Category Archives: holidays

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A Musical Prelude To The Celebration of Easter

A Musical Prelude To The Celebration of Easter

Thursday, February 11, 2016

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1116 Chartres St., New Orleans, Louisiana

Presented by:The Bishop Perry Center, The Rev. William F. Maestri, Director The Cathedral – Basilica of St. Louis King of France and The Archdiocese of New OrleansIn Concert and sponsors

Starring:

Valerie Francis, Soprano, with Troy Poplous and Richard Hobson, Baritones, and Wilfred Delphin, Pianist

Directed By: Dr. Kenneth S. Klaus Gloria B. Callais Endowed Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, Nicholls State University

In a Salute to Leontyne Price

La Vergine degli’angeli (La Forza del Destino) Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)  Valerie Francis Priest’s ChorusTroy Poplous, Timothy Ray, Roland Bennett, Melvin Harrison, James Rodrigue, Myron Hartford, Mark Thomas,and The Sinfonia Singers of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity for Men in Music, Nicholls State University.

Vissi d’arte (Tosca) Giacomo Puccini (1858~1924) Tosca begs Scarpia to save her lover’s life.Valerie Francis

Per me giunto e il di supremo (Don Carlo) VerdiPosa visits Carlo in prison to tell him that he is a marked man because he has used the secret papers to take upon himself the blame for the Flemish rebellion. Posa is shot and dying, he tells Carlo he is happy to have sacrificed his life for a man who will become Spain’s savior. Richard Hobson

O patria mia (Aida) VerdiCiel! mio padre! On the eve of Amneris’s wedding, Ramfis and Amneris enter a temple on the banks of the Nile to pray. Aida, who is waiting for Radamès, is lost in thoughts of her homeland. Amonasro suddenly appears. Invoking Aida’s sense of duty, he makes her agree to find out from Radamès which route the Egyptian army will take to invade Ethiopia. Amonasro hides as Radamès arrives and assures Aida of his love. Valerie Francis, Richard Hobson

Summertime and Bess you is my woman now (Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin (1898-1937)Clara sings a lullaby to her child…All leave except Bess and Sporting Life, who asks her again to come to New York with him and tries to give her more dope, which she refuses. Porgy chases him away and he and Bess sing about their new happiness. Valerie Francis, Troy R. Poplous

INTERMISSION

In the Beginning God Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Richard Hobson

For the Love of Jesus Roger D. Dickerson (1934-)

The Crucifixion Arranged by Ellis Marsalis (1934-)

Calvary Betty Jackson King (1928-1994)

Toccata – Ride on King JesusJohn D. Carter (1932~1981) (Cantata)

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2015 St. Louis Cathedral Holiday Concerts

For more information about the St. Louis Cathedral Holiday Concerts call 504-522-5730 or go to www.fqfi.org.

– See more at: https://holiday.neworleansonline.com/traditions/st-louis-cathedral-concert-holiday-series/#sthash.dfLq8gnK.dpuf

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A Musical Prelude To The Celebration Of Easter

The Bishop Perry Center Presents Six Free Concerts,
Thursdays During Lent, February 19 – March 26, 6 p. m.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1116 Chartres Street.

Bishop Perry Center’s second annual Musical Prelude to the Celebration of Easter. The artists performing: pianists Dr. E. Quinn Peeper and Michael Harold with tenor Casey Candebat, who placed in the recent Metropolitan Opera regional competition. The pianists will perform some pieces arranged for four hands, as well as performing solo. The popular duo are active in the New Orleans Opera Association, the English Speaking Union, the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and numerous other cultural organizations of the city. Candebat is receiving rave reviews by critics for such journals as the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco
Chronical, and the Times-Picayune.

The third concert on March 5 will feature the enormously talented trio known as the Honey Truffles, three beautiful blondes who harmonize in the style of the Andrews Sisters and sing both pop, such as “The Boggie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and spiritual music. The fourth concert will star Sarah Jane McMahon, well known opera singer, who will don her torch singer persona for a performance with pianist Jessie Reeks. The fifth concert’s star will be Tom Sancton with his traditional jazz band. And the final concert will feature gospel music led by pianist Lawrence Sieberth with singers Phillip Manuel and Yolanda Robertson. And that last concert will have a surprise finale.

The Bishop Perry Center is an outreach mission for the disadvantaged and cultural center for downtown New Orleans, created by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Center, offers free spiritual, food, clothing, medical, educational, and legal services to all in need, regardless of religious affiliation. The concerts are free. Donations to the Bishop Perry Center are most appreciated.

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Welcome Carnival 2015

Today we begin OUR holiday season-Carnival. It starts today with the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany and Joan of Arc’s birthday and ends on Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday (Lent). I will celebrate with the first slice of king cake and maybe seeing two parades in this first Carnival day. Phunny Phorty Phellows-A little nonsense now and then is relished by the best of men! truly kicks off the season with their streetcar parade and then the Joan of Arc parade really shows what we do best with their walking (trotting?) French Quarter celebration. Not only is it great to be able to hit 2 parades (one within an easy bike ride of my neighborhood and the other here in the Quarter) but when in a late search of a small traditional king cake, I can hit 3 or 4 bakers or shops within a few blocks of my home and find one:
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First throws of the 2015 season, including Joan of Arc matches and my very own Heretic Doll

First throws of the 2015 season, including Joan of Arc matches and my very own Heretic Doll

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Joyeux Anniversaire, Jeanne d’Arc! (including January 6 parade details)

Announcing our 2015 Court
Patrick Van Hoorebeek, Emma Martello & Simone Bruni Crouere
The Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc selects three nonmember community leaders each year to portray three featured characters in our parade: a young Maid Joan, a King Charles VII, and a Queen Yolande.

Following in the footsteps of Orleans, France, where they select a young woman to lead their annual parade May 8 in honor of both V-Day and Joan’s lifting of the siege of Orleans, we hold a contest to select one young woman age 16-19 (the ages of Joan’s most notable feats) who best represents what Joan embodied: loyalty and love of place, dedication to community, and courage, and is studying French. Our 2015 Maid is Emma Martello of the McGehee School. The eldest of eight siblings, Emma is a student ambassador, peer support leader and active in charity work, such as the Crafts for a Cause club she founded herself.

Our 2015 Queen is Simone Bruni Crouere, founder and owner of Demo Diva Demolition Company. Women selected to portray Queen Yolande, who funded Joan’s army that ultimately made the King’s crowning a reality, are women who have demonstrated significant support for young women in the community, have business savvy and most importantly, like Queen Yolande, work strategically “behind the scenes” to uplift and improve the lives of New Orleanians. With Demo Diva, Simone blazed a trail for herself in a male dominated industry, and Demo Diva’s signature pink became a symbol of post-Katrina resilience. Joan of Arc was an inspiration for Simone as she expanded Demo Diva.

Our 2015 King is Patrick Van Hoorebeek, owner and founder of Patrick’s Bar Vin in the French Quarter. New Orleans’ ties to France are still strong and each year we select a male community leader who embodies New Orleans’ French heritage to portray our King Charles VII, who is crowned by our Maid Joan in a ceremony at the end of the parade, followed by eating king cake to kick off the Carnival season. Patrick embodies New Orleans hospitality and French culture. Growing up with stories of Joan told by his French mother, Patrick said “It’s an honor to have been selected to play the role of Charles VII since the history of Joan of Arc is something so dear to my heart.” The Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc selected Patrick for his generous support of French organizations and events in New Orleans; his ambassadorship to tourists and locals alike at his French Quarter bar; and his ability to make everyone who walks into his establishment feel like royalty.

Parade Tuesday Jan. 6, 6 p.m.
Joyeux Anniversaire, Jeanne d’Arc!
Celebrating St. Joan of Arc’s birthday and Twelfth Night, this annual walking parade is a medieval-themed theatrical procession, inspired by Joan’s time in 1400s France. Joan of Arc liberated the citizens of Orleans, France, from a British siege in her first victory in 1429—resulting in her moniker “The Maid of Orleans”. Our parade honors our own unofficial patron saint, The Maid of New Orleans: the beloved golden French Quarter statue, a gift to the City of New Orleans from France in the 1950s, and our French history and heritage.
Dress in gold. Bring king cake to share. The parade typically starts on time at 6 sharp and makes 3 pauses for a bit of medieval pageantry: toasts from the Historic New Orleans Collection and Grégor Trumel, Consul General of France in New Orleans, from the Williams Research Center balcony at 400 Chartres; a sword blessing at Saint Louis Cathedral by The Very Reverend Father Philip Landry, and the crowning of the king and king cake ceremony at the end. It’s a short, family-friendly parade — quirky, whimsical and spiritual. Follow us through the French Quarter with one of Joan’s birthday candles, handed out to parade goers in honor of Joan’s 603rd birthday.