‘A Concert For Hope’ with the SHU Chorus

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — To launch its 2018-19 season, the Seton Hall University Chorus, within the College of Communication and the Arts and its Arts Council, will perform “Et In Terra Pax: A Concert for Hope” alongside the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at Saint Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Ave. in New York City.

“A Concert for Hope” is part of the Great Music Series at St. Bart’s, produced by the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation, a nonprofit established to cultivate, promote, sponsor and develop an understanding and love of great music as presented at St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Underlining music’s tremendous power to inspire and make change, the concert will feature Haydn’s “Missa in Angustiis,” or “Mass for Troubled Times,” and the works of Arvo Part, Ola Gjeilo and John Tavener, under the direction of Jason Tramm, assistant professor and director of choral activities at SHU.

“The music that an era produces is a snapshot of that historical time — and Haydn’s ‘Mass for Troubled Times’ mirrors our own struggles and emotions,” Tramm said. “Haydn’s work starts serious and austere, yet comes full circle to resonate a spirit of hope with an intense and inspiring movement of music. ‘A Concert for Hope’ gives the Choral Program an incredible opportunity to perform music that speaks to every person while singing in a prestigious venue.”

Haydn’s “Mass for Troubled Times” was written in 1798, during a time of instability in Europe. From the gripping first movement to the life affirming “Dona Nobis Pacem,” this work transcends its time and offers hope in our time.

Composer Ola Gjeilo’s “Song of the Universal” is a setting of verses to Walt Whitman’s great work.

“I love Whitman’s unabashed optimism, exuberance and unwaving confidence in our deeper humanity — all through the prism of a big, warm, beating heart,” Gjeilo said of his work.

Works of Part and Tavener complete this evening of powerful, atmospheric music.

“Although we find ourselves in challenging times, we need to be reminded that music has the profound power to make change in society and people,” Tramm said. “The evening will demonstrate the impact of great music and leave the audience with the positive, universal message that we are all connected through the arts.”

For more information about the concert or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.shu.edu/communication-arts/et-in-terra-pax-a-concert-for-hope.cfm.

  Seton Hall University