Symphonic Masses – Past & Present
Saturday, October 15 at 7:30pm
Sunday, October 16 at 3pm
Midd-West High School, Middleburg – view google map
SVC Soloists:
Amy Caron, Adam Dietz and Andrew Finck
Sponsors: Walnut Acres Foundation
Co-sponsor: Jean & Bob Hormell
Underwriters: Lois & Tom Clark, Nancy & Sam Craig, Kessey Kieselhorst and Raven & Marvin Rudnitsky
What is a Mass?
Both of our Fall Concert works include the word “mass” in their titles. “Mass” [or missa in Latin] has meant the principal liturgy of the Western or Latin Church—the celebration of the Eucharist–since the fourth century. It was probably derived from the Latin phrase “Ite, missa est” [“Go, you are dismissed”] intoned by the celebrant at the end of the service. The texts of the mass include psalms, prayers, hymns, and excerpts from scripture. Some of the texts are included in all [or almost all] masses although other texts change. The unchanging texts are known as the ‘ordinary’—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei—and these five texts have been set to music countless times since the Mass of Our Lady of Guillaume de Machaut in the fourteenth century. Almost all the celebrated composers of music history have composed masses, from the Renaissance masters Josquin and Palestrina to Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein. Of all these many masterworks, Schubert’s Mass in G is one of the best-loved and Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass is one of the most recent.
Meet the Soloists
AMY CARON is a versatile soprano who received classical training at Ithaca College, Mannes College of Music and Boston University. A native of Selinsgrove, Amy enjoys singing by invitation in many venues around the Valley and is frequently featured by the SVC. She is a business owner, choir director, voice teacher, wife and mother of two, beautiful daughters.
After an eight-year whirlwind in Manhattan, ADAM DIETZ returned to his hometown, Middleburg, in July of 2014. He first set his sights on New York in order to pursue musical theatre, and was cast in roles from: The Music Man; Annie, Get Your Gun; Forever Plaid; Jesus Christ Superstar; and A Christmas Carol, the musical. While living there, he also sang with professional choruses; New York Choral Artists, and The Philadelphia Singers, appearing in such venues as: Alice Tully Hall; Carnegie Hall; and The Kimmel Center. In addition, Adam was a regular guest artist with Mid-America Productions. True to form, he was often burning the candle at both ends, and remembers one December in particularly when he was concurrently performing in a Messiah concert, a caroling group, and a community chorale, plus working at his church choir job and holding down an administrative position. “It’s true what they say. It really is the city that never sleeps. That constant energy somehow fuels and forces you to keep up with the pace of life there. I could never do all those things again at once.” Adam is a graduate of Westminster Choir College, and currently serves as the music director at Paxtonville United Methodist Church. He also acts as the assistant director for all theatrical productions at Midd-West High School, and is chairperson of the Middleburg Revitalization Committee.
ANDREW FINCK is the Choral Director at Voorhees High School where he conducts four ensembles and teaches private voice and piano lessons. He is a past member of the SVC and appeared as soloist in their productions of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “The Music of Downton Abbey.” He has also performed with Bucknell’s Rooke Chapel Choir in their performance of Schubert’s Mass in G. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from The Hartt School, University of Hartford.
