Impressions from the final concert in Montecompatri

Finale Concert at the Church and Convent of San Silvestro a special treat for the musicians and their groupies

The St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, presented the final concert of their 2011 Incantato Italy Performance Tour and Pilgrimage at the Convento San Silvestro in Montecompatri on Saturday, April 16, 2011 to a small, but very appreciative audience. Everyone, musicians and audience alike, enjoyed the joyful atmosphere and great accoustics of the church perched high upon a hill and overlooking the beautiful countryside.
San Silvestro is a 16th century convent known for its picture gallery, featuring important sacred paintings from the 18th century made for worship and devotion for the Barefoot Carmelites, who were given the monastery in 1604 by Pope Clemente VIII. It was appreciated then for its forested solitude away from the city, which was perfect for quiet contemplation. Many years later, in 1874, the convent was sold to a nearby town for use as a home for old people. It was redeemed at public auction in 1905 and returned to religious service in 1920. It’s in Monte Compatri, a municipality about 20 kilometers southeast of Rome with beautiful views and lush land.

SBC in the news

St. Bonaventure’s College performs at Chiesa di San Francesco (Maiori) on Thursday, April 14 at 8:00 PM

Incantato Tours proudly presents the Saint Bonaventure's College Chamber Choir in concert at Chiesa di San Francesco in Maiori at 8:00PM on Thursday, April 14, 2011.

The beautiful Chiesa di San Francesco was constructed in 1405. It is located between the convent and the Cove of the Announced one (Grotta dell'Annunziata) in Maiori. The church has a rough history: In 1435 it was destroyed by the army of Muhammad II (Turkey) and rebuilt one year later by Saint Bernardino from Siena. A sea storm hit the Chiesa di San Francesco hard in 1440. It was destroyed and in 1517 reconstructed on the oriental side of the convent. But the work was interrupted again by a Turkish invasion. In 1590 the construction was finally completed. Last but not least there were several constructive modifications after two seas storm in 1631 and 1674. The church is famed world-wide for the miracle of the springing water in the convent. Please click here to go the picture's origin.

Front row seats for Saint Bonaventure's College Wind Ensemble and Choir at Papal Audience on Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Saint Bonaventure's College Performance Tour partcipants are confirmed to present themselves in the front row at the General Papal Audience at the Vatican at 10:30 AM on the morning of April 13, 2011. The musicians under the direction of Mrs. Vincenza Etchegary and Ms. Maria Conkey will have the opportunity to salute his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. from an excellent position.

Papal Audiences are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome, giving pilgrims and visitors the chance to "see the Pope" and receive the Papal Blessing or Apostolic Blessing from the successor of the Apostle Peter during their visit.
The Audience with the Pope consists of small teachings and readings mainly in Italian but also in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and sometimes other languages depending on groups visiting.
The Pope will offer a greeting in each language and specially mention any visiting group such as choirs from various countries.
At the completion of the Audience, the Pope will join with the attendees in praying the Lord’s Prayer in Latin.
At the end of the Prayer, as Head of the Catholic Church, he will impart his Apostolic Blessing upon the crowd, which extends to loved ones who are sick and suffering, and also blesses any religious articles such as rosary beads that people have brought with them for the purpose of the blessing.

While the wind ensemble will play quite a while before and after the event, the choir will be given the opportunity to briefly perform for the General Audience this morning after their school's name is called. Thoursands are expected to attend the celebration this week.

First recording from the Vatican - SBC Chamber Choir sings "Ave Maria" at St. Peter's Basilica

St. Bonaventure’s College Chamber Choir sings for Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica on Tuesday, April 12 at 5 PM

The St. Bonaventure’s College Chamber Choir will sing Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 5:00 PM.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter is located within the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
In Catholic tradition, it is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St Peter's since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the 4th century. Construction of the present basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506 and was completed on November 18, 1626.
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer. Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since the days of Ancient Rome, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering brains of the 16th century.
Incidentally there are over 100 tombs within St. Peter's Basilica, many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on April 8, 2005.

Concert and exchange on Monday, April 11 at 10:15 AM for the St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir at Massimo Institute (Rome)

St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, will give a concert and get in touch with the locals at the Massimiliano Massimo Institute in Rome on Monday, April 11 at 10:15 AM. The Massimiliano Massimo Institute (Istituto Massimiliano Massimo) is a Jesuit school in Rome.
Its roots are in the School of Grammar, Humanities and Christian Doctrine, a small school set up in Via Nuova Capitolina (now Via dell'Aracœli) by Ignatius Loyola in 1551. That school proved a success and so pope Gregory XIII ordered the construction of a larger institution, which opened on 28 October 1584 as the Roman College. In this and other Jesuit colleges was written the 1559 Ratio Studiorum, a document which is still the basis of the teaching methods in Jesuit schools. Those methods were followed in the Roman College until the Jesuits' suppression in 1773 and was restored with the order in 1814 by pope Pius VII.
In 1870 the Italian Government confiscated the building for the Ennio Quirino Visconti Liceo Ginnasio, with the College's professors and students moving to the nearby palazzo Borromeo until the Pontifical Gregorian University was built to take its university students. However, in 1873, father Massimiliano Massimo (after whom the institute is named) inherited the Palazzo Peretti and, in 1879, made it available to the Jesuits for the re-foundation of a school to continue the Roman College's work in secondary education. In 1960, due to a rise in student numbers, the Institute was transferred from Terme (near the Stazione Termini) to EUR, where it is now sited. It stands out from the skyline at EUR thanks to the odd shape of its church and its position on the highest point of the EUR pentagon. In 1973 it was allowed to enroll its first set of students and in 1987 all its classes were made co-ed.
The institute participates in many sports, both in the schools league and the sports associations, such as hockey, long jump, athletics, weightlifting, racing and basketball. It is also the headquarters of the Student Missionary League, a Jesuit movement for the spiritual training of secondary students, organising meetings and work camps, in preparation for confirmation of those in and above their third year at secondary school.

SBC Newfoundland performance venue for Tuesday, April 12 at 9:00 PM: Church of the Gesù in Rome

On Tuesday, April 12 at 9:00 PM, St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir will perform at Church of the Gesù in Rome. The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina, its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. The Church of the Gesù is located in the Piazza del Gesù in Rome. First conceived in 1551 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits Society of Jesus, and active during the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Catholic Reformation, the Gesù was also the home of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus until the suppression of the order in 1773.

About the private tour of Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

 

The Vatican Museums are indisputably one of the finest collections of art in the world. Over the centuries, Papal patrons have commissioned renowned works such as the magnificent frescoes of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, and those by Raphael in his stanze. The museums also host some of the most important sculptures from the ancient world, such as the Laocoon and the Apollo Belvedere. Incantato Tours is thrilled to offer the St. Bonaventure's College Wind Ensemble, Chamber Choir, and friends the opportunity to see these works as they were originally viewed and contemplated by the Popes who created the Museums. A private after-hours visit during your 2011 Incantato Performance Tour to Italy is truly a once in a lifetime experience, a chance to have this astounding collection to yourself and fellow tour members for two hours.

Incantato's private visit to the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel will be led by a specialized docent/expert

guide and is just open to members of your tour. We also provide headsets to everyone for a truly individual experience. This is an exceptional opportunity for an intimate visit and lecture on the Vatican and its impressive art collection without the press and chaos of the crowds. Last but not least, the choir has been granted permission to give a recital in the Sistine Chapel which is a an unforgettable experience - both for the performers and the audience.
Please note that not all galleries will be accessible to us during this after hours visit. The Pinacoteca and Egyptian collections are not available for viewing after closing hours. The opportunity to view the Belvedere Courtyard is also dependent on the route the Vatican guards allow us to take. We normally spend a significant amount of time (35-40 minutes) inside the Sistine Chapel and divide the rest of our time between the Gallery of Maps, Tapestry Gallery, and Raphael Rooms, including other collections as time and security permits.