Concerts at Blessed Sacrament: Thou Art Rock
$25 advance, $30 at the door ($25 senior/student; ages 12 & under free)
- Kyle Canaday, organ
- Cassandra Willock, soprano
- Michael Beetham, baritone
- Michael Plagerman, conductor
Giovanni Gabrieli — In ecclesiis, Ch. 78
James MacMillan — Tu es Petrus
Kile Smith — Jesus Stood on the Shore (world premiere)
Benjamin Britten — Hymn to St. Peter, Op. 56a
Peter Philips — Cantiones Sacræ quinis vocibus, No. 14: Symon Petre antequam denavi
William Mathias — Let the People Praise Thee, O God
Come enjoy this choral concert celebrating St. Peter! Works for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, including the world premiere of a piece by renowned Grammy award-winning composer Kile Smith based on the text of John 21:1-19, and James MacMillan's cataclysmic Tu es Petrus for brass, choir, and organ.
About Blessed Sacrament Cantorei
The Cantorei is the all-professional octet of the parish that sings for the weekly noon Mass, which always features a choral setting of the ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus/Benedictus, and Agnus Dei). The group is open to volunteer participation, but requires a substantial amount of vocal training and a very high level of musical ability. Rehearsals are Sundays at 10:45am for the noon Mass as well as other times as called and required for the performance of additional liturgies throughout the year such as those during Christmas and Holy Week.
https://www.blessed-sacrament.org/choirAbout Music at Blessed Sacrament (Seattle)
Blessed Sacrament is fortunate to house an unparalleled collection of musical instruments situated within a warm and reverberant acoustical environment that preserves musical clarity. The primary purpose of these instruments is to facilitate our stunning weekly liturgical music program, but we believe it is our calling to share the beauty with which we've been blessed. Concerts at Blessed Sacrament are our gift to the greater Seattle community whereby we produce and host top ensembles from throughout our city, making available our resources for the benefit of the arts in general. The Church has long been a supporter of the arts and it is the goal of Concerts at Blessed Sacrament to preserve, enhance, and develop musical arts for the benefit of future generations.
https://www.blessed-sacrament.org/About Kyle Canaday, organ
Kyle Canaday has been a working organist since age 16. Enticed as a young boy by the piano, his love of music and musical instruments was encouraged by his family and his high school band director. He pursued a BMus in Pipe organ performance from Carole Terry at the University of Washington. He has also received coaching on historic organs and harpsichords in Versailles and Royaumont, France, by Jean-Baptiste Robin.
Kyle works primarily as a private music teacher and is founder of Da Capo Keyboard Studio LLC. His students range in age: from 5 to 75. He enjoys nurturing his students' own love of music through the practice of piano, harpsichord, and organ.
https://www.blessed-sacrament.org/kyle-canadayAbout Cassandra Willock, soprano
Cassandra Willock is a soprano from Shoreline, Washington. In 2017, she graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a BM in Vocal Performance and an Economics Minor. Cassandra has been seen as Jou-Jou in Tacoma Opera's The Merry Widow and as Rose Maurrant in PLU's summer workshop production of Street Scene; she has also worked with Seattle Opera in their education programs as a teaching assistant.
https://www.blessed-sacrament.org/cassandra-willockAbout Michael Beetham, baritone
About Michael Plagerman, conductor
Michael Plagerman is the Director of Sacred Music at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Seattle, where he oversees concert planning, shares organ duties, and directs the parish choir as well as the cantorei, a professional vocal ensemble that sings choral masses and concerts throughout the year. Michael holds degrees from Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Notre Dame, and Cornell University where he studied with Paul Tegels, Craig Cramer, Douglas Reid, Nathan Laube, Christophe Mantoux, and Annette Richards. In the completion of these degrees, he has received numerous scholarships and awards including the James D. Holloway Scholar, the David P. Dahl Organ Scholar, and the Craig Cramer Award in Organ Performance. He is currently finishing his doctoral dissertation through Cornell University, researching late 19th-century American organ performance in Boston.
https://music.cornell.edu/michael-plagerman