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50th Anniversary Celebration

Presented by Moreau Center for the Arts at O'Laughlin Auditorium

October 3, 2006

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A thrilling musical collaboration will open the performing arts season for the 50th anniversary of the Moreau Center in October. The evening will feature the combined talents of New York's premiere chamber music group, the New York Philomusica Ensemble, the Saint Mary’s Women’s Choir, music faculty members of Saint Mary’s College, renowned Latin American poet Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez, and Saint Mary’s College alumna, soprano Mary Nessinger ’86. The program will include works by Mozart and Dohnanyi and will feature the world premiere of Celebration, a new work for women's choir, soprano, and chamber ensemble by Professor Jeffrey Jacob on texts by the Latin American poet, Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez. The work will be performed by the Saint Mary’s College Women's Choir, sopranos Associate Professor Laurel Thomas and Mary Nessinger and conducted by Professor Nancy Menk. The New York Philomusica Ensemble is widely regarded as one of the top chamber groups of North America. Its subscription concerts at New York's Merkin Concert Hall, yearly tours of the U.S. and Europe, and its celebrated series of recordings have earned it international acclaim. Known for their unique and innovative collaborations, New York Philomusica recently performed A Soldier’s Tale which combined Kurt Vonnegut’s text to Igor Stravinsky’s music. Among the distinguished musicians who have performed with the ensemble is the world-renowned cellist, Yo Yo Ma. Jeffrey Jacob was recently named artist-of-the-year by the International New Music Consortium at New York University for his work as pianist, composer, and educator. During the current academic year he will make concert tours of Israel, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, and China. According to Jacob, “Celebration is an eclectic work employing Hispanic elements reflecting the rhythms of Maria Alvarez's haunting texts. It celebrates the cultural diversity of Saint Mary's College and its commitment to provide our students with the widest possible range of cultural experiences." A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez is one of Latin America’s most distinguished poets. Her poems appear in over 20 anthologies published in both North and South America. Alvarez will be in residence at Saint Mary’s College during the week of October 2. Mary Nessinger has been heard in concert and recital throughout the United States and Europe. The New York Times has praised her “remarkable fluidity and beauty of tone”, and described her interpretive skills as “a tour de force of characterization.”