Big anniversaries call for expansive celebrations. And the 150th anniversary celebratory concert at Wheaton College (IL) is no exception. The gala event on November 20, 2010, is pulling out all the stops. The concert opens with a rousing, new Daniel Kellogg work commissioned by SDG and Wheaton College especially for this sesquicentennial. O Greening Branch, for chorus and symphonic band, was inspired by the poetry of Hildegard of Bingen.

“It is particularly exciting to me,” relates Kellogg, “to bring an ancient text into a modern context. For me, the poetry of Hildegard of Bingen is profoundly beautiful. It’s filled with praise; it’s glorifying God. I love that this ancient voice can speak into our sense of praise right now.  I love the idea of being able to take a text and shape the music to offer a grand statement that I could never make as a single person but only through combining all these forces and inviting all these people to come together to make a piece of music. For me, it has a sense of worship and reverence and celebration.”—Daniel Kellogg, composer

SDG Communications Manager Marcia Broucek speaks with composer Daniel KelloggMP3

If you’re in the Chicago area and can get to this Wheaton concert, you’ll hear not only this lively new commission, but also a performance of Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem. Conducted by Maestro John Nelson, the Artist Series performance of the Requiem will feature the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra, Concert Choir, Men’s Glee Club, and Women’s Chorale, the Northern Illinois University Concert Choir, as well as the Apollo Chorus of Chicago.

John Nelson speaks with Greg Wheatley of “Inside Look” (Moody Radio) about faith,  music, and the upcoming Brahms concert. MP3

You are also invited to a dinner-hour presentation by Peter Bannister on Friday, November 19th.

“An Agnostic’s Requiem?”

• What did Brahms really believe?
• Why did he write the Requiem?
• What makes his Requiem so unique?

On Friday evening, November 19, 2010, SDG’s Associate Artistic Director and Composer-in-Residence is offering a personal view of Brahms’ beloved work.

A free event open to all!
Friday, November 19, 2010
5:00-7:00 p.m.
PETER BANNISTER presents “An Agnostic’s Requiem?”

Great works of art take on new meaning when we perceive them through the eyes and ears of people who have spent their lives studying such works. If you plan to attend the Saturday, November 20th performance of the Brahms Requiem, or if you simply love Brahms music, this warm-up event is an opportunity to enhance and deepen your listening experience. Everyone is invited, and the presentation is free, courtesy of Soli Deo Gloria.

Simply come to Anderson Commons (the highly rated campus dining hall on the Wheaton College campus), buy your own dinner (great food at very reasonable prices), and bring your tray to the South Party Room to join us.

Peter Bannister, who is joining us from Paris for this presentation, is an insightful musician and scholar with an impressive list of achievements as a composer and performer, including commissions, premieres, prizes and performance engagements throughout Europe and abroad. His musical activities can be tracked on his website and his blog, Da stand das Meer | a music and theology weblog.

Mr. Bannister will explore the genesis of Brahms’s masterpiece, its relationship to traditional notions of a musical requiem, as well as the composer’s highly individual (and controversial) adaptation of the biblical texts he used in the work. For all who plan on attending the performance of the Requiem on Saturday evening, this is an excellent opportunity to contemplate some of the underlying, intriguing aspects of Brahms’s magnum opus.

Anderson Commons is located in the Todd M. Beamer Memorial Center at
421 North Chase Street on the campus of Wheaton College (see campus map).

For further information email SDG@SDGmusic.org or call 630-984-4300

EXTRA BONUS:
All ticket-holders for the Saturday performance are also invited, at no charge, to an open rehearsal conducted by John Nelson in Edman Chapel on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m., immediately following Peter Bannister’s presentation.

BRING YOUR SATURDAY TICKET
FOR ENTRY TO THE REHEARSAL

It has been a long-held dream at Soli Deo Gloria to launch a series of concerts in Chicago that would symbolize the mission we carry out in the world at large. Now the dream is becoming a reality. Beginning in 2011, we are proud to launch the Chicago Bach Project, opening with the Bach’s “Great Passion,” the St. Matthew.

“The launch of this project is a much-anticipated milestone in SDG’s 17-year journey from birth to maturity. I have every reason to believe that the energy we’ve poured into this idea over the years will be well rewarded. We have great people in place at every level of development on this project. It promises to be exceptional.“—Chandler Branch, CEO

 For over a decade, our Artistic Director, Maestro John Nelson, presented a different masterpiece from Bach’s great trilogy (the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion, and the Mass in B Minor) each Easter season at the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

“The City of Paris is privileged to support the extraordinary work of the Ensemble orchestral de Paris under John Nelson’s magical direction. We congratulate their magnificent concerts at Notre Dame Cathedral.”—Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris

Notre Dame Cathedral, John Nelson conducting Bach’s Mass in B Minor
(Photo courtesy of Ensemble orchestral de Paris)

Inspired by the great success and audience acclaim of this annual Paris event, SDG is now set to start the same tradition in the Windy City. Like the Paris audiences who came year after year to experience something sublime, Chicagoans are in for a musical feast. These three Bach works are the pinnacle of western sacred music, and all three were signed by Bach himself with “S.D.G.” (”To God alone be the Glory”), the very reason Soli Deo Gloria exists.

“I’m often asked, ‘What is your ‘Island’ piece?’ When it comes to a single work, my hands-down choice is Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. It tells the greatest story ever told with unequaled perception and dramatic power. It is the most moving of all sacred works. It is utter perfection from begin­ning to end. That is why I can hardly contain the excitement and anticipation of launching the Chicago Bach Project by conducting this masterpiece.”—John Nelson

St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Chicago (Photo: Ron Pateman)

One of the not-to-be missed highlights of the April 20^th concert is the venue itself. St. Vincent de Paul Parish, on the campus of DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the country, is stunningly beautiful, with un­obstructed views from every seat and near perfect acoustics. “St. Vincent De Paul Parish is a magnificent venue,” comments Chandler Branch. “I’ll never forget the thrill of introducing it to John to for the very first time. He was blown away.”  In fact, Maestro Nelson has remarked, “I frankly cannot think of any church I have seen in the entire world that is more perfectly suited for our purposes!” The leaders of St. Vincent de Paul maintain a deep respect for the church as a place of worship, and it is precisely this sense of worship that we hope concertgoers will experience when they hear this glorious music of Bach. It is our hope that the annual Chicago Bach Project concert will become a meaningful way of enriching Holy Week observances for many in Chicago and beyond.

The Chicago Bach Project is part of SDG’s mission to make expensive art available to those who cannot afford it. We want to extend the invitation to a broad population of the Chicago area, not just to the musical elite. We plan to look for creative ways to inspire students and people with physical or financial challenges by bringing them into direct contact with the music and the performers. We have no higher hope for the concert itself than that, through partnerships with social agencies in the city, the audience will include many for whom such an experience might otherwise be a financial or physical impossibility.

The St. Matthew Passion performance will be a red-letter night on the cultural scene in Chicago, with world-class soloists; Chorus Master, Donald Nally, Chorus Master of Chicago’s Lyric Opera; a hand-selected 32-voice choir and an orchestra comprised of the finest players in the area.

Even if you don’t live in the Greater Chicago area, you might want to consider traveling for this event. “I assure you,” urges Maestro Nelson, “it will be well worth your trip. I can tell you from many years of conducting this work, if you can come to this performance, you will not leave the same as you entered.”

John Nelson (Photo: David Zaughn)

Whether you’re coming from across town or across states, there’s one thing you need to know: We fully expect this concert to sell out, so we encourage you to order your tickets today for this very special occasion. You can use the button below to link to our ticket service, Brown Paper Tickets, or, if you prefer, call them at 1-800-838-3006.

CHICAGO BACH PROJECT
presents
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
John NELSON, conductor

Stanford OLSEN, Evangelist
Stephen MORSCHECK, Jesus
Nicole CABELL, soprano
Jennifer LANE, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas PHAN, tenor
Douglas WILLIAMS, bass
CHICAGO BACH Chorus and Orchestra
Donald NALLY, Chorus Master

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
7:30 p.m.
St. Vincent de Paul Parish
1010 W. Webster Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614

MapQuest: Corner of Webster & Sheffield

The Chicago Bach Project is generously supported by Fellowes, with additional support from Martin Avenue Pharmacy and Tassos.

Help us make the Chicago Bach Project more than a concert!
It is our hope to offer world-class performances of these inspiring masterworks of Bach to people who might not ordinarily be able to experience such an event. Through partnerships with service organizations in Chicago and beyond, we invite you to join us in this effort by sponsoring the attendance of someone who might otherwise lack the resources or physical ability to get to the concert without assistance.

Please consider donating to the Chicago Bach Project outreach fund to help us share the gift of music with a most appreciative audience!

Donate now through Network for Good to:

• Provide general support for the Chicago Bach Project
• Contribute to the Chicago Bach Project outreach fund
• Give to BOTH!

  (Please be sure to designate your gift for the Chicago Bach Project  and specify
  GENERAL, OUTREACH, or both.)

  If your organization would like to benefit from the Chicago Bach Project outreach efforts, please call us at 630-984-4300.

  Every gift is appreciated and will help further our mission.

  Contributors of $100 or more will receive:

  • 1 PAIR OF REHEARSAL PASSES FOR MONDAY 4/18/11
  • 1 COMMEMORATIVE T-SHIRT (we’ll contact you about your t-shirt order)



Soli Deo Gloria is a fully qualified 501(c)3 organization as recognized by the U.S. Internal

Revenue Service, and your gift is tax deductible.

Thank you!

“The Indianapolis Children’s Choir is committed to the performance of new music. I am thrilled with this new piece. It combines modern yet traditional sound with very interesting and almost jazz-like rhythmic color. It is great to collaborate with Soli Deo Gloria again.”—Henry Leck, Founder and Director
Photo: Shawn Spence

The premiere of SDG’s newest commission, The Lost Son by Neal Harnly, takes place on Friday, November 5, 2010, with the renowned Indianapolis Children’s Choir (ICC) under the direction of Henry Leck, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. This opening night of the ICC’s 25^th anniversary season will be the first time that most of us will hear and feel the impact of the full work. But before a new SDG commission becomes a reality, it has already begun touching lives.

For SDG Board Chairman, Richard Gieser, the work started as an idea to commission a piece based on a biblical story, illustrated by a children’s choir.

For composer Neal Harnly, who chose the story of the Prodigal Son as the basis for the composition, writing the work was both a musical and a spiritual endeavor:

“The story of the Prodigal Son is so key, so central, to the Christian faith, to the concept of God’s grace and love for us. The thrust of the piece is the message of God’s all encompassing love. Especially in the last movement, I hope that people will see the contrast between our human concept of righteousness and how God sees us.”

For librettist Alisa Bair, writing the text was a spiritual experience in identifying with all three main figures in the biblical passage: the elder brother, the Prodigal Son, and their father:

“Each of the characters wears a different pair of shoes, and I walked around in each one of them. I had to channel the stiff and prickly pain of self-righteousness, the grinding poverty of self-indulgence, and the heartbreaking hemorrhage of grace, which wasn’t hard, considering I’ve been each one of them at different points in my own life.”

In this 35-minute work in six movements, for children’s choir and chamber orchestra, Harnly contrasts the rebellious son’s journey home to forgiveness, with the “good son’s” clinging to his own sense of indignant righteousness rather than accepting the unrestricted love of his father. The movements closely follow the biblical parable from the Gospel of Luke, relating the story from the perspective of each family member, as noted by the composer on the score:

There was a man who had two sons. . . .
1^st – The Rebellion
prodigal son leaves home, rebels

My brother’s eyes ablaze with greed, my father’s wet with sorrow.
2^nd – The Elder Son
story from his perspective – bemoaning his brother’s heartlessness with his father, the work he is left to do – portrays the elder son as someone who has it all together – music portrays sophistication – “he leaves, I’m stuck with grieving father and all the work”

Day and night the father waited.
3^rd – The Father and the Lost Son
father’s grieving and also his blessing for his son – longing to see his son - and the son’s perception – he feel he has angered his father and feels he should stay far away

When he came to his senses,
4^th – The Journey Home
an illustration of son’s journey home through the hot desert, his dread and fear, his hope, wanting to be treated like one of the servants, given something to eat

“My son!”
5^th – The Lost Son Returns
father sees him from far off, runs to see him, embraces him, overjoyed to have him home

“All I have is yours”
6^th – The Homecoming
joy of celebration of father, and elder brother not a part of it – clinging to his own sense of righteousness, rather than accepting the love of the father

When we asked Dr. Harnly what was different about writing for kids, he talked about the challenge he faced, writing for what the children can sing while still writing “in my language. I ended up writing relatively tonally for the children, and using the orchestral aspect as a means of texture and bi-tonality.”

Photo: The Indianapolis Star

And what children he has to work with for the premiere! The Indianapolis Children’s Choir has performed in a wide variety of professional settings, helping set a standard of excellence in the children’s choral music world. The upcoming 2010-2011 season marks a quarter century of their great work with remarkable kids and families. If you want to be inspired, take a few moments to hear what these young singers have to say on the introductory video on ICC’s website.

As Maestro Leck puts it, “They have one thing in common: They love to sing!” And as SDG Board Chairman, Richard Gieser, puts it, “Few would argue that the sound of a fine children’s choir is topped only by angels.”

TICKET INFORMATION
The Lost Son by Neal Harnly
Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Children’s Choir
Henry Leck, Director
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
6050 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN  46208
Phone: 317-940-9640  
Website: www.icchoir.org

Dr. Neal Harnly
As the Lancaster Sunday News reports, Dr. Harnly is a “man of music and medicine.” He graduated from Julliard, having studied composition with the late Vincent Persichetti, but became intrigued by medicine after going on a medical missions trip to Honduras. These days he manages to keep his feet in both camps by working part-time as a family practice physician at Norlanco Family Medicine in Elizabethtown, PA, balanced with dedicated time for composition. His instrumental and vocal works have been performed on the East and West coasts of the United States, as well as in France and Norway. Most recently, he orchestrated a new musical entitled Georgia O’Keefe: A Woman on Paper, written by Alisa Bair and Dina Soraya Gregory.

When not at the office or at home composing music, Harnly continues to actively perform as pianist and accompanist, arranging and orchestrating, and using his musical gifts to further the worship ministry of Mount Joy Mennonite Church. He also works with “No Longer Alone Ministries,” an organization of support and outreach to families touched by mental illness. For the last ten years, he has planned and performed an annual concert series for the organization, and performers from New York, California, and France have come to donate their musical gifts to the cause.

Alisa Bair
Alisa Bair, librettist for The Lost Son, is the author of the book A Table for Two, and the musical Georgia O’Keeffe: A Woman on Paper. A graduate of East Carolina University and NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, she is an active composer and writer. She also serves as Associate in Worship Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, PA.

Indianapolis Children’s Choir
Founded in 1986 by Artistic Director, Henry Leck, the ICC program includes nearly 2,000 children from 19 Indiana counties. For most of its history, the ICC has been in residence on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis where Mr. Leck is Director of Choral Activities. The eight performing choirs have children as young as fourth grade, from over 352 schools. The program also includes the Indianapolis Youth Chorale, a choir for high-school age teens, and First Steps in Music, an early childhood division for 3 to 5 year olds.

The ICC’s mission is to providing opportunities for young people to learn, grow, and excel through quality instruction and experiences that emphasize the development of musical skills and understanding. Everyone involved in the organization enjoys musical experiences that reinforce ICC’s goals of fostering a sense of self-esteem, discipline, respect, accomplishment and pride.

A first-hand report from Peter Bannister, who attended the September 9, 2010, premiere of Arvo Pärt’s In Spe at Vale of Glamorgan Festival, which was made possible, in part, by contributions from Soli Deo Gloria. Peter was SDG’s representative at the Festival and gave a pre-concert lecture, “Arvo Pärt at 75,” at the BBC Hoddinott Hall, Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, Wales.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Hello from Wales,

I am writing from the Vale of Glamorgan Festival to give you an immediate report on Thursday’s sold-out concert with Pärt’s new setting of In Spe, the cantata Cecilia, vergine romana and his Fourth Symphony. It was a remarkable occasion that is difficult to convey in words. Thankfully, it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on October 3 and available for a week afterwards on the Internet.* The BBC National Orchestra of Wales did a particularly great job with the Symphony, under Tõnu Kaljuste (a piece which is deceptively hard, like much of Pärt’s music, despite its apparent sim  plicity), with their performance being absolutely the equal of and maybe superior to the L.A. Philharmonic’s recording just released on ECM. At the reception—which was attended by many significant cultural figures in British arts—Pärt himself was visibly extremely moved (he was visiting the Festival for the second time, having been here in 1996).

I was extremely surprised at how many people were there for my pre-concert talk on Pärt’s music.** And the quality of listening as I spoke was intense, as the feedback I received afterwards confirmed. There is something compelling about this subject-matter. But then, Pärt’s music isn’t any ordinary music. As I wrote in my tribute and heard confirmed from personal testimonies here, one amazing thing about his works is their therapeutic use. Apparently, Pärt’s pieces have as much of a life in cancer wards as they do in concert halls. This is where recorded music is able to reach people in a variety of life contexts where live performance cannot. Although some of us regularly bemoan the lack of audiences at concerts, we shouldn’t forget that Pärt’s music enters the intimacy of many people’s lives through recording in a way that is extremely powerful. And it seems endowed with a remarkable healing power that is inexplicable in human terms, but which to me is unmistakably the power of the Spirit of Christ.

 It was, of course, an immense privilege to meet the man himself. He seemed a little bemused at our first contact on Wednesday, when I mentioned that I would be speaking about his Fourth Symphony before the concert, and referred me to the sleeve notes on the new ECM release; he kindly offered me a copy but didn’t make any further comment. Things were, however, very different on Thursday. For most of the rehearsal, I was sitting with him and his manager from Universal Edition in Vienna, so I had a chance to converse with him about the première of Cecilia, vergine romana with Myung-Whun Chung in Rome and his contact with the ecumenical monastery at Bose*** in Italy, among other things. Pärt didn’t attend my pre-concert talk, which was probably a good thing, as it isn’t easy listening to someone laud you publicly to the skies for 30 minutes, but I did give him the text, and he appeared genuinely pleased at our meeting.

Before I left, I felt that I had to thank him for some words that didn’t make it into my speech, but which I have been pondering over the last few days. In a fine German treatment of his work by theologian Constantin Gröhn, Pärt rejects the idea frequently stated in the press that his music is about ‘meditation,’ if by that is meant some sort of free-floating, unfocused spirituality that dissolves into the ether. Instead, he proposes the word ‘concentration,’ which of course goes much better with the musical reduction that is a key to his technique. Gröhn suggests that Pärt is attempting a kind of ‘distillation’ through contemplation. And what is distilled is encapsulated in the words of Pärt’s for which I thanked him as we said goodbye: “Christus is der Konzentrat” (“Christ is the concentrate,” which sounds far better in German). His response: “Das ist wahr!”(“That’s true!”).

Grace,
Peter

* We’ll keep you posted on the status of the BBC Radio 3 broadcast and confirm that it is available to U.S. listeners.—SDG

** You can read the text of Peter’s talk at http://www.peterjohnbannister.com/APtribute.pdf

***If you go to the website of the Bose monastery, an ecumenical community not unlike Taizé in France which is trying to reconcile Western and Eastern Christianity, you will find Pärt (who has been a guest there) listed as a ‘pneumatophore’ or ‘bearer of the Spirit,’ alongside Taizé’s Brother Roger (Schutz), the Frenchman Abbé Pierre and the current Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I. The word pneumatophoros comes from a term associated in early Christianity with the Desert Fathers; for me, it is particularly inspiring—and challenging—to think that a composer should be such a contemporary ‘Spirit-bearer.’

“I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. . . . Silence is the pause in me when I am near to God.”—Arvo Pärt

This September marks the 75th birthday of Arvo Pärt, and to honor this esteemed Estonian composer, the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales is offering a major celebration of his work. SDG has been invited to co-sponsor the 2010 Festival in what will be the most extensive celebration in Great Britain, programming no fewer than 14 of his compositions during the space of a week.

A highlight of the Festival—with an appearance by the composer himself—will be the September 9, 2010, premiere of In Spe (“In Hope”), to be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tõnu Kaljuste conducting, at the BBC Hoddinott Hall, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay.

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Wales, where the premiere of Arvo Pärt’s In Spe will be performed. (Photo: Alex Skibinski)

When John Metcalf, Artistic Director of the Festival, approached Pärt about a new work, Pärt chose to reset his An den Wessern Zu Babel (“By the Waters of Babylon”—originally for chorus and instrumental ensemble) in a new rendering for brass quintet and string orchestra he titled In Spe.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, for there they that carried us away captive required of us a song: and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion! How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. (Psalm 137)

These lines from Psalm 137 originally inspired Pärt to write a choral “Kyrie Eleison.” If you listen to the clip [click on the Audio Excerpts play button] of this An den Wessern on his publisher’s website, you’ll hear only the three vowels of the “Kyrie Eleison”—i, e, o—but you’ll certainly get a taste of the haunting beauty of this work.

Mark Swed of the LA Times has described Arvo Pärt as an “otherworldly composer and spiritually wholesome presence on the musical scene.” NPR has called him a “mystic minimalist.” Pärt himself says he found his musical voice by letting everything unimportant fall away.

Given his reclusiveness, he’s also been called “the Howard Hughes of classical music” (Simon Russell Beale, BBC). Yet Björk was able to record this very interesting interview with him in the 1990s [note: the Pärt video segment begins at 2:24]:

Earlier this year Simon Broughton was also able to entice Pärt into a BBC radio interview. On TheArtsDesk.com, the resulting article appeared under the heading “How Sacred Music Scooped an Interview.” One of the areas the interview touched on was Pärt’s shift in style, from his early period of a Shostakovich-Prokofiev-Bartok style, to his radically different “tintinnabulation” style, which he likens to the ringing of bells. Broughton tells the story of trying to engage Pärt in a discussion of his work:

“He still doesn’t talk specifically about his work, but he does talk about the personal crisis that brought about the radical simplification of his style which has brought him international fame:  ‘It was like crawling through a narrow tunnel,’ he says, looking pained. ‘I had to get rid of everything unnecessary and, in order to save myself, I had to emerge naked.’ ”

“I too emerged from making this programme with a real admiration of Pärt’s work. He doesn’t compromise and doesn’t write to please his audience. But there’s a truth and a profundity at the heart of his music which speaks to people, whether they are religious or not.”

Arvo Pärt’s contribution to the future of sacred music is wonderfully summed up on the Vale of Glamorgan’s website:

 “Possibly the world’s most celebrated living composer, Arvo Pärt is at the centre of the movement which has become known as New Spirituality—a musical philosophy which, for Pärt at least, came out of a long period of creative silence and introspection, and emerged from under the aggressively secular cloud of the Soviet state. This is a pared-down, purified music, which delights in a halo of bell-like sonorities surrounding perfect single notes; and yet this simplicity sustains some of the most hauntingly beautiful and profoundly moving pieces.”

On the evening of September 9th, SDG Composer-in-Association, Peter Bannister, has been invited to give a pre-concert lecture on Pärt’s music. SDG is proud to be a part of this celebration of Arvo Pärt and, in the words of Peter Bannister, “to contribute to the renaissance of sacred music in a world which arguably needs it more than ever.” We welcome your donations in support of this important work.

Click here for further reflections from Peter Bannister on the Vale of Glamorgan Festival’s celebration of Arvo Pärt.

August 2-16, 2010

One of the exciting avenues of Soli Deo Gloria’s mission to promote sacred music takes shape in the work of Project Uplift. In these international projects, we usually seek to bring great works of sacred music to regions of the world where, for social, political, or economic reasons, they are seldom heard. This summer, however, Project Uplift goes to Hungary, where there is already an abundance of music and arts in this center of Eastern European culture.  We have a unique opportunity to support the work of Crescendo International at their Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts, August 2-16, 2010, in Sárospatak, just outside of Budapest. This two-week Institute is an opportunity for aspiring young musicians to work with master musicians, but it is more than just a great music workshop and performance opportunity. Crescendo is a faith-based organization designed to encourage young musicians both musically and spiritually.

“The Institute is organized by Crescendo, an international Christian movement working together with many churches. In addition to courses and private lessons, students may participate in chapels and small discussion groups concerning challenges that artists face today as well as issues of a Christian worldview. Crescendo also offers personal mentoring.”

Two SDG board members are actively participating in this year’s Institute. Conductor David Delta Gier is joining the Crescendo faculty to prepare students and conduct the “Galaconcert” on Thursday, August 15, 2010. The program will feature a new SDG-commissioned work by SDG’s Composer-in-Association, Peter Bannister—Hermosura de Dios, a song cycle for soprano, choir and chamber orchestra based on the poetry of Saint Teresa of Avila—and Daniel Kellogg’s Mozart’s Hymn. This culminating concert will be part of the renowned Zemplen Festival, a two-week cultural event featuring classical and contemporary music by first-class Hungarian and international musicians.

Delta David Gier, on the Crescendo Institute
David Gier, conductor of the South Dakota Symphony, is no stranger to Eastern Europe. As a Fulbright Scholar in the late 1980s, David led critically acclaimed performances with many orchestras of Eastern Europe. He was invited to the former Czechoslovakia to conduct Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony in celebration of the 100th anniversary of its premiere. Gier took this opportunity to introduce Eastern European audiences to many American masterworks, such as Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Presidential Symphony of Ankara, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring with the Bucharest Philharmonic.

In recent weeks, David completed a tour of Bach for the Romanian ministry Oratorium  (another two-week European program that focuses on teaching and mentoring young musicians), and en route to the Crescendo Institute, he checked in:

“By all accounts, the week was a huge success. The performances were well attended, and the spiritual focus of the music was unmistakable. Relationships among the musicians confirmed that the mission of the project was brought to fruition, both encouraging and emboldening the believers in the group and challenging those who are searching spiritually to examine their lives and careers in light of the gospel. It was a privilege to once again be a part of this project.

“Next week I travel to Sárospatak, Hungary, for the annual Crescendo Institute. I look forward to working with these students and bringing not only musical but spiritual challenge during the two weeks I’m there conducting rehearsals of the orchestra. Peter Bannister will join me the last few days of the Institute to participate in the rehearsal process and to speak about his work. I greatly look forward to this collaboration as, while I have known Peter for several years through our work with SDG, this is the first time we have had opportunity to work together musically.”

Peter Bannister, on Hermosura de Dios
Hermosura de Dios is not the first time Peter Bannister has drawn on poetry from St. Teresa. His interest in the sixteenth-century Spanish Christian mystics began many years ago. One of his first publicly performed compositions, the suite for organ Aunque es de Noche (“Although it is night,” 1989/91), took its title from the poetry of Saint John of the Cross. In that work Peter also referred to Teresa of Avila in the title of the second movement: No hay paz en la tierra (“There is no peace on earth”), words taken from the poem Ya no durmais (“Sleep no longer”).

“I discovered the poetry of John and Teresa largely through my acquaintance with the meditative songs of the Taizé community, not least on account of my close friendship with Dorothy Jones (1927-2009), a US/Canadian French literature professor who, for twenty years, divided her time between North America and France. Dorothy, to whom Hermosura de Dios is dedicated, died last year after a long illness. A postcard with the text of the Taizé song Nada te turbe to words by Teresa of Avila was one of the items that I recall most vividly from the small room in which she lived when in Paris, in which I spent many memorable hours in conversation about all things imaginable.

“I continue to be challenged by the Carmelite spirituality expressed so unforgettably in this literature, which stands as testimony to the power of art to evoke what cannot be articulated on the level of discursive logic: a burning, often anguished desire for encounter with the living God of infinite mystery, the Beauty (hermosura) exceeding all earthly beauties.

“The texts of the Spanish mystics are alive with a passionate flame to which I hope Christian believers of all traditions can relate, reminding me of a quote from a twentieth-century martyr, the Orthodox nun Mother Maria Skobtsova, related recently by Archbishop Rowan Williams (himself the author of a monograph on Teresa of Avila) at a remarkable conference entitled the ‘Holy Spirit in today’s world’: ‘Either Christianity is fire, or there is no such thing.’ ”

For Soli Deo Gloria, the two weeks at Crescendo represent an opportunity to ignite the “fire” not only in Hungary, but among Institute students who represent more than 20 countries. SDG is grateful for the donations that make this ministry possible. As Beat Rink, Crescendo’s General Director, writes, “I am very thankful for all the support of Soli Deo Gloria. Thank you so much!”

Flight instructor. Flutist. Physician. Not your ordinary resume. But, then, Bob Jones is not your ordinary guy. And, to SDG, he is an extraordinary gift. You see, Bob has decided to bequeath a gift to Soli Deo Gloria.
Bob Jones (left) with Jean-Pierre Rampal in the mid-1900s. 

The Chairman of SDG’s Board of Directors, Richard Gieser, interviewed Bob, and we’d like to share his inspiring story with you.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. ROBERT JONES BY DR. RICHARD GIESER

RG: What was your first career?
BJ: While attending Northwestern University, I was studying the flute with Ernest Liegl, principal flutist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and was later offered a contract to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I had spent three summers in the home of Frederick Stock, the conductor of the Chicago Symphony, at Bass Lake in Michigan.

RG: How did your hobby of flying change your life?
BJ:  I learned to fly when I was 16 years old in 1936. When World War II started, I entered the Air Force and have flown continuously until lately, a total of 70 years in all. My first plane was a Piper Cub, and the last plane that I piloted was heavy six-engine bomber plane that I was demonstrating, many years after I had been a test pilot on the same type of aircraft.

RG: How did you meet Jean-Pierre Rampal?
BJ: I had flown a Lockheed 18A dive-bomber from San Diego, California, to England and was to demonstrate it to the Royal Air Force. The flight over the Atlantic Ocean was particularly difficult because of storms. Very tired from the flight, I was walking through the barracks to go to bed when I heard the most beautiful flute sound through a door and sat on the floor to listen. Eventually, I knocked on the door to find who was playing this beautiful music. It turned out to be Jean-Pierre Rampal, who was scheduled to perform the next day at the RAF airport. He invited me into his room, and we played flute duets throughout the night. He was just beginning his long life as a concert artist, and we became long-time corresponding buddies.

RG: How did you become a trauma surgeon?
BJ: I was wounded during the war, and while my wounds were being cared for by the surgeons in Chicago, I became interested in the medical profession. Following discharge from active duty, my position with the Chicago Symphony had been filled, so I matriculated into Northwestern University and continued on to medical school there. I enjoyed a full career as a surgeon and physician in Aurora, Illinois, for 47 years, and then five years in Elgin, Illinois, in the Emergency and Trauma Department—all the while enjoying flying and continuing my flute playing.

RG: Why have you included SDG in your estate planning?
BJ: I am anxious to leave something that will inspire future generations. It is a joy to do something that will speak of peace today and in the future.

RG: You are the second person to include SDG in your estate planning. Do you know who the first person is?
BJ: I would guess that you are.

RG: That is correct.

“I think of sacred music as I do the very flowers of the garden:
‘Consider the lilies … Solomon in all his glory
hath not the raiment of but one of these.’
We must support the finest that great poets and musicians
have given us in praise of what we believe.”
—Robert V. Jones, M.D.

SDG joins in sponsoring this year’s
Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales,
in celebration of Arvo Pärt’s 75th birthday

 The Vale of Glamorgan Festival has “frequently programmed music that focuses on the spiritual in what seems to be an increasingly secular society,” says John Metcalf, Artistic Director of the Festival. It is especially fitting, then, that this year’s Festival will feature the work of Estonian composer Pärt—and that SDG is partnering to sponsor the Festival. We are particularly excited about the September 9th premiere of Pärt’s In Spe (“In Hope”), based on Psalm 137.

Please take the time to read Peter Bannister’s thoughtful letter about how you can participate in this special event. And if you’re interested in traveling to Wales for the Festival, please let us know!

Peter Bannister speaks from the heart:

Summer 2010, Paris, France

Dear Friends of SDG,

It has often been remarked that the twentieth century was something of a baleful time for sacred music. Writing from a European perspective, it is certainly the case that gone are the days when, to quote the conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt in his discussion of the age of Haydn and Beethoven, “the Sunday Mass in Latin was at the heart of every musician’s professional life.” A return to Bach’s Leipzig, when each new week would see a new cantata for worship, seems like an impossible dream. Of course the modern era can point to isolated heroic figures such as Olivier Messiaen, intent on keeping the sacred at the heart of the musical mainstream, but the evidence suggests that religious works were assigned a marginal place in the history of twentieth century composition.

On closer inspection, however, there have been remarkable signs of a renewal in musical spirituality over the last forty years or so, much of it stemming from unexpected quarters. One intriguing example is the powerfully expressive “new Jewish music” of figures such as Steve Reich, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Osvaldo Golijov. Another is the spiritual creativity that has emerged from the former Soviet bloc, as shown by the Polish composer Henryk Gorecki (whose Miserere was SDG’s first recording project) and the Estonian Arvo Pärt (whose Da Pacem won a Grammy Award in 2007). Their brand of what is sometimes referred to as “holy minimalism,” a radically simple, purified idiom, has clearly attracted a mass audience. Their work seems to be a precious beacon of hope, a timely reminder of values that our frenetic Western society has forgotten—contemplation, humility, and the search for inner peace—against a background of turbulent political history and oppression.

In September 2010 the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales will be celebrating Arvo Pärt’s 75th birthday with a major retrospective, programming no fewer than 14 of his compositions during the space of a week, of which the centerpiece will be the first British performance of Pärt’s Symphony No. 4 ‘Los Angeles’ (commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic). Two of the concerts will be broadcast nationally and on the internet by the BBC.

Under the visionary leadership of artistic director and composer John Metcalf, the Vale of Glamorgan Festival is in its 41st year and has a unique profile with its exclusive programming of works by living composers. It is an annual event of genuine international significance that has survived against all the odds on a budget no greater than that of some local choral societies.

SDG has the honour of having been solicited to participate in Arvo Pärt’s 75th birthday celebration, at which the composer will be present in person, by co-sponsoring the commission of a new arrangement by Pärt, made specially for the festival, In Spe (“In Hope”) to be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Donors will be invited to a reception with the composer after the premiere, where they will receive signed copies of the score.

The board of SDG has made a commitment to support the 2010 Vale of Glamorgan Festival, and every donation will help us reach our goal. SDG would also be delighted to discuss the possibility of travel to the Festival in September with anyone who, like myself, sees this as an event not to be missed. But for those who can only “follow at a distance,” a donation, however modest, would provide a unique opportunity not only to engage with one of the greatest contemporary composers, but also to contribute personally to the renaissance of sacred music in a world which arguably needs it more than ever.

Peter Bannister
Composer-in-Association,
Associate Artistic Director
Soli Deo Gloria

As Peter speaks from his heart, we urge you to respond from your heart. Click here to contribute to SDG’s renaissance of sacred music and the Arvo Part work. Every donation matters!

History, Artistry, and Technology Converge

Soli Deo Gloria is pleased to partner with Ideale Audience and Medici Arts to bring Franz Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece The Creation, considered by many to be his greatest work, to an audience of millions through state-of-the-art media technology.

On Friday, June 25, 2010, Conductor John Nelson will lead the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and the Netherlands Radio Choir in a live video webcast of this beloved Haydn oratorio from Grote Kerk, Naarden—one of the oldest and most famous churches in the Netherlands.

Majestic Church, Magical Acoustics

The web broadcast provides unique opportunity to experience first-hand the beauty of Grote Kerk, where the acoustics are said to make music sound magical. The church is situated in the center of Naarden, the ancient capital of Holland, about thirty minutes from Amsterdam. Naarden is one of the remaining fortress towns in the Netherlands, built with surrounding moats in a unique five-star shape, easily visible from the air.

This historic church dates back to the fifteen century and features a unique oak-barrel vault ceiling painted with scenes from the Old and New Testament.

The June 25 broadcast promises a visual and musical feast for thousands of viewers around the globe.

Musical Vision

Haydn undertook the composition of The Creation starting at the age of 65, and it took him a year and a half to complete the work, from October 1796 to April 1798. A deeply religious man, he later said, “Never had I been so devout as when I was composing The Creation. Everyday I fell to my knees and prayed to God to give me strength for my work.”

The Creation depicts the formation of our planet, its life forms, and its human inhabitants, as portrayed in the Book of Genesis, The Psalms, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Ultimately, the oratorio also brings to life Haydn’s intense faith and gratitude to God. From the opening orchestral portrait of the beginning chaos, through to the crowning “Achieved is the glorious work,” the passion of Haydn’s music, and his exuberant joy in creation itself, resounds in the ears of all listeners.  It’s no wonder that, after Handel’s Messiah, The Creation is the most popular and most performed oratorio ever written.

Masterworks on DVD

The filming of this Haydn event is the next in an ongoing series of DVDs sponsored by SDG and conducted by John Nelson that began with Bach’s Mass in B Minor from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (available at http://www.sdgmusic.org/Recordings/index.html); Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis from the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon (to be released by Medici Arts during he summer of 2010), and now Haydn’s masterpiece The Creation (to be released late 2010).

I cannot imagine a better group of soloists, a more appropriate orchestra, and a finer chorus than those we’ve assembled for Haydn’s masterpiece “The Creation” (Die Schöpfung) in the Netherlands in June. The Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic is one of the finest chamber orchestras in Europe, the Netherlands Radio Choir is the largest professional choir in the Netherlands, and the soloists are a dream cast. Haydn’s exuberant and highly descriptive oratorio is one of my favorites in the entire repertoire, and I’m thrilled to be making this DVD.

— John Nelson

TUNE IN FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010, FOR THE LIVE BROADCAST
2:00 p.m. Eastern (8:00 p.m. in the Netherlands)
www.medici.tv

The Creation
Die Schöpfung: Oratorium Hob. XXI:2
Franz Joseph Haydn

Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic
Netherlands Radio Choir
John Nelson, conductor
Lisa Milne, soprano
Werner Güra, tenor
Matthew Rose, baritone
Lucy Crowe, soprano (”Eve”)
Jonathan Beyer, bass (”Adam”)

The June 25, 2010, broadcast will be available for viewing world-wide on medici.tv and will remain free of charge through August 24, 2010.

If you would like to join friends of SDG in traveling to the Netherlands to attend this concert, please contact the SDG office.

On Friday, May 7, 2010, Soli Deo Gloria is opening the doors of its new headquarters in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, for the first time. In a celebratory evening that includes an open house and a preview screening of the DVD from the recent Lisbon performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, guests will have the opportunity to preview the DVD before its world-wide release. John Nelson, Artistic Director of SDG, offers this take on his experience of conducting the Beethoven concert:

“Every year there seems to be a musical highlight, a moment that I either look forward to with great anticipation or that catches me by surprise. This season, so far, it clearly was the SDG-sponsored filming of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in Lisbon. Everything about this occasion was thrilling, from the soloists, chorus and orchestra, to the filming and the response of the audience. . . . We professionals who spend our lives making music day in and day out are blessed to do what we do. But it is not every day that we experience everything coming together in a kind of perfection. This was that day.”

Maestro Nelson, along with the Board of Directors and President/CEO Chandler Branch, will be on hand to share their vision for the future of SDG and its goal to “preserve, promote and enhance” sacred classical music. With expanding momentum and a growing fan base, SDG is poised to become the meeting ground for people who love the great masterworks of sacred music and who want to extend their passion for these extraordinary musical experiences into the future.

A new gift of artwork by Marjorie Gieser, entitled “Celebrate the Vision,” graces the walls of the SDG office and visually expresses the organization’s mission. Marge describes her work as a “collage of images that communicate the heart, soul, and purpose of SDG: glorifying God through performing and recording sacred music in secular and sacred spaces, and the composition of new works.”

The office will also have on display scores of musical works commissioned by SDG, as well as posters and signed memorabilia from SDG-sponsored concerts and recordings. For fans of sacred music, it promises be a memorable occasion celebrating a rich past and exciting future of music-making.

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Interested in attending this Open House and DVD Screening? We welcome your presence! Contact SDG via email at  sdg at sdgmusic dot org  or by phone at 630-984-4300. Reservations are necessary.