Aug

24

Haydn’s Creation in Romania

Filed Under Project Uplift Romania 2009, Sacred music around the world | Leave a Comment

Full house in Cluj, Romania

Franz Joseph Haydn’s most celebrated choral work, The Creation, was brought to three cities in Romania last month through Oratorium, a music festival sponsored by Jubilate, Crescendo and Soli Deo Gloria. The spiritual impact of performing this masterpiece of sacred music was felt by audiences and performers alike, in a country where just 20 years ago a performance like this would have been banned.

Spiritually I have never felt this kind of transforming, spiritual ‘charging’.  I have the feeling that there can’t exist a higher level of filling… - Oratorium participant

First rehearsal of Haydn's 'The Creation'

It’s as if the Lord is pouring out His spirit in our rehearsal time. - Oratorium participant

Delta David Gier, SDG board member and conductor of these performances, shares his thoughts on this unique experience.

Delta David Gier in rehearsalWhat a joy it was to be back in Romania after almost 20 years. I was a Fulbrighter there from 1988-90, one year before the Berlin Wall came down (and Ceausescu was executed) and one year after. It was exhilarating to experience Romania then, but to see the changes now was equally wonderful.

Not least of the changes was the ability to canvass the country performing one of the greatest sacred works of Western culture, Haydn’s “Creation.” Needless to say, this was not a work that was permitted under the Communist regime. One of the cities in which we performed was Sibiu - I gave my first professional concert with the orchestra there in 1989.

This project was the maiden voyage of Oratorium, the brainchild of Kenneth Tucker and the missions organization Jubilate, which is based in the Transylvanian region of Romania. Jubilate’s main focus is supporting the growth of church-based music ministry in Romania.

Oratorium was created to minister to young professional musicians in the region. While most of the orchestra and chorus were Romanian, many of the “docents,” or leaders, were from outside of the country. For instance, the concertmaster plays in a chamber orchestra in Prague, the principal second violin plays in Basel, Switzerland, the principal viola is actually principal with the Dallas Symphony.

Our week together was exhausting but extremely rewarding. Two 3-hour rehearsals per day, plus gatherings for study and worship in the morning and evening. There were talks given by several of us who were leading, including Beat Vink, who is head of Crescendo, a world-wide ministry to the “classical” music world.

I count it a privilege to have been a part of this initial undertaking. And I am very grateful to SDG and its supporters for making my participation possible.

Concert in Brasov, RomaniaSoli Deo Gloria congratulates Kenneth Tucker, Delta David Gier and the other Oratorium leaders and participants. May the ripple effects of your vision and enthusiasm spread far and wide!

Click here for more information on Project Uplift: Romania 2009, including a video interview with Delta David Gier.

Aug

17

Tickets now available for Bancks’ Mass for All Saints, Mozart’s Requiem

Filed Under Bancks: Mass for All Saints | Leave a Comment


BANCKS: MASS FOR ALL SAINTS / MOZART: REQUIEM
Millennium Chamber Players
conducted by Robert Katkov-Trevino
soloists: Jennifer Macfarlane-Haworth, Joanna Jamroziak
and Brad Jungwirth

Tickets are now available for the Millennium Chamber Players’ performance of Mozart’s Requiem, and the world premiere of Jacob Bancks’ Mass for All Saints, a work commissioned by Soli Deo Gloria. We invite you to join us at St. John Berchmans Church in Chicago on Sunday evening, September 20, to celebrate the SDG mission in action! With SDG projects more frequently culminating elsewhere around the world, we are especially excited to welcome the birth of Mr. Bancks’ SDG-sponsored work in our home town of Chicago!

Tickets for the Sunday, September 20 performance are $20 each (General Admission) until August 31, 2009. After August 31, 2009, tickets are $25 each. Cash, Check, Visa, or Mastercard accepted.

St. John Berchmans Church, ChicagoTickets may be purchased in person or by phone at:

St. John Berchmans Church
2517 W. Logan Blvd., Chicago
(773) 486-4300

Office Hours for St. John Berchmans Church:
M-F, 9:00am-8:30pm
Sat, 9:00am-6:00pm
Sun, 8:00am-1:00pm

Click here for more info on Jacob Bancks’ Mass for All Saints.