East Coast Premiere - Pieta by John Muehleisen

East Coast Premiere of Oratorio on Universal Compassion

Pietà

by John Muehleisen

Sunday, 8 March 2015, 5:00 PM

Church of the Immaculate Conception, 30 N. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042

Schola Cantorum on Hudson, the choral performance and advocacy organization currently in its 20th season, will present the East Coast Premiere of Seattle composer John Muehleisen’s 90-minute oratorio, Pietà, in Manhattan and in Montclair, NJ, on March 7th and 8th, respectively. The work calls for three choirs, six soloists, and instrumentation of winds and percussion. Unique to these performance will be the addition of interpretive dance, choreographed and provided by the Omega Dance Company of New York. Schola’s semi-pro mixed-voice singing forces will be joined by the women’s choir of St. Dominic’s Academy, The Dominoes, and the men’s choir of St. Peter’s Preparatory School, VOX, both of Jersey City. The composer will host a pre-concert discussion of Pietà 25 minutes prior to each of the two performances.

“We embrace working composers as our modern day prophets, and John is most certainly one of today’s profound voices,” comments Founding Artistic Director Dr. Deborah Simpkin King. “John began sharing his vision for a large work on the large concept of universal compassion with me at least five years ago.” The result was Pietà, premiered in 2013, and incorporating stories as diverse as those of Matthew Shepard, of Carrie and Jack Kipling (wife and son of poet Rudyard Kipling), and of Mary and Jesus.

The composer utilizes the passion motive from Bach’s St. John Passion, brilliantly structuring not only dramatic motifs, but also large-scale harmonic fabric upon its passion and beauty. He crafts his libretto out of many elements including words of Martin Luther King, the traditional Latin “Stabat Mater,” eulogy for Matthew Shepard, Jack Kipling’s last letter home from the front, and other poetic and liturgical resources.

“Pietà has challenged each of us as singers, and as human beings living in a 21st century world in desperate need of love and compassion,” comments Executive Director Christopher Greene. Dr. King adds that “I, personally, am convinced that this work will become a permanent element in the choral canon. We are deeply honored to be bringing it to New York and New Jersey.”

Tickets for the concerts can be purchased in advance on the web site for $25, or at the door for $30. Children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge. All of Schola’s concerts are produced both in Manhattan (Church of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village) and in Montclair, NJ (Church of the Immaculate Conception). Be sure to subscribe to Schola’s mailing list to ensure timely notice of SCH news: www.ScholaOnHudson.org

Schola Cantorum on Hudson was founded in 1995 by Dr. Deborah Simpkin King, Ph.D, as an independent nonprofit organization. The internationally recognized new music initiative PROJECT : ENCORE™ was founded through SCH; and the organization supports a multi-pronged education and engagement program in addition to its performing activities. SCH performs its entire season in both Manhattan and in Montclair, NJ, and draws singers from eleven counties throughout New York and New Jersey. SCH is supported by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Marjorie Bunnell Foundation, and many other generous individuals, foundations, and business partners.