Dorian Theme and Variation

In the late 1960s one of our sisters who was a young composer/musician getting her masters degree, wrote a symphony. She heard it performed once out in Indiana. None of us were there.

Thirty years later, in the mid-90s, we arranged for a local orchestra to play that symphony along with a few of her hymns sung by a small chorus of our sisters. It was a glorious night as we marveled at the talent it must have taken to produce such a masterpiece--which we all loved, by the way.

Since then Sr. Mary David has passed away, but the local conductor that answered our request to showcase her work here in Erie, Bruce Morton Wright of the Erie Chamber Orchestra, continues to produce top notch orchestral programs for our city. Since 1983 he and the Sisters of St. Joseph have combined each summer to offer two free outdoor concerts (one classical and one pops) on the large outdoor patio and lawn of Villa Maria Academy on Erie's west side.

This year the concerts were this past weekend and throughout the evening memories of the night we first heard Sr. Mary David's work played by many of these same musicians came flooding back. Here's what it looked like from our view: pre and post sunset!