| Gonzaga
Choir to perform Sunday
At the end of last year's Gonzaga University Choir concert, Prioress Sister Clarissa mused, "How do we ever live without this beauty? ...waiting a whole year will make it even more enjoyable. A year has passed and the Monastery of St. Gertrude will once again welcome the Gonzaga University Choir for a performance on Sunday, September 14 at 1 p.m. The group will also provide music for 10:30 Mass that morning. This will be the choir’s fourth performance in the Monastery's acoustically-acclaimed chapel. "My favorite thing," says Mary Schmidt, Director of External Ministries, "is looking out at the people sitting in the audience listening to the students and seeing them in awe, awe-inspired. It's such a wonderful experience of beauty that makes your heart ache." The students, who spend their annual retreat at St. Gertrude's, also express joy and gratitude for being able to bring their music to the prairie and learn more about the Benedictine community and their history. The choir is a select, mixed ensemble of over 60 voices led by Timothy Westerhaus. The performance will include a wide variety of sacred and secular repertoire from the Medieval to Modern historical periods and from diverse cultures. Director Timothy Westerhaus has conducted a variety of collegiate and professional ensembles in the United States and Europe; his teaching activities span from universities to national music organizations; and his solo appearances as tenor and pianist encompass music from the Baroque to modern eras. Mr. Westerhaus received his formal music degrees with highest honors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in liturgical music from the University of Saint Thomas and a master’s degree in choral conducting from Boston University. The performance is free and all are welcome. Mass (which will feature the choir) will take place one hour early at 10:30 before the 1:00 performance. The Spirituality and the Arts program at St. Gertrude presents dynamic performances and retreats that engage artistic expression as devotion and the deepening of spirituality through creativity. For more information, call 208-962-2000 or visit www.StGertrudes.org. 
Several photos from last year’s performance by the Gonzaga Choir. See article above left. Photos provided by the Monastery. |
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