Festival of Hymns - 2:00pm

The Concordia community gathers together to celebrate God’s faithfulness to Concordia University and to rededicate ourselves to moving Forward in Faith as we open the Borland-Manske Center for Music, Worship, and Theology. The festival will include well-known and newer hymns of faith, with contributions from members of the Concordia community and reflections by Christ College faculty.

I Am Matteo - 4:30pm, 5:00pm and 5:30pm

Premiered by members of the San Francisco Symphony in March of 2019, I Am Matteo was written by principal trombonist Timothy Higgins in response to a letter written by Matteo Musso, a 13 year old boy with autism, after he attended a San Francisco Symphony family concert. From the composer:

The work begins with a cadenza by the soprano soloist that introduces the audience to Matteo’s world. The tonality of the introduction is unsettled and indecisive. The cadenza leads straight into the second movement of the work which begins with a brief “orchestra tuning.” After the tuning, a short concert unfolds and the soprano, using Matteo’s words, reacts to the sounds of the orchestra. After the concert relaxes, the music continues directly into the third movement. In this final movement, Matteo’s definition of music is set to a simple flowing melody. The music has found its tonal center and no longer needs to wander.

The work calls for soprano solo, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, piano, violin and viola. It will be performed by Concordia faculty to highlight the new Charlie and Ling Zhang Hall.