Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bart's to Honor 15th Anniversary of 9/11

The 22nd annual Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bartholomew's continues on Sunday, September 11, at 11 am with a service in observance of the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11.

The service will feature a performance of Maurice Duruflé' s Requiem, Op. 9. David Conte's September Sun for choir and string orchestra will be offered at 10:45 am . St. Bartholomew's Choir, St. Bart's Singers, St. Bartholomew's Boy and Girl Choristers with full orchestra will be conducted by William K. Trafka. ElizaBeth Merrill will be the alto soloist for the Pie Jesu.

Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, Op. 9 was completed in 1947 and dedicated to the memory of his father. It is scored for full string orchestra, tympani and organ. Nearly all of the thematic material for the Requiem comes from the Gregorian Chant Mass for the Dead. This lends the work a suppleness and fluidity with an harmonic warmth which has endeared the work to audiences for close to 70 years.

David Conte's September Sun was commissioned by St. Bartholomew's Church and premiered in 2002 for the first anniversary observance of 9/11. It is based on a text by John Stirling Walker which evokes the sun and its role as it presided over the tragic loss of innocents on that fateful day. Conte is the Professor of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory and a renowned composer of choral music.

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 www.stbarts.org/sacredmusic for the complete Summer Festival schedule.