Sacred Music ND Chamber Orchestra presents 'Cosmic Wonder' as its debut performance

SOUTH BEND — The Sacred Music Program at Notre Dame (SMND) presents the debut performance of the Sacred Music ND Chamber Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. March 21 at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Titled “Cosmic Wonder,” the program includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, “Starburst” byJessie Montgomery and Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 6, “Le Matin.”

The featured soloists in the Bach are Kola Owolabi (harpsichord) and Patrick Yim (violin) from the Notre Dame faculty, and guest flutist, Amy Porter, from the University of Michigan.

The concert will also engage with the idea of Bach as theologian and how he manifests his beliefs in his music, even his “secular” music.

According to a press release, “Starburst” composer Jesse Montgomery has said, “a common definition of a starburst:‘the rapid formation of large numbers of new stars in a galaxy at a rate high enough to alter the structure of the galaxy significantly.’”

Conductor Cynthia Katsarelis said the piece “inspires cosmic wonder with its burst of energy and multidimensionalcolors.”

Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 is nicknamed “Le Matin,” or “Morning,” because it begins with the depiction of a cosmic event, a sunrise.

Conducted by Cynthia Katsarelis, an assistant professor of the practice in conducting and conductor of RitornelloChamber Orchestra, the orchestra includes Notre Dame faculty, members of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and guest soloists.

Tickets are $20; free for students (tickets still required).

For more information, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Sacred Music ND Chamber Orchestra makes its debut at DeBartolo