Pilgrim Beatitudes
St. James Cathedral
804 9th Avenue
Pilgrim Beatitudes
30th Anniversary Season Year of Celebration Concert Finale
Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director
Zachary Finkelstein, tenor
Zachary Lenox, baritone
Opus 7 Chamber Orchestra, Blayne Barnes, concertmaster
Joseph Adam, organ & piano
Mark Wilson, guitar
St. James Cathedral, Seattle
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 8:00 pm
FREE PARKING in Cabrini Tower (corner of Marion & Boren, entrance off of Marion Street). Parking garage will close at 10:30 p.m.
6:45 pm: Pre-concert talk on the world-premiere cantata Pilgrim Beatitudes with Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen and Librettist Euan Tait will be on the second floor of Cathedral Place, 803 Terry Avenue.
DOORS for the concert open at 7:30 p.m.
RECEPTION following the concert!
Since its inception, Opus 7’s name has been synonymous with musical artistry, technical ambition, and the elevation of the unheard story. Culminating thirty years of historic choral innovation, this final concert of the 30th-Anniversary Series will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, Bern Herbolsheimer, Charles Griffin, Alf Houkom, Urmas Sisask, and our own composer-in-residence, John Muehleisen.
The main feature of our anniversary event is the world premiere of John Muehleisen’s Pilgrim Beatitudes, a major work commissioned by Opus 7 for choir, chamber orchestra, and tenor and baritone soloists. Muehleisen’s score illuminates the thought-provoking text by famed Scottish-Welsh librettist Euan Tait. We invite you to join us in exploring the journey from stranger to friend, from unknown to seen in this dramatic vivid retelling of the Beatitudes. Pilgrim Beatitudes implores the listener to remember the continuing relevance of this profound text from the Gospel of Matthew—a call to notice and care for those treated as unwanted strangers among us. Virtuosic tenor soloist Zachary Finkelstein and baritone Zachary Lenox bring to life the colorful and complex roles of the Stranger and the Pilgrim.
It is our privilege to celebrate this anniversary with you, our community who has travelled with us on this magnificent journey.
Get your tickets now – we look forward to seeing you! – – –
Preferred Seating: $50 in advance
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID
Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.
“Lenox in particular has a broad, resonant baritone that is exquisitely controlled throughout his entire range.”—The Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Finkelstein immediately displayed his golden tone and poetically lyrical phrasing during his opening, and calmly delivered Comfort ye, my People before bursting into Ev’ry Valley, in which he unleashed his vocal pyrotechnics.”—Winnipeg Free Press
“Superb!…brilliant…outstanding in every way…What a joy for me to hear such insightful and artistic performances of my work.”—Morten Lauridsen describing Opus 7’s performance at this year’s October 2019 Seattle Sings festival
“[Opus 7] one of the premier choirs in the Seattle area…sang with a pure tone, almost no vibrato and totally accurate pitch, which created very clear harmonies and colors…absolutely together, the choir gave each work the emotional expression which gave it life, the dynamics and phrasing always beautifully shaped.”—Philippa Kiraly, The SunBreak, Feb. 20, 2018
“Opus 7, one of the most esteemed musical groups anywhere”—R.M. Campbell, The Gathering Note