Christmas at Cathedral planned for Nov. 30

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Nov. 16, 2006

Christmas at Cathedral presents "From Darkness to Light" as the theme for this year's concert to be held Nov. 30 at the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

The Briar Cliff choirs, Heelan High School Choral and Bel Canto and the Catholic School Youth Choir, made up of 22 fourth, fifth and sixth graders from Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools, will perform for the annual concert. The Christmas at Cathedral Chamber Orchestra made up of about 30 people from throughout the Diocese of Sioux City will accompany the choirs.

Dr. Sean Vogt, artistic director and conductor; Chris Storm of Heelan High School and Sister Mary Day, director of the youth choir, have prepared the choirs and will share conducting responsibilities.

"It's an enormously wide variety of music," said Vogt. "We have large choral orchestral pieces, unaccompanied pieces, double choir pieces, pieces with hand bells, pieces with different instrumentalists, some are solo only and others are orchestral only. I try to run the whole gamet."

Attendees will be greeted on the steps of the Cathedral with Christmas carols sung by the Cliff Carolers, who will be wearing Dickens costumes. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and prelude music will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Dr. Jeanne Emmons will be the narrator for the evening.

The first song of the evening is Miserere mei (Have Mercy on Me) by Allegri. It is a "dark" theme, noted Vogt.

"We are trying to usher in the season of Advent and Christmas," said Vogt. "The concert is taking place right before Advent begins."

The next selection in the concert is an orchestral piece, "From Darkness to Light," composed by Anne Dudley along with other pieces in the concert. Vogt noted that this transitions the beginning into the rest of the concert.

According to Vogt, the center piece of the evening is Lux aeterna (Light Eternal) by Morten Lauridsen. The piece emphasizes heavenly light in each of the five movements and is classic new American choral writing.

"This involves all the choirs and the full orchestra," said Vogt.

Two guest artists will join the orchestra and choirs for the evening.

Elizabeth Baker has been a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1987 and has been acclaimed for her performances of contemporary music. Prior to joining the Philharmonic, she was a member of the San Francisco Symphony for 10 years. She has given numerous West Coast and/or world premieres of works by composers such as Arvo Part, Philip Glass, Don Davis, Vincent Plush, William Bolcom, Donald Crockett and Charles Amirkhanian.

"There are two solo violin works accompanied by orchestra before the actual concert starts that she will play," said Vogt. "She is also coming in to play principal second violin in the orchestra during the concert."

Tenor, Andrew Crane, will sing with the choirs for some of the pieces as well as perform a few solos, mentioned Vogt. Crane will also be traveling from California for the concert as he currently serves as director of Choral and Vocal Activities at California State University, San Bernardino. He has appeared as a soloist with the Lansing Symphony, Grand Rapids Bach Festival, Arbor Consort, Steiner Chorale and the MSU Choral Union and Symphony.

At the end of the concert there will be a sing-a-long for the audience to join in singing "O, Come All Ye Faithful," "The First Noel" and "Silent Night."

"The Cathedral Arts Guild is an ecumenical organization to bring to the Cathedral artistic works that enhance the building and are enhanced by the building," said Sister Mary Day.

The guild's mission is to organize and seek the necessary funding for events and services at the Cathedral of the Epiphany that are not parish or Episcopal in nature. It was created to foster the historic role of the Cathedral as a diocesan and community center for prayer, hospitality and the arts.

There is no reserved seating for the concert.

The cost of the tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and children, is a donation to the Cathedral Arts Guild to support the concert and other art ventures, noted Sister Mary Day.

Tickets are available at Briar Cliff University, (712) 279-5417; Cathedral of the Epiphany, (712) 255-1637; Central Catholic Offices, (712) 255-7933; and Heelan High School, (712) 252-0573, ext. 218. People wishing to attend the concert are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. All profits will be used by the Cathedral Arts Guild to sponsor future arts events benefiting the Siouxland community.

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