Sacred Music Series
St. Gertrude Parish is delighted to present its second annual Sacred Music Series. Over the course of the 2025–2026 program year, this rapidly-growing initiative brings together world-class artists from across the United States and Europe to share the Roman Catholic Church’s vast treasury of sacred music through the centuries in concerts, musical meditations, and liturgies.
Whether this is your first visit to St. Gertrude Parish or you’ve been a parishioner your whole life, you are always welcome here—and we look forward to sharing this beautiful music with you.
Sacred Music Series Events
Friday, September 12, 2025 | 7 p.m.
Bach's Mass in G Major
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The season opens with Bach’s Mass in G Major, a radiant expression of glorious praise and one of Johann Sebastian’s only sacred works likely written for the Roman Catholic Church. Performed by the Capella (St. Gertrude Parish’s professional choir) and an orchestra of virtuoso specialists from all over the United States playing 18th century instruments known to Bach himself. The program also features Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, BWV 1060R, with dazzling solo writing performed by baroque oboist Kristin Olson and baroque violinist Zachary Carrettin, offering a unique insight into the soundworld of the baroque.
Tickets: General Admission $25; Student $10 (with valid ID); Children under 12 free. Maximum $60 per family.
Friday, October 10, 2025 | 7 p.m.
Haydn's Nelson Mass
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The pinnacle of sacred music in the 19th century was found not in the Vatican, but in Austria. This program features three Viennese masterpieces presented by the Capella and a rich orchestra of strings, flute, oboes, trumpets, and timpani. The evening begins with Dixit Dominus, a spectacular and rarely heard setting of Psalm 110 by Marianna Martines, rich in color and rhythmic vitality. Next is Mozart’s euphoric Exsultate, jubilate, a virtuosic cantata sung by British soprano Caitlin Harrison, whose central movement tenderly reflects on the coronation of Mary. The program culminates in Haydn’s Mass in Time of Tribulation, a majestic work revered for its dramatic energy and solemn grandeur. Premiered shortly after Admiral Horatio Nelson’s decisive victory at the Battle of the Nile, Nelson Mass is widely regarded as Haydn’s finest sacred work.
Tickets: General Admission $25; Student $10 (with valid ID); Children under 12 free. Maximum $60 per family.
Friday, October 31, 2025 | 7 p.m.
All Saints Vigil
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Inspired by a cherished tradition from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., St. Gertrude Parish presents a candlelight vigil in honor of All Saints’ Day. This contemplative service celebrates the lives of saints throughout the centuries, inviting reflection by the glow of candlelight. The service features readings from the writings of the saints, sung meditations by the Capella, and beloved hymns in anticipation of the Solemnity of All Saints. The evening concludes with sung compline (monastic Night Prayer) led by the Dominican friars and a solemn procession of relics, illumined by candlelight in the quiet presence of the communion of saints.
Freewill offering.
Sunday, December 14, 2025 | 3 p.m.
Advent Lessons and Carols
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In celebration of the Advent season, and a beloved St. Gertrude tradition, the Capella, Novitiate Choir, Schola Cantorum, and Parish Choir present a contemplative service of readings that trace salvation history from creation to the annunciation of Christ’s birth to the Virgin Mary, interwoven with profound musical meditations from the Church’s treasury of sacred music for Advent.
Freewill offering.
Wednesday, December 24, 2025 | 11:30 p.m.
Handel's Messiah
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As the annual choral prelude to the Christmas Midnight Mass, the St. Gertrude Parish Choir presents excerpts from the Advent- Christmas portion of Handel’s beloved oratorio The Messiah with orchestra, culminating in the famous Hallelujah Chorus.
Free admission.
Friday, January 30, 2026 | 7 p.m.
Harpsichord Recital by Christopher Holman
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Christopher Holman presents a solo harpsichord recital exploring the expressive depth and exuberant brilliance of baroque keyboard music. This intimate concert centers around the master composers who comprised the golden age of the harpsichord: the 16th-century Dutch virtuoso Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, early 17th-century Vatican organist Girolamo Frescobaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and the 18th-century African-British abolitionist and composer Ignatius Sancho. The heart of the program is Bach’s stunning Partita No. 4 in D Major and several of his rarely performed pieces for Lautenwerk—a lute- harpsichord hybrid known for its soothing, resonant tone. With historical insight and vivid interpretation, this recital offers a rare opportunity to hear the harpsichord in all its poetic beauty.
Tickets: General Admission $20; Student $5 (with valid ID); Children under 12 free. Maximum $50 per family.
Friday, February 27, 2026 | 7 p.m.
A Mother's Sorrow
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At the outset of Lent, this contemplative musical meditation featuring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Christina Hazen and string orchestra centers on two strikingly contrasting settings of the Stabat Mater, the ancient 13th-century hymn that recalls the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross. The first setting, by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, is a luminous jewel of the late baroque, unfolding in aching beauty through the intertwined lines of the vocal duo. In contrast, we hear the setting by Julia Perry, a devout Roman Catholic composer from Lexington, KY, and Akron, OH, who was one of the first Black American women to conduct major European orchestras. Her searing, powerful 20th-century Stabat Mater brings a bold, modern voice to Mary’s pain, a profound reflection on the mystery of suffering, and the enduring faith of the Mother of Sorrows.
Tickets: General Admission $25; Student $10 (with valid ID); Children under 12 free. Maximum $60 per family.
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | 8 p.m.
Choral Tenebrae
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On Wednesday of Holy Week, St. Gertrude Parish presents Tenebrae, the Service of Shadows, a powerful meditation on the Passion and conducted in near darkness. The Capella and the Novitiate Choir chant the great sorrowful psalms and Lamentations of Jeremiah, interwoven with motets that reflect upon the anguish of Christ’s passion. The service culminates in Gregorio Allegri’s legendary setting of Psalm 51, Miserere mei, sung by three choirs, spaced throughout the church, in haunting antiphony.
Freewill offering.
Friday, May 1, 2026 | 7 p.m.
Massenet's The Virgin Mary
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The Series finale crowns the month of May, traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with Jules Massenet’s monumental oratorio La Vierge (The Virgin Mary). This epic meditation on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary alternates intimate and majestic writing in the style of French grand opera, tracing Mary’s journey from the Annunciation to her assumption, blending lyrical beauty with ardent reverence. The performance features the Capella, a string orchestra with harp, and a combined children’s chorus of trebles from the St. Gertrude Schola Cantorum and the Schola Cantorum of the Cincinnati Oratory.
Tickets: General Admission $25; Student $10 (with valid ID); Children under 12 free. Maximum $60 per family.
Ticket Information
Tickets may be purchased in advance using the buttons above or at the door on the evening of each performance (cash or card accepted).
Season tickets for all five ticketed programs—Bach’s Mass in G Major, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Harpsichord Recital, A Mother’s Sorrow, and Massenet’s The Virgin Mary—are available at a 25 percent discount through September 5, 2025:
Individual Season Pass — $90
Family Season Pass — $217 (any number of people living in the same house)
Support the Series
St. Gertrude Parish upholds and continues the Roman Catholic Church’s great tradition of patronage to the arts in liturgical settings. The Sacred Music Series, however, is funded largely through individual giving in our freewill offerings, Catholic organizations, businesses, and individuals. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to support and sustain this growing initiative. Contributions may be made at any time, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward welcoming our incredible guest artists from all over the country and abroad.
For more information, please speak with Dr. Christopher Holman, director of music, in person or email him at cholman@stgertrude.org.
