Visit & Performance by various
Musical Ensembles
from Kean University
New Jersey, U.S.A.

The Kean University Concert Choir and Chorus
at our Palm Sunday Service: April 4, 2004

(Photos provided by Kean University)

The Kean University Choir

(Photo provided by Dr. Terenzi)

Dr. Mark Terenzi

Imagine what a surprise it was when our pastor received a call, out of the blue, from Dr. Merk Terenzi, director of the Kean University Concert Choir and Chorus and chair of the Music Department at Kean University. The choir would be on a visit to Montreal to perform at other locations, and would like to cap their tour with a Palm Sunday performance at a church in Montreal. They had chosen St. Ansgar's from looking at our Web site. We were thrilled! It would be the perfect complement to an already musically-charged Palm Sunday service, as we welcomed the arrival of Christ in Jerusalem with song and celebration. The call went out to provide our guests with a luncheon spread to express out thanks and to send them on their way with pleasant memories of Montreal. The Ladies responded, Rosa took charge, and all was ready. The bus pulled up at 10:00 and disgorged an army of singers and performers, along with serious percussion equipment such as Kettle Drums. (The logistics had been settled in an earlier between Dr. Terenzi and the pastor.)

The pastor gave up his weekly sermon to provide time for the visiting choir's performance. Still, our normal service of an hour or so stretched to nearly two hours. The choir performed, among other pieces, excepts from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, a favourite among Quebecers. Everyone got together afterwards in the church hall for coffee, refreshments, and community.

(Photos by Roger Kenner: April, 2004)

Arrival by Bus	A Welcoming Spread

(Photos by Roger Kenner: April, 2004)

Serious Percussion	The Singing Offering

(Photos by Roger Kenner: April, 2004)

The Choir Performs

About The Kean University Concert Choir and Chorale

In the last several years, the choir has attracted many talented new members and is comprised of both music majors and students majoring in other disciplines. Recent performances have included Vivaldi's Magnificat and Gloria as well as Mozart’s Laudate Dominum, Rachmaninoff’s Ave Maria, Orff’s Carmina Burana Part I, and the first movement of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. The choir's repertoire also includes world music sung in French, Spanish, Russian, German, Zulu, and Chinese. Prior to this year’s tour, the choir toured Washington D.C., Montreal, and Baltimore. In Washington, they were honored with a standing ovation in Foundry United Methodist Church--the church of President Clinton and his family, and in Montreal the group performed at Chapelle historique du bon Pasteur and St. Ansgars Lutheran Church. The choir also toured Boston in 1999 and 2003, including a performances at Boston University and historic Old North Church.

The Kean University Music Department has seen major changes since Kean became a university in 1997. The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) recently renewed full 10-year accreditation of the music department. The music facilities are equipped with three auditoriums, new Kawai grand pianos, a music listening lab, and a state-of-the-art MIDI computer lab with Mac G4s, Kawai digital pianos, and a myriad of digital equipment and software. Many faculty members are new since 1997, including a number of Affiliate Artist faculty members who sing at the Metropolitan Opera and perform regularly on television and NYC concert halls. The Music Education program remains the focus of the department, and the music dept. boasts virtually a 100% placement record for music education graduates. The music education degree has just undergone a thorough revision, with the addition of many new courses in sight singing and ear training, world music, jazz, and instrumental methods.

Dr. Mark Terenzi, is a tenured Associate Professor at Kean University, where he joined the faculty as Chairperson and Choral Director in 1997. He studied piano at the Juilliard Pre-College Division, and holds the masters and doctorate in choral conducting from Indiana University. (As a pianist, he won the Young Artists Competition of the South Orange Symphony and played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the orchestra.) He has taught at Rutgers University, William Paterson University, and Blackburn College of Illinois. His Blackburn College Choir toured many cities, including Indianapolis, New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Atlanta. Under his direction, the Kean University Concert Choir has doubled in size and has performed major works with orchestra, and has toured Boston, Washington D.C., Montreal, and Baltimore.

The Concert Programme:

Performed by the Choir

Perfomred by the Choir & Percussion Ensemble

Performed by the Guitar & Flute Ensemble

Performed by the Chorus during the Offertory

Sole during Communtion

Members of the Choir, Chorus & other Ensembles

Dr. Mark Terenzi, Choir master
Prof. Ronald Levy, piano accompaniment