Experience power of angels, music this afternoon

Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 23, 2014

NATCHEZ — The Natchez Festival of Music is partnering with the St. Mary Education Commission to host priests from the Community of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum at 1:30 p.m. today at St. Mary Basilica for “The Power of the Angels.”

The event, produced by Hedy Boelte, is a lecture on the Holy Angels with performances of celestial choral music. The priests will alternate with choral compositions for a heavenly listening experience.

The priests will tell about the Choir of Angels and their purpose in our lives while the sounds fill historic St. Mary Basilica.

Email newsletter signup

“This will indeed be a heavenly experience,” Festival Artistic Director Jay Dean said. “The University of Southern Mississippi is sending its very best to Natchez for this event. All, regardless of religious denomination, will enjoy the spiritual uplifting that the musical performances will provide.”

The lecturers for this special event include the Rev. Joseph Doyle, SSJ, known in Natchez and the surrounding area for serving as associate pastor at Holy Family Church and ministered to the parishioners of St. John the Baptist Church in Cranfield and St. Anthony Church in Harriston.

Doyle’s work thereafter has been in the areas of campus ministry, parochial ministry, formation ministry and educational ministry at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans for the last 25 years.

The Rev. Matthew Hincks, a priest of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, has been stationed at Grosse Pointe, Mich., for the last seven years giving retreats and talks about the angels and the Work of the Holy Angels.

The Rev. Ludwig M. Oppl, a native of Germany where he studied electrical engineering, is a member of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross and has served as the pastor of a church in Austria and is the Superior Delelegatus of Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross in the U.S. and Rector of Opus Angelorum in the United States.

“You cannot have a better panel of presenters,” Boelte said. “This is quite a feather in Natchez’s cap.”

Soprano Kayleigh Aytes is known for her graceful voice and elegant musicianship.

Mississippi native and soprano Angel Azzarra is known for her captivating presence and vibrant sound. She has performed internationally in a wide variety of productions, including opera.

Conductor and cellist Dennis Leoni is a favorite because of his dedication to community outreach programs, which share the joyful sounds music provides.

Ellen Price Elder is a pianist and assistant professor of piano at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she is the coordinator of the piano accompanying program, teaches class piano. She collaborates with faculty and guest artists, and serves as director of the Southern Miss Piano Institute.

This is a free, community event, although donations are welcomed. For more information, visit natchezfestivalofmusic.com.