A new concert series is being launched by the University of Sacramento that will blend the beauty of music with the artistic beauty of a church recognized as an architectural masterpiece.

The newly restored Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is the site for the university’s inaugural concert planned for March 24 at 8:30 p.m., featuring the works of eminent classical composers.

“We want to bring people from all walks of life into the beautiful ambiance of the Cathedral to listen to first-class musicians perform,” said Marianne Oaks, director of community development for the University of Sacramento.

The founder and longtime director of the Sacramento Opera Company, Oaks said when she presented her vision of launching a concert series to the president of the University of Sacramento, Legionaries of Christ Father Robert Presutti, it was an automatic go.

Father Presutti said the concerts will mirror the university’s mission to provide students with comprehensive exposure to fine arts and liberal arts programs.

“Music is a universal language that creates the basis for dialogue,” he said. “Exposure to such beautiful expression of thought is very much a part of the humanities.”

Timed to coincide with the liturgical season of Lent, concert musical selections will include “Requiem” by Australian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and his fellow countryman Joseph Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ,” and “St. Matthew Passion” by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

“Some of the most beautiful expressions of faith have been the realities of the life of Christ,” said Father Presutti of the Lenten theme. “And it’s just nice to listen to great music.”

Soloists will include Mezzo-soprano Theresa Cardinale, who has performed for 15 years in front of opera and concert audiences throughout Northern California, and is a featured concert soloist with the San Francisco City Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cruz County Symphony and Napa Valley Chorale.

Also featured in the concert will be soloist Paul Thompson, who has performed extensively with several Bay Area orchestras including the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Opera San Jose and has participated in the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

The conductor, Monroe Kanouse, is known to Sacramento audiences for more than 20 productions he conducted for the Sacramento Opera Association from 1981 to 1998.

Reserved seating for the concert is $25, student tickets are $10 and unreserved seating is without charge. Donations will benefit the Cathedral Square Project assisting Sacramento-area homeless.

A ticketed dinner prior to the concert is planned at the Sacramento Convention Center.

For more information, call Oaks at (916) 443-4761 or e-mail her at moaks@universityofsacramento.org.

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