-Sr. Cecilia Clare Bocard
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Pink marble pillars stood unwavering holding up the lofty ceilings of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The Church structure expressed ample beauty and deep-rooted connection to our founding Sisters of Providence. The SMWC Choirs (Chorale, Madrigals, Woods Vocal Ensemble), directed by Michael Boswell, four choirs from area high schools, Guest Artist Marques Jerrell Ruff, a variety of other guest artists, and the audience added to the beauty of this sacred space and we were able to experience connections between each other, our history, and God.
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| Marques Jerrell Ruff, Guest Artist (L) Michael Boswell, Festival Coordinator (R) |
Michael Boswell (Associate Professor of Music, SMWC Director of Choirs and Sacred Music Festival Coordinator) wore many hats during the concert with great success. “It was pretty amazing. I felt like I was ‘in the zone’ for the entire hour and fifteen minutes, and that was especially fulfilling since I constantly changed roles from conductor, singer, reader, etc. It was also wonderful to stand in front of a choir of 150 students from SMWC and local high schools for our final number, to see them span the width of the church!”
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| SMWC and high school choir members |
The music served as a thread connecting the experiences of the choir concert in the “memory quilt” that emerged from the Sacred Music Festival. Lydia Huston, senior Music Therapy major and Choral Student Assistant, recounted that the connection was something bigger than the music festival itself; it extended to decades before. “As we all sang, I could feel our voices reaching back and connecting with the generation of Madrigals before us and those before them and all the way back to Sister Cecilia [Clare Bocard]. I think that is what it means to be at the Woods-- to have roots with those who began here and then carry their love and passion with us to inspire others.”
The concert began with the audience (Assembly) singing an opening hymn together. The Chorale then performed two pieces from A Cycle of Psalms, 'The Lord is My Shepherd' and 'I Sleep but My Heart Watcheth', by Sr. Cecilia Clare Bocard, S.P. (1899-1994), a prolific composer and educator. The set concluded with Dr. John McIntyre's (b. 1950) piece 'My Heart Watches'. The Woods Vocal Ensemble kicked off the next section with 'Medieval Gloria' by Vijay Singh (b. 1966), joining the Madrigals on 'Be Thou My Vision' by Dr. John McIntyre. The Madrigals then performed another piece from A Cycle of Psalms, 'Cast Thy Care on the Lord' before performing 'La Providence' with Madrigal alumnae who were present.
Lydia Huston remarked that the crowning moment of night two was “singing [La Providence] with the returning and current Madrigal ensemble members. "This piece is sacred in every sense; it is the quintessential SMWC Madrigals piece. It does not matter who you sing it with or how long you’ve sung it with people, the piece wields instant connection. I could think of no higher honor than whenever I get the opportunity to sing it.” ['La Providence' was a commissioned work for the SMWC Madrigals, completed in 2012 by composer Sydney Guillaume]
Several local musicians and music educators (Logan Williams, Paul Ellison, Dylan Keller, Patrick Meyer, Andrew Miller, James O'Sullivan, and Chris Williams) from the Terre Haute area joined Marques Jerrell Ruff, Michael Boswell, and Dr. John McIntyre, in performing a beautiful piece by Franz Biebl (1906-2001), 'Ave Maria'. The voices were interwoven throughout the piece and soared throughout the Church.
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| Quintet performers (L to R) |
Pianist and SMWC instructor of music Ron Maurey recounted the beauty and divine connections that were made in the Church, and about his experience with making music that was more than supporting the singers. “I don’t think of it as accompanying... for me it’s more that we made music together…I have been thinking about this very thing for decades, having at one time pursued a path that would have led to ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, I have thought about this connection between ministry, spiritual life, spiritual direction, [and] music’s role in that.”
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| Ron Maurey, faculty pianist |
Alongside the SMWC Choirs, four high school choirs (Terre Haute North Vigo High School, Terre Haute South Vigo High School, West Vigo High School, and Shakamak High School) joined in closing the concert program by singing with Marques Jerrell Ruff, soloist, on 'City Called Heaven' arr. by Josephine Poelinitz (b. 1944) that filled the Church with immense sound and powerful feeling.
“We are all aware, I am sure, that music, as a fine art, involves the creation of beauty. We know that beauty is an attribute of God. … Music then is a part of the very beauty of God. When we, as musicians, bring this beauty to the world, we are bringing God to the world.”
—Sister Cecilia Clare Bocard
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| Rehearsal of all choirs with Marques Jerrell Ruff |
The concert concluded with 'Our Lady of Providence' as the closing hymn sung by the entire Assembly. The piece was co-written by Rose Angela Horan, S.P. (1895-1985) and Sr. Cecilia Clare Bocard, S.P. (1899-1994).
During Michael Boswell's closing remarks, he spoke of the inspiration for the Sacred Music Festival: “Early [one] morning I went to my bookshelf and started reading the journals and letters of our foundress, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. I found myself reading the story of the arrival of six Sisters from France to this very soil on the original Foundation Day of October 22, 1840. They spoke to no one when they arrived, as they had sworn an oath amongst themselves not to until their hearts could be filled by the Blessed Sacrament. Some of us here may be more familiar with the word ‘Communion.’ And then it hit me… there would have almost certainly been chanting and singing accompanying the blessed sacrament. This is when music OF the Woods was born! And all music OF this place continues to receive this blessing, our divine inheritance.”
Now, 183 years later, we are still part of this legacy by making music of the Woods, at the Woods. The festival gave the opportunity to non-Woods community members to participate in music of the Woods, and make them “legitimate Woods musicians,” in Boswell’s words. The Choral Concert was the second event of the Sacred Music Festival.
Author: Avery Stein, sophomore, Music Therapy Student Assistant
Photo Credits: SMWC Marketing and Communications; Sharon R. Boyle, Chair of Department of Music and Theatre
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For more information about the SMWC music programs, contact:
Admissions@smwc.edu
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