Recent highlights

Premiere of 'Mass for All Saints' - photo: Ed Inglod

So much has happened since I last took time to post here on my blog, which is not surprising since I haven’t done so since August! I marvel at people who have the time, creativity and worthwhile opinion to blog on a daily basis. That’s just not for me. But as best I can tell, life on planet earth seems to move along well with or without my blog so I won’t worry about it.

Things at SDG are seriously picking up momentum. Directing the organization has always been an engaging job, but especially so over the last year, and in the last few months the organization has crested a new energy level. Our board is especially fired up and engaged. Last month we had two day-long board meetings, the first of which focused exclusively on strategic planning for the future. Meetings like these always involve a lot of work in preparation but I really enjoy them (not sure the rest of the staff feels the same way!)

I consider composer/musicologist Peter Bannister’s appointment to the position of Associate Artistic Director a huge boost to our efforts. I actually teared up during our fall board meeting in voicing my respect and appreciation for Peter. He is a world-class composer of profound spiritual vision, and what he is doing for SDG by forging connections with composers, conductors and institutions is tremendously valuable.

Composer Jacob Bancks at the premiere of 'Mass for All Saints' - photo: Ed IngoldBy this time tomorrow we will have celebrated two premieres in the last two months, both in the Chicago area. I’m overdue in reporting on the premiere of Jacob Bancks’ choral/orchestral Mass for All Saints, which was presented by the Millennium Chamber Players at St. John Berchmans Church on September 20. More news to follow soon on that project. I continue to be impressed Jacob Bancks. And I’m not the only one. The response of the audience in Chicago was telling. New music, even very well-written new music, isn’t always received so enthusiastically. Clearly, the composer connected with his audience. I’ve included here a few photos from the event (more here). I hope to be able to post audio clips from Mass for All Saints soon.

The move in process. A huge mess.Then there’s the re-location of our office, a minor detail, in some respects, in the evolution of SDG, but significant none the less. After nearly 15 years of operating out of a house in a beautiful, wooded neighborhood in West Chicago we’ve moved into an office building in Glen Ellyn and are already enjoying the convenience and ambience of the new location. Here’s the address:

Soli Deo Gloria, Inc.
800 Roosevelt Road A 100
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

We’ll host an open house sometime early next year. I look forward to having friends stop by and visit once we’ve gotten all the boxes unpacked, furniture in place and pictures on the walls. It’s been a major undertaking and made items of regular business more difficult to keep up with, but I’ve no doubt that it’s a step in the right direction for us.

Tonight I’ll take in the world premiere of a new choral work by composer Daniel Kellogg commissioned by SDG. Preserve Me, O God is the first in a series of short choral pieces we’re commissioning from leading composers based on the Psalms. I highly recommend Peter Bannister’s written intro to the Psalms Project, which you can download by clicking here. I’ve included below a bit of conversation on the project from a radio interview with Peter earlier this year.

SDG Associate Artistic Director Peter Bannister
comments on the Psalms Project:

Audio courtesy of Greg Wheatley and Prime Time America, Moody Radio.

I’m looking forward to visiting Lisbon next February for the DVD filming and live Internet broadcast of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. See http://sdgmusic.org/news/?p=203 and www.SDGmusic.org/Lisbon It promises to be a highlight. I enjoyed Minnesota Public Radio’s segment on the Missa Solemnis with the late American musicologist Michael Steinberg, which I’ve included here as well.

November 20, 2009 | Filed Under Kellogg: Preserve Me, O God, Bancks: Mass for All Saints, Interviews, SDG general | Leave a Comment 

John Nelson radio interviews

I’m finally getting around to posting a few radio interviews with conductor John Nelson that took place last fall. SDG fans may find these of interest. In the first interview, a conversation with Greg Wheatley of Moody Radio, Maestro Nelson remarks on SDG in general and discusses the situation with sacred music in China. The second interview was conducted by Carl Grapentine of WFMT and focuses on SDG’s commission project with composer Peter Bannister - the outcome of which was a new oratorio titled Et iterum venturus est (from the Nicene Creed, meaning “And he shall come again”). My thanks to Moody Radio and WFMT for allowing me to post these conversations.

November 2008, Moody Radio interview

December 2008, WFMT interview

March 27, 2009 | Filed Under Bannister: Et iterum venturus est, SDG general | Leave a Comment 

Thoughts, words, music

Peter Bannister leads the EOP in rehearsal

Before composing the music of his oratorio Et iterum venturus est, Peter Bannister spent the better part of a year, or more, contemplating the work’s theological underpinnings. The text of the new work is made up entirely of scripture passages chosen and arranged by the composer, and set in Latin. An English translation of the text is available for download by clicking here.The composer’s thoughtful approach to structure and focus is evident. The seven movements of Et iterum venturus est are as follows:

1) Fall and Protoevangelion
2) Prophecy
3) Incarnation
4) Kenosis
5) Resurrection
6) Ascension
7) Parousia (Second Coming)

Peter Bannister leads a rehearsal of 'Et iterum venturus est'I’m impressed with the work’s cosmic embrace and piecing together of scriptural narratives addressing Christ’s comings into the world, beginning with the fall of man, traversing Messianic prophecy, including the gospel account of Christ’s life on earth and concluding with anticipation of his Second Coming. But really, it’s no surprise to me that Peter would approach this project with such profound spiritual vision. One of the great privileges I’ve enjoyed in my work with SDG is to get to know Peter and to see his gifts at work, including his brilliance in connecting the dots between music and faith. For example I encourage you to check out www.ThinkingFaith.org, the online journal of the British Jesuits, where just last week was posted an article by Peter addressing the religious views of composer Olivier Messiaen—a discussion prompted in part by Norman Lebrecht’s recent article, Why Messaien doesn’t raise my spirits.

December 9, 2008 Concert PosterI hope very much that Et iterum venturus est will be heard again soon! Ideas have already surfaced for performances at several venues/festivals in Europe, which we’ll seriously pursue. Meanwhile, nothing I could provide by way of verbal description could substitute for the experience of hearing the music itself, but thankfully the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris kindly granted permission for me to post video footage of the rehearsals, which at least provides a glimpse. I plan to post more of that soon…

December 16, 2008 | Filed Under Bannister: Et iterum venturus est, Olivier Messiaen, Faith | Leave a Comment 

Inside the Église de la Sainte-Trinité

Rehearsal of Et interum venturus est

Prior to yesterday afternoon, rehearsals for Peter Bannister’s oratorio Et iterum venturus est took place in a rehearsal facility in Alfortville (pictured above), about 45 minutes away from the city center. It’s a nice space as far as rehearsal rooms go, but still it’s a small room containing a large piece of music, great for fine-tuning detail but not for getting the overall effect.

What a change it was yesterday to hear the piece in the space where it will be premiered this evening. The acoustics and sight lines in La Trinité church are striking and create a great backdrop for experiencing this new work.

A few photos from this afternoon…

La Trinite Church - SDGmusic.org

La Trinite Church, Paris

Peter is doing a great job of rising to the challenge of conducting this piece. He knows the music from the inside out, and the Ensemble orchestral de Paris is playing magnificently for him. Here’s a bit of video from yesterday afternoon’s rehearsal:

December 9, 2008 | Filed Under Bannister: Et iterum venturus est, Videos | Leave a Comment 

Music soon to be born

La Trinite Church, ParisThis week, a new musical work will be born under sponsorship from Soli Deo Gloria. Composer Peter Bannister has written a massive, one-hour work with an absolutely epic libretto. After several years of discussing and anticipating this project, I heard parts of the music for the first time at a rehearsal here in Paris yesterday. Et iterum venturus est (from the Nicene Creed, meaning “And he shall come again”) is a marvelously complex, colorful and engaging work of art with an almost haunting sense of gravitas–a major part of which comes from the text itself which is woven together from prophetic passages in both the Old and New Testaments.

Conductor John Nelson comments
on the commissioning of Et iterum venturus est.
Audio courtesy of WFMT, December 2008.

I look forward to sharing more on this project as the week progresses. For now, I’ll just comment on the enormous priviledge that is mine and Soli Deo Gloria’s in working with Peter Bannister. His vision for this work is utterly intriguing and inspiring. Et iterum venturus est was written in the shadow of the great composer Olivier Messiaen and is being premiered this week on the occasion of what would be the late composer’s 100th birthday. This will take place at La Trinité  (pictured above), the church where Messiaen served as organist for over 60 years.

Peter’s understanding of Messiaen’s music and theology is profound. The video below was taken this morning at a discussion forum Peter lead at the American Cathedral.

More to follow…


December 7, 2008 | Filed Under Bannister: Et iterum venturus est, Videos | Leave a Comment 

Sacred Music continues

The work of Soli Deo Gloria continues and has sparked some exciting performances of sacred music in recent days. Here’s a brief summary:

Lumen de Lumine premiere in Sioux Falls, SDOn March 15 and 16, a new piano concerto was premiered by the South Dakota Symphony under the baton of its Music Director, Delta David Gier. The piece was written by composer Jacob Bancks under commission from SDG. Lumen de Lumine (“Light from Light”) is a work that celebrates the glory and mystery of Christ’s resurrection through musical reflection on the Easter Vigil Mass. And what a profound and engaging piece it is! With its intricate and captivating musical language, Lumen de Lumine is the sort of work that requires and rewards serious listening, much like the music of Olivier Messiaen whom Bancks counts among his “musical heroes.” Let’s hope that Lumen de Lumine receives many repeat performances as the composer’s career continues to blossom.

Dress rehearsal of The Fiery Furnace in San Diego, CAOne of the most beloved stories in the Bible was explored in music last month as the San Diego Symphony, the San Diego Master Chorale and conductor Jahja Ling presented three performances of a new work commissioned by SDG. With all its dramatic appeal, it’s a wonder that the account of The Fiery Furnace from the book of Daniel isn’t the subject of a greater number of concert works. For SDG, composer Daniel Kellogg created a 34-minute oratorio depicting the distress, remorse and resilient faith of the Jewish people, the vain glory of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the true glory of God in deliverance from death. The imagination and skill at work in Kellogg’s oratorio impressed me greatly. The Fiery Furnace beautifully expresses SDG’s aim to wed musical excellence with scriptural texts, and it won standing ovations from audiences in San Diego.

Reflecting on these projects, I’m mindful that SDG supporters are the ones who ultimately made it all possible, through contributions great and small. So, huge thanks to all who are furthering this cause. I invite you to take joy in these achievements and in all that lies ahead. Expect great things!

May 16, 2008 | Filed Under SDG general, Commissions | Leave a Comment 

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