Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bart's to Celebrate Pride Sunday with Works by Gay Composers

The Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bartholomew's will launch its 23rd season on Sunday, June 25 at 11 a.m. In recognition of New York City's observance of Gay Pride Sunday, this service of sacred music will feature works written by gay composers.

St. Bartholomew's Choir will sing sacred music of Lou Harrison and David Conte. Works will include Conte's "By night when others soundly slept" from his Three Mystical Hymns, and Lou Harrison's "Mass to St. Anthony," a work composed in 1939 in response to the Nazi invasion of Poland. Scored for choir, strings and harp, it is a work encompassing emotions from outrage to hope. The work will be sung to honor the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth. William K. Trafka will conduct the choir and orchestra.

The Summer Festival of Sacred Music takes place each Sunday morning at 11 am at St. Bartholomew's Church during the summer months. At a time when most churches reduce their musical offerings, St. Bartholomew's Church provides outstanding sacred music sung by St. Bartholomew's Choir and Boy and Girl Choristers, two of New York City's most renowned choirs. Works include an array of mass settings from the 15th century to the present embracing a diversity of cultures from around the world. The music is sung as part of the Eucharist or Mass, the liturgical context for which it was composed. All Summer Festival events are free and open to the public.

St. Bartholomew's Church is located at the corner of Park Avenue and 51st Street. Subway: 6 to 51st Street. For more information, call (212) 378-0222 or visit stbarts.org/summerfestival for the complete Summer Festival schedule.