Choir Shines at Advent Concert

Cathedral Organist Provides Accompanist

(Winter 2006 Newsletter)

Mr. Samuel S. Soria, Organist of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

On December 2, attendees of the Friday Night Lecture and Concert Series at Thomas Aquinas College were treated to a special Advent performance by the College Choir, directed by Mr. Daniel J. Grimm (‘76). Despite the limitations of the dining hall in St. Joseph Commons—the College’s multi-purpose venue until its auditorium is built—the Choir sounded grand, accompanied as it was by Mr. Samuel S. Soria, Organist of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. An impressive organ was brought in just for the occasion.

The Choir presented Maurice Durufle’s Requiem. A French composer born in 1902 in Louviers, Duruflé was the organist at the church of St-Etienne-du-Mont in Paris. He wrote only fourteen published works, the most famous of which is his Requiem, Op 9. He died in 1986.

Mr. Soria, a highly accomplished musician, was delighted to have the opportunity to perform the Requiem. Prior to his appointment in Los Angeles, he was the organist for nine years at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois. A graduate of Valparaiso and Northwestern Universities, Mr. Soria took 2nd place in 1993 in the J.S. Bach International competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has recorded two CDs on the Delos International label.

Choir Director Daniel J. Grimm was deeply appreciative of the contribution Mr. Soria made to the evening. “It was a great honor to have a musician of the caliber of Samuel Soria join us, and his talents brought a sense of grandeur to the concert.”

Following the Requiem was a brief intermission. Upon returning to their places before an appreciative audience, Choir members delighted the standing-room-only crowd with traditional Christmas songs that ran the gamut from Biebel’s Ave Maria to traditional Spirituals like Mary had a Baby.

The College looks forward to the day when it can offer its talented students and visiting lecturers an auditorium designed and built specifically for musical performance and public speaking. Until then, the College is grateful to all those who in a less than ideal setting neverthless uplift the College community with their talents and wisdom.

Thomas Aquinas College Choir

Sopranos: Nicole Dunn, Rosie Grimm, Sophia Mason, Katie Tappel, Anne Hellerman, Marisela Miranda, Dominique Shema, Anna Cunningham, Mary Teichert, Ivie Connoly, Annie Sauder, Amy Ringle.
Altos: Paula Grimm, Kelsey Wuensche, Maria Forshaw, Baily Fator, Catherine Ryland, Mary Rose Parker, Elizabeth Tevald, Mary Steichen.
Tenors: Daniel Grimm, Nathan Reyes, Nathaniel Hellerman, Robert Mohun.
Basses: Arden Mills, Joseph Ferrier, Simon Noster, Francis Fast, Henry Zepeda, Joel Morehouse, Daniel Lendman.

-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter 2006