Meditations on the Stations of the Cross with the Cathedral
Choir
The Cathedral’s choral tradition continues with this annual
Good Friday event. The Cathedral Choir under the direction of John
J. Miller presents choral meditations within the context of the
Stations of the Cross. This a cappella program includes works of:
Anerio, Byrd, Farrant, Bruckner and Lotti.
Free-will offering
Sunday, May 18, 2003, 4:00 p.m.
A Hymn Festival with Dr. John Ferguson
A combined event with the Newark Chapter of the National Association
of Pastoral Musicians and the Metro Chapter of the American Guild
of Organists
John Ferguson's name is immediately associated with hymnody and
the words hymn festival. In 1995 he designed and led a hymn festival
in the Washington National Cathedral for the American Choral Directors
Association national convention and did the same in 1998 at the
national convention of the American Guild of Organists in Denver.
A Lutheran, his festivals are considered ecumenical experiences
drawing upon the greatest treasures of Christian song from many
centuries, traditions, and styles.
A native of Cleveland, Ferguson's degrees are from Oberlin College,
Kent State University, and the Eastman School of Music. He is respected
as an expert teacher and performer and his unique skill as improviser
and leader of congregational song has won national acclaim.
Suggested donation - $10
Sunday, June 1, 2003, 4 p.m.
Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi
The Cathedral Choir with guest conductor John Romeri (St. Louis
Cathedral) accompanied by organists John J. Miller and Jennifer
Pascual.
On June 27, 2003 the Cathedral Choir will embark on a ten-day singing
tour of Rome, Vienna, and Salzburg. The highlight of this tour will
be a performance of the Requiem by Giuseppi Verdi given by the combined
Cathedral choirs from Newark and St. Louis at St. Ignatius Church
in Rome. This famous, dramatic work will be presented here in the
Cathedral Basilica in preparation for the performances abroad.
Free-will offering
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