“River Day” was brought to a satisfying close with a sizzling steak dinner, grilled to perfection right there on the riverside by none other than ever-enthusiastic Admissions Director John Jost and unshakable prefect Pedro da Silva (NE’25).
Now full and happy, students gathered for study hall and the Rosary, and the day came to a close in good taste with a strikingly beautiful concert by the renowned archguitarist Peter Blanchette and vocalist Éilís Kennedy.
A celebrated musician, composer, and the inventor of the 11-string archguitar, Blanchette has performed for audiences worldwide and has been heard in many television scores, public radio appearances, and his own 17 albums. His unique, custom-made archguitar had a deep, resonant voice and paired beautifully with the sound of Kennedy's rich, lilting melodies. Blanchette and Kennedy spoke between selections with humor and insight, drawing students into the music with stories and context that made each song reverberate by the memory of common experience.
Together, Blanchette and Kennedy filled Bl. Frassati Student Center with nostalgic ballads, lullabies, hymns, and folk songs (many in their original Gaelic, Kennedy’s first language) about childhood, home, love, war, death, and God. Their performance touched every facet of human life and experience, illustrating the exquisite beauty and importance of traditional folk song.
To end their striking performance, the duo performed Blanchette’s newly composed settings of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I’ll Tell You How the Sun Rose,” “It Was Not Death,” and “I Dwell in Possibility.”
Then up to the residence halls for consecration and bed, sun-tired and peaceful after a day shaped by leisure, learning, and music. The whole day — class, river, concert — was an unfolding of Genesis, a meditation on the joy and beauty of Creation. “And it was very good.”
Come back to read about tomorrow’s classes on the Summer Program Blog