Anne Midgette Reviews Reilly and Friends

Review: J. Reilly Lewis 25th anniversary event at Washington National Cathedral

By Anne Midgette

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 18, 2010

On Sunday, a broad swath of Washington's music community turned out to celebrate one of its pillars, the choral conductor and organist J. Reilly Lewis, who celebrated his 25th anniversary as the head of the Cathedral Choral Society with a typically informal, personal event called "Reilly and Friends."
In the classical world, 25 years is a drop in the bucket -- Norman Scribner, founder of the Choral Arts Society, is currently wrapping up his 45th anniversary season with that group, and Lewis himself has served for more than 30 years as head of the Washington Bach Consort. But the anniversary was an excuse for many to come cheer the popular Lewis -- including Scribner himself, who conducted one of the pieces. The concert at Washington National Cathedral included everyone from the Washington Ballet (Andile Ndlovu danced an athletic if stylistically incongruous interpretation of the aria from the "Goldberg" Variations) to the Washington Symphonic Brass to the kids of the St. Albans-National Cathedral Schools Chorale, the girls in purple patterned skirts that made a funky contrast to the demure purple ruffle-necked robes sported by the smallest members of the cathedral's Choir of Men and Boys.
Lewis's musical autobiography, as presented here, was intimately bound up with the cathedral, whose difficult acoustic he made a virtue by placing choruses in different parts of the building to highlight the ways the sound ricocheted off the high pale stone. It was also bound up with a tradition of sacred music distinct from the 19th-century classical canon, and, like the cathedral itself, somewhat newer: The early 20th-century French and Belgian organ composers Lewis has loved (he played Maurice Duruflé's Toccata himself), and the living composers he has worked with. One highlight was the world premiere of Dominick Argento's "The Choir Invisible"; the composer set a thoughtful and slightly convoluted text by George Eliot with gentle declamatory grace.
A third component, inevitably, was Bach, in several incarnations, including the familiar Sinfonia melody from Cantata No. 156 played respectably on cello by the head of the Washington Performing Arts Society, Neale Perl, in the unaccustomed role of performer.
A 25th anniversary is an active thing: still in progress, not truly venerable. Rather than the hush of ancient tradition, Sunday's concert exuded the ruddy good health of the comfortably middle-aged. The choruses entered to a plump, Wagner-influenced Richard Strauss processional from 1909, and exited, at the end of a long afternoon, to the raucous mewlings of a gaggle of bagpipers and the accompanying drummers from the St. Andrew's Society. After leading the crowd outdoors, the pipers stood in a semicircle in front of the cathedral and continued to play: the focus of a community, standing around them soaking up the music, and the sun.

Reilly and Friends Concert Weekend

Join us to mark - with music, of course - J. Reilly Lewis' 25th Anniversary Season as Music Director of the Cathedral Choral Society. Among the guests will be Neale Perl, President and CEO of WPAS, the St. Andrew's Society, the Order of St. John,The Washington Ballet, the Washington Symphonic Brass, guest conductors Norman Scribner and Robert Shafer, the Washington National Cathedral Choristers, and the St. Albans-National Cathedral Schools Chorale, capped with the world premiere of a work composed especially for the occasion by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Dominick Argento.

Tickets starting at $20 (Reserved Seating)

BUY TICKETS HERE OR DIAL 202-537-2228

Champagne Reception
In honor of Maestro Lewis' 25th Anniversary Season, there will be a champagne reception immediately following the concert.  Tickets to the reception are $25 a person.

Free parking in the Cathedral underground garage courtesy of the Cathedral Choral Society

The Trio of Tributes

We’ve been in a celebratory mood lately, alive with excitement and preparation for events commemorating our esteemed music director’s 25th anniversary with the Cathedral Choral Society. J. Reilly Lewis has become a mainstay on the DC choral scene and provided invaluable artistic insight and leadership to all involved with this organization. 

Reilly began his career at age 8 as a member of the Junior Boy Choir at Washington National Cathedral. We can’t think if a more fitting place to celebrate his career and contributions than right here where it all began. Next weekend will mark what we like to call The Trio of Tributes. Our annual gala will kick off the celebration right here at Washington National Cathedral under a tent on the North Lawn. This is sure to be a tasty event, catered by Ridgewells of Bethesda! Our last subscription concert entitled Reilly and Friends is a celebration featuring many beloved choral works and exciting collaborations with many of Washington’s finest performing artists on Sunday, May 16th followed by a post-concert champagne reception under the tent. 

When a career spans over 25 years, friends are bound to be made. The Reilly and Friends program will feature works from friends Reilly has acquired over the years including Wayne Dirksen, Bob Shafer and Dominick Argento. Reilly was and continues to be inspired by these pillars of choral music: 

“Wayne Dirksen was my choirmaster, organ teacher, mentor, and then esteemed colleague. It was he who opened up for me the mysteries of music in this magnificent sacred space.” -J. Reilly Lewis on Wayne Dirksen 

“Shortly after I returned from New York City, I heard a performance on my car radio that was so engaging, so captivating, and so exquisite - That performance said it all. It inspired me to drive straight to the school to introduce myself to this remarkable young conductor. Thus began our lifelong friendship.” -J. Reilly Lewis on Bob Shafer 

“No words of mine can express the love and gratitude I feel for Dominick’s generosity of spirit in setting this incredibly moving text to music. One of the joys of being music director of this venerable organization has always been the opportunity to nurture the talents of others.” J. Reilly Lewis on Dominick Argento 

We hope you will join us next weekend in celebration of 25 years with Music Director, J. Reilly Lewis, and offer a toast to 25 more. 

23rd Annual Arts Advocacy Day

"All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree" - Albert Einstein

On Monday, Americans for the Arts hosted the 23rd annual "Arts Advocacy Day." It’s the only national event that brings together a broad cross-section of America's cultural and civic organizations, along with hundreds of grassroots advocates from across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts.

As a forward looking organization, CCS often sends a staff representative to various seminars and workshops in the non-profit world to ensure we're always doing our best for our singers and supporters. We attended arts advocacy day and learned a great deal about the legislative process, importance of strength in numbers and facts and figures about the state of the arts in America.

NEA Chairman, Rocco Landesman addressed the advocates and armed us with three main points to help anyone seeking funding for the arts articulate their purpose.

ART WORKS!

1. The arts increase social responsibility. People involved with arts organizations or patrons of the arts are typically more involved with other local organizations and the democratic process in general.

2. The quality of life increases, particularly for children. In areas where the arts are a prevalent part of the community, truancy and delinquency are at an all time low.

3. Art is a poverty fighter and economy builder. The arts create jobs and contribute to tourism. A visitor to Washington is twice more likely to attend a performance at the Kennedy Center than a DC resident.

Our favorite Rocco anecdote: You don't think the arts create jobs? Well there are 200,000 people employed in the arts in CA, and only 125,000 lawyers. ART WORKS!

Yesterday, Rocco testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. For the full text, click HERE

Support CCS via United Way and the CFC

 CCS is part of the Combined Federal Campaign! If you are an employee expected to contributed to a charity VIA the CFC or United Way, you can now designate CCS as the beneficiary!

The mission of the CFC is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.CFC is the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, with more than 300 CFC campaigns throughout the country and internationally to help to raise millions of dollars each year. Pledges made by Federal civilian, postal and military donors during the campaign season (September 1st to December 15th) support eligible non-profit organizations that provide health and human service benefits throughout the world. The Director of OPM has designated to the Office of CFC Operations responsibility for day-to-day management of the CFC.

To contribute to CCS through the Combined Federal Campaign, please use the following codes:

United Way number:  8638

Combined Federal Campaign:  62850

For more information, please click here.

 

Egg Roll

Our friends at the DC Youth Orchestra were featured performers at the White House Easter Egg Roll! 

Want to learn more about the DCYO? Become a fan on Facebook!

British Choir Festival Interview Series

"As much as it is a military and economic superpower, England has always been an artistic, even choral, superpower. You don't have to be an Anglophile to appreciate that England has produced one of the world's richest choral traditions." - Mickey Butts, San Francisco Classical Voice

To honor this tradition, the Cathedral Choral Society proudly presents an annual British Choir Festival at Washington National Cathedral. The first official festival took place in 1986, when the Laura E. Phillips endowment for the festival was created. 

This year, we are so pleased to host the Saint Thomas and New College Choirs for British Choir Festival - 2010! In the weeks leading up to the festival on April 18th, we will feature a brief interview with past and present members of each choir to discuss what the tradition means to them and where it all started.

Today's interview features Matthew Brown, a UK native. Mr. Brown has been singing in the Anglican tradition since childhood.  He now resides in New York City, and sings with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys as a countertenor.

How/when did you begin singing?

I played violin from an early age, and could read music and hold a line, so I joined the school choir when I was ten. I joined my first church choir at Saint Margaret's, Westminster shortly thereafter (as a treble).

What does singing in this British Anglican tradition mean to you?

It means singing beautiful music with talented musicians, and giving long-dead composers eternal life through the performance of their music.

What does the choir bring to your understanding of yourself as a singer?

It helps me listen to others; to understand the importance of working in an ensemble for one's own musical development.

What are the best parts of singing with your choir?

Singing in the amazing space at Saint Thomas Church and the feeling of pride when singing to a packed crowd.

What is it like to come together with other similar choirs to sing in this Festival?

It's amazing to sing with other choirs, and to quickly adapt to new conductors. It also gives us the opportunity to sing Spem in Alium, which would be impossible with just one choir.

What is your favorite thing about Washington National Cathedral?

The sense of space, the mix of the modern and the traditional, the smell of history in the air.