Opus 7: Pilgrim Beatitudes
$20-$40 (students pay-as-able); see event description for details
- Zach Finkelstein, tenor
- Zachary Lenox, baritone
- Blayne Barnes, concertmaster
- Joseph Adam, organ & piano
- Mark Hilliard Wilson, guitar
Charles B. Griffin — Don't treat me as a stranger
Alf Houkom — The Rune of Hospitality
Bern Herbolsheimer — Blessed
Urmas Sisask — Benedictio
John Muehleisen — Pilgrim Beatitudes (world premiere)
Since its inception, Opus 7’s name has been synonymous with musical artistry, technical ambition, and the elevation of the unheard story. Culminating thirty years of historic choral innovation, this final concert of the 30th-Anniversary Series will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, Bern Herbolsheimer, Charles Griffin, Alf Houkom, Urmas Sisask, and our own composer-in-residence, John Muehleisen.
The main feature of our anniversary event is the world premiere of John Muehleisen's Pilgrim Beatitudes, a major work commissioned by Opus 7 for choir, chamber orchestra, and tenor and baritone soloists. Muehleisen's score illuminates the thought-provoking text by famed Scottish-Welsh librettist Euan Tait. We invite you to join us in exploring the journey from stranger to friend, from unknown to seen in this dramatic vivid retelling of the Beatitudes. Pilgrim Beatitudes implores the listener to remember the continuing relevance of this profound text from the Gospel of Matthew—a call to notice and care for those treated as unwanted strangers among us. Virtuosic tenor soloist Zachary Finkelstein and baritone Zachary Lenox bring to life the colorful and complex roles of the Stranger and the Pilgrim.
It is our privilege to celebrate this anniversary with you, our community who has travelled with us on this magnificent journey.
"Lenox in particular has a broad, resonant baritone that is exquisitely controlled throughout his entire range."—The Boston Musical Intelligencer
"Finkelstein immediately displayed his golden tone and poetically lyrical phrasing during his opening, and calmly delivered Comfort ye, my People before bursting into Ev'ry Valley, in which he unleashed his vocal pyrotechnics."—Winnipeg Free Press
Please visit opus7.org and our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.
Tickets:
Preferred seating: $40 in advance
General seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID
About Opus 7
About Zach Finkelstein, tenor
About Zachary Lenox, baritone
About Blayne Barnes, concertmaster
Blayne Barnes performs regularly with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the Oregon Symphony, and the Oregon Bach Festival orchestra. Previously, he performed and toured with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and held the position of assistant concertmaster of the Eugene Symphony. Additionally, Blayne has recorded with the Oregon Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and for the soundtracks of numerous films and video games. He is co-founder of Seattle's conductorless chamber orchestra, the North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO), where he serves as co-leader.
Blayne received his Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University and his Master of Music degree from the University of Oregon. His teachers have included Marla Mutschler, William Magers, Fritz Gearhart, and Jorja Fleezanis.
https://www.blaynebarnes.com/aboutAbout Joseph Adam, organ & piano
About Mark Hilliard Wilson, guitar
Mark Hilliard Wilson is an active performer, teacher, and director of the Seattle Guitar Orchestra, which he founded in 1999. As cathedral guitarist at Seattle's St. James Cathedral, he has performed there weekly since 2006. Wilson has written or arranged more than 200 works, and avidly explores new venues for the performance of classical music while addressing contemporary issues through concert programming. Music has always been everything to Wilson, from the barrel organs he heard in his childhood in Holland to the symphony orchestras in Washington, DC and country bands in Weiser, Idaho. He continues to study and embrace the wonder of new places and the creativity of the wonderful artists of every stripe in the world.
https://markhilliardwilson.com/