Henry Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass
A choral work illuminating the plight of the homeless….
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Mission Church, 8pm
Suggested donation, $25
Box Office: 408-554-4015
SCU performing arts collaboration illuminates the plight of the homeless.
Proceeds from performance of Mollicone’s “Beatitude Mass” choral and orchestral work donated to area shelters.
Bay Area composer Henry Mollicone wrote his inspiring “Beatitude Mass” with a vision: to raise money for the homeless. On April 19, Santa Clara University’s Center of Performing Arts, in collaboration with several SCU departments, will present a special performance of this poignant choral and orchestral work. All ticket proceeds from this event will be donated to local homeless advocacy organizations Casa de Clara, EHC LifeBuilders, and Sacred Heart Community Service.
Conducted by Leroy Kromm, professor of voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the performance will take place at 8 p.m. in the Mission Church on the Santa Clara University campus, and will feature Chair of the SCU Department of Music Nancy Wait-Kromm, soprano, and Paul Murray, baritone. They will be joined by members of the SCU choral ensembles, special guests San Jose Symphonic Choir and Monterey Symphony Chorus, and full orchestra accompaniment by an array of professional community musicians—all donating their time to the project.
“It is an honor and a privilege to perform the role of Evelyn in this outstanding work,” Wait-Kromm said. “History shows that performers have a desire to present their artistry for important causes, and Henry's work provides this opportunity for soloists, choral singers, and instrumentalists all at once.” She adds, “When we first recorded the demo for the publishers, little did we realize the impact this work would have on us and those around us. The work has taken on a life of its own and is being performed around the nation by hundreds of musicians who want to make a difference.”
Mollicone’s recently composed “Beatitude Mass” combines Latin text with English words by librettist William Luce to create a soulful illumination on the plight of the homeless. Inspired by a conversation with Father Jon Pedigo regarding using the arts to raise funds for the homeless, Mollicone developed the idea of writing a piece of music based upon first-hand interviews with homeless individuals. Pedigo connected Mollicone with a mission for homeless women, and the composer interviewed residents about their lives while Luce conducted additional interviews in Oregon. Combining the stories they had gathered, Luce created the mass’s two homeless leads: Adam and Evelyn. These symbolically named characters underline a major theme that surfaced from the interviews, which Mollicone describes as "the similarities—the universality—between all people."
“As part of the Jesuit tradition, Santa Clara university’s, Center of Performing Arts strives to create opportunities to teach students, engage audiences, and promote understanding through the performing arts,” said Lisa Rademacher, director of the Center of Performing Arts. “Mollicone’s ‘Beatitude Mass’ and the accompanying performances are a phenomenal example of how art can not only transcend words, but also be used to directly benefit those in need—we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have it performed at SCU.”
In addition to the “Beatitude Mass,” this premiere performing arts collaboration will include an opening performance by the SCU Chamber Singers under the direction of music professor Thomas Colohan. Also featured will be the dance piece “Light, Seeking Light…” choreographed by SCU dance professor and Justice and the Arts Initiative (JAI) co-director Kristin Kusanovich.
“As a prelude to Mollicone’s work, the presence of dance gives us another embodied expression of a guiding presence,” said Kusanovich. “It serves to enliven the space, and call those present towards a sense of ritual, reverence and solidarity with the themes that will be explored in the Beatitude Mass composition that follows.” Danced by students and alumni from SCU’s Department of Theatre and Dance, Kusanovich’s moving choreography will explore the profound human relationship to light, set against a suite of four selections from Rachmaninov’s cappella choral composition “All Night Vigil, Opus 37.” A display of family portraits taken at a local shelter for Renee Billingslea’s “Exploring Society through Photography” course will also be featured at this event.
Henry Mollicone, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, studied composition with Donald Martino, Ron Nelson, Daniel Pinkham, Gunther Schuller, and Seymour Schifrin. His numerous one-act operas, including “Emperor Norton,” “Starbird,” “The Face on the Barroom Floor,” and “The Mask of Evil;” commissioned by the Central City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Kurt Herbert Adler Award Fund, and The Minnesota Opera, have been performed extensively. “The Face on the Barroom Floor,” a recipient of the American Composers' Recording Award, is one of America's most-performed contemporary operas and has been produced in various European countries.
In addition to opera, Mollicone has written works for orchestra, voice, chorus, ballet, and various chamber combinations, as well as music for film, television, and theater. He has worked with several distinguished actors as a conductor, composer, and pianist, including Jean Stapleton, David Ogden Stiers, Tovah Feldshuh, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Angela Lansbury and has guest-conducted at several American opera companies. He is the music director of the Winchester Orchestra of San Jose and is teaches at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
Tickets for the Santa Clara performance of the “Beatitude Mass” are available now, with a suggested donation of $25 per ticket. All ticket proceeds will be distributed between local organizations Casa de Clara, EHC LifeBuilders, and Sacred Heart Community Service. Information about ways to get involved with local homeless advocacy organizations will be available at the event. The Beatitude Mass performance is presented by the Santa Clara University Center of Performing Arts in conjunction with the Justice and the Arts Initiative (JAI), Department of Music, and Department of Theatre and Dance, and is made possible by support from the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and Mission Santa Clara. For tickets or more information, please contact the Center of Performing Arts Box Office at 408-554-4015. On the Web at www.scu.edu/cpa.
What: Henry Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass
When: Saturday, April 19, 2008, 8 p.m.
Where: Mission Church
Santa Clara University Campus
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Directions: www.scu.edu/map
Cost: Suggested donation $25
All proceeds donated to homeless advocacy organizations.
Web: www.scu.edu/cpa/beatitude.cfm
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,685 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
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