SACRED SOUNDS CONCERT SERIES
2011-2012 SEASON
A 50th Anniversary Celebration
All events are at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, 140 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT, 06105. There is no admission charge for concerts at the Cathedral, but a free-will offering will be accepted.
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In 2012, the Cathedral of Saint Joseph will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the sanctuary reconstruction. It will be a momentous year of celebration, which Sacred Sounds will celebrate through a series of monumental performances:
FESTIVAL DUBOIS
DUBOIS À L’ORGUE: Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00pm – Diego Innocenzi, Organist In Recital
LA VOIX du DUBOIS: Sunday, February 26, 2012, 10:00am – Works for Two Organs and Choir by Théodore Dubois and his contemporaries
In partnership with Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française and as part of the International 
Festival Dubois, honoring the life and music of composer Théodore 
Dubois, Sacred Sounds will host two concerts featuring the composer’s music. The first concert in the Festival, DUBOIS À L’ORGUE will feature noted Argentinean-born organist and Dubois scholar Diego Innocenzi performing an organ recital of the music of Dubois and his contempora-ries: Saint-Saëns, Franck, and Batiste.
LA VOIX du DUBOIS will feature the Cathedral Choir, Cathedral Organist Ezequiel Menéndez, organist and scholar Diego Inncocenzi, renowned violinist Janet Boughton, pianist Mercedes Featherston, and tenor soloist Wayne Rivera performing French sacred music by Dubois, written for a variety of instrumentations, and a Sanctus which features an accompaniment by two organs. Organ student Christopher Davenport will also appear as a soloist. Many of these works have never been performed in the United States and some are currently out of print. This concert affords a unique opportunity to hear the subtle instrumental colors and vocal sonorities of these rarities in one of Hartford’s finest acoustics.
HARTT AT THE CATHEDRAL
Sunday, March 11, 2012, 3:00pm
Sacred Sounds continues its very fruitful partnership with The Hartt School with an instrumental concert led by Edward Cumming and featuring Dr. Ezequiel Menéndez in Saint-Saëns eponymous Symphony No. 3 and Richard Strauss’ tone poem, Also sprach Zarathustra (familiar to anyone who has seen Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey).
VERDI’S REQUIEM
Friday, March 16, 2012, 8:00pm
Dr. Edward Bolkovac returns to lead the massive combined forces of the Hartford Symphony, the Hartt School Choirs, the Hartford Chorale, the New Haven Chorale, and the Cathedral Choir in an unforgettable performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s incomparable Requiem.
Of this performance, Sacred Sounds Music Director Dr. Ezequiel Menendez says, “This concert undoubtedly will be the largest scale production that has ever been performed in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph. We are bringing together the greatest musical forces in Connecticut for this epic piece of music- this is going to be the concert of the year.”
With soloists:
Amanda Hall, Soprano
http://www.barrettvantage.com/artist.php?id=ahall&aview=bio
Lucille Beer, Mezzo-Soprano
Raffaele Sepe, Tenor
http://www.opera.lv/en/artists-of-the-lno/guest-artists/rafaele-sepe
Ryan Green, Bass
EASTER SUNDAY CONCERT
Sunday, April 8, 2012, 10:00am
To celebrate the most important holiday of the Christian calendar, organist Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, the Soli Deo Gloria Orchestra, Houghton College Choir and Cathedral Choir will perform a special concert on Easter Sunday.
ETERNAL LIGHT
Friday, April 27, 2012, 8:00pm
Morten Lauridsen’s transcendent Lux Aeterna is an introspective, serene work that will leave a lasting impression on the ears and the soul. The work forms the core of the Middletown Chorale’s debut concert on the Sacred Sounds Concert Series. In addition, the program will include works by Connecticut composers Peter Niedmann and Gwyneth Walker. This concert is being given in honor of the Cathedral building’s 50th Anniversary. Joseph D’Eugenio will conduct with Allan Conway on organ.
Sacred Sounds’ Mighty austin Organ Series:
NOTRE DAME DE PARIS ORGANIST, PHILLIPE LEFEBVRE
Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 7:30pm
Since 1985, Philippe Lefebvre has been the tenured organist of the Great Organ of Notre-Dame de Paris. Maestro Lefebvre is considered to be one of the most archetypal performers and improvisers in the French style of organ playing, a tradition he shares with the world through his frequent concert tours.
SACRED SOUNDS SINGS
Sunday, May 6, 2012, 10:00am
Sunday, May 13, 2012, 10:00 am
Sunday, May 27, 2012, 10:00 am
To celebrate the Cathedral of Saint of Joseph’s 50th Anniversary year, singers from the Cathedral’s professional choir, the Schola Cantorum, will perform three concerts showcasing their many talents on Sunday mornings between the 8:30am and 11:00am Masses. All concerts will be accompanied by Archdiocesan Director of Music and Cathedral Organist Dr. Ezequiel Menendez and Assistant Music Director Colin Britt. The first concert on May 6 will feature Bonnie Pepper, Judy Bowers, Wayne Rivera, and Kevin J. Andersen performing their favorite pieces from the sacred repertoire.
The second concert on May 13 will combine the subtle beauty of the violin with the luscious sound of the human voice in performances by violinist Janet Boughton and vocalists Sarah Asmar, Heather Bell, Joshua Kohl, and Corey Gaudreau.
Finally, on May 27, vocalists Alice Matteson, Louise Fauteux, Sarah Chasse, Katherine Griswold, and Steven Fasano will round out this series within a series.
TE DEUM: Mozart, Britten & More
Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:30pm
The Sacred Sounds Concert Series year-long celebration of the Cathedral building’s 50th Anniversary culminates with a performance of three contrasting settings of the Te Deum (Oh God, We Praise Thee) text by three very different composers - Arvo Pärt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Benjamin Britten. Hear this joyful music in the space that continues to be a physical symbol of spirituality in Hartford.
CHRISTOPHER HOULIHAN, ORGAN
Friday, September 21, 2012, 8:00pm
Christopher Houlihan makes a triumphal return to the Cathedral where, for a time, he served as our Organ Scholar. He is widely acknowledged as one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists, and was booked to perform from coast to coast during his debut season under professional representation. A student of John Rose while at Trinity College, he went on to graduate studies at The Juilliard School with Grammy Award winning organist Paul Jacobs. What Christopher Houlihan could do with the Cathedral’s Mighty Austin as a student was remarkable; what he will do as a young professional is guaranteed to be nothing short of astounding.
