Dr. Patricia Lamb, Director of Music Ministries at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, is excited about the many innovative concerts and musical events planned for 2016. She said that the new church has quickly become known for visual and acoustical beauty, and she wants people to experience it for themselves.
“We value the arts, especially the musical arts, both in worship and in concert,” Dr. Lamb said. “We are thrilled to share what we have and welcome the community to come experience this beautiful place and uplifting music. A big goal in hosting so many musical events, besides wanting our congregation to have access to excellent music in our wonderful church, is for music to be a great outreach. Some people aren’t comfortable going to a church service, but would love to experience music in such a great space.”
“Last year many people from the arts community came to our events and were surprised at what they saw and heard,” she continued. “They were amazed that our church is so beautiful and the acoustics are so incredible. We’re not just an insular little village of a Catholic Church. We consider ourselves to be part of the larger community and we like adding a cultural richness. We hope people will come experience the beauty of God’s creation through music. It truly is uplifting towards God.”
Even though the walls at OLQA echoed with the songs of Christmas throughout the month of December, the musical programs start right up again in January,
“We’re starting with something new,” Dr. Lamb explained. “On January 24 we’ll enjoy an intimate afternoon based on
the 19th century practice of going to someone’s living room to hear music played and sung. We’ll hear Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” song cycle performed by our baritone Stefan Miller. Song cycles were a group of songs strung together to tell a story. On January 30 we’ll enjoy Christopher Houlihan, international concert organist and one of the most exciting organists in the field. Smoke practically comes out of the organ when he plays.”
“February 9 we’ll enjoy the UCI Choir and Soloists. That day is also known as Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras; it’s the day before Lent starts,” she added. “We’ll have an evening of African-American Spirituals. It will be wonderful to hear all those incredible young voices. Then on February 19 we’ll enjoy one of our crowning pieces called “Amazing Grace.” It’s the story of the Lord’s journey to Calvary told through the music of the American Spiritual. It’s written by Michael Upward and Barbara Brennan, two of our in-house musicians who are extremely talented in composition and script writing.”
Here are some of the future musical events OLQA will host in the spring:
March 12: The Pacific Chorale. John Alexander will be conducting “Mass in B Minor” by J.S. Bach.
April 2: OLQA Children’s Choir will perform “Detention! The Musical” written by Michael Upward and Barbara Brennan.
May14: The de Angelis Vocal Ensemble will perform “Dance! Color and Light.”
July 23: “Club OLQA” will present an evening of Musical Theater by OLQA Singers and Musicians. They’ll feature the music of Richard Rogers.
“We’re thrilled for the community to join us, we make people welcome in God’s house,” explained Rosemary Nicholson, Administrative Assistant at OLQA. “We have an excellent corps of Greeters to welcome people and help answer questions and we have wonderful ushers who help seat people. We have capacity for 1170 people and the church was designed to accommodate wheelchairs and other needs.”
Most events are free though a freewill offering will be taken. For tickets and more information, see olqa.org.
Cindy can be reached at cindy@onthegrow.com.
