Saint Mary's Newsroom
Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Kabara Institute engages with local community
The Kabara Institute once again participated as a sponsor for Social Ice in Rochester and had the Saint Mary’s logo on the Wall of Ice. Pictured at Social Ice are Christine Beech, director for the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies; Molly Bigelow, Rochester Center enrollment counselor; and Kate Utterback, associate director, Cascade Meadow.
Delta Epsilon Sigma inducts new members
Several individuals were recently inducted into Delta Epsilon Sigma, a national scholastic honor society for students, faculty, and alumni of colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition. It was founded in 1939 to recognize academic accomplishments to foster scholarly activities and to encourage a sense of intellectual community among its members. To be eligible for membership in the Society, candidates must be persons who have a record of outstanding academic accomplishment, who have shown dedication to intellectual activity, and who have accepted their responsibility of service to others.
New inductees included: Nicole Bartosz, Debra Blissenbach, Dr. Jimmy Bickerstaff, Ben Borash, Erin Budin, Kayla Burck, Father James Burns, Samantha Chaffee, Jordan Elwood, Laura Gagnon, Erin Hettinger, Jacob Kramer, Kristjan Meitz, Mia Ojczyk, Claire Patterson, Gabriella Pederson, Michele Remer, Natalie Ryan, Elliott Rysavy, Marcella Schumacher, Emily Seykora, Gabrielle Shupe, Emilie Steingraeber, Ashley Tangang, and Delaney Wolf.
Saint Mary’s Concert Band to perform commissioned piece
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Concert Band will present the world-premiere performance of the composition “Nigun Prophecy” at their upcoming spring concert on Sunday, March 10, at 3 p.m. in the Page Theatre.
“Nigun Prophecy” was written by award-winning American composer David Avshalomov as part of the Kaplan Commission Project at Saint Mary’s.
The Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation gave Saint Mary’s a significant financial gift 20 years ago for the purpose of building a Jewish-Christian dialogue and providing means for students to directly interact with Jewish religion and culture. Commissioned work is typically based on Jewish melodic material, either folk or religious sources.
Approximately every other year since 2000, Dr. Janet Heukeshoven of the Saint Mary’s Music Department and the Saint Mary’s Concert Band have commissioned a new work through a competitive application process. This year’s piece incorporates the human voice (band members sing as well as play) and is based on traditional Jewish liturgical melodies.
Avshalomov is a distinguished third-generation classical composer and orchestral conductor, and an accomplished vocalist. He was born in New York City, grew up in Oregon, and is now living in California. He represents a musical lineage whose story stretches from the Caucasus to Siberia, through China, to the U.S. He earned degrees in music from Harvard and in orchestral conducting from the University of Washington, with further conducting studies at Peabody, Aspen, and Tanglewood. He has received commissions from such ensembles as the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Odyssea Chorus of Lisbon, Los Angeles Flute Orchestra, LA Clarinet Orchestra, Westwood United Methodist Church (LA), the Anglican Chorale of Southern California, and Camerata Singers of Long beach. His compositions are performed across the U.S., increasingly in Europe, and in Russia. He has earned composition grants from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the American Composer’s Forum, and the Durfee Foundation.
The March 10 concert will also feature works from different musical traditions, including French, Irish, Italian, Russian, and American, which fits the theme of Music In Our Schools Month of All Music All People.
Surrounding the premiere concert, Avshalomov will spend a week in residency at Saint Mary’s, during which he will visit student classrooms and share information about the commissioned piece and music composition.
Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. They can be purchased at pagetheatre.org or by calling the Page Theatre box office at 507-457-1715 (noon to 6 p.m., weekdays).
For more information, contact Heukeshoven at 507-457-1675 or jheukesh@smumn.edu. You can learn more about Avshalomov at davidavshalomov.com.
Moore and Foley interviewed on Cardinals’ Nest
Greg Moore, women’s hockey head coach, and David Foley, women’s basketball head coach, were recently featured in an episode of Cardinals’ Nest, a TV program that airs on Winona cable access HBC TV-25. Cardinals’ Nest is cohosted by Donny Nadeau, sports information director, and Dean Beckman, Communication Department chair and faculty athletic representative.
Watch the interviews:
Student musicians perform with Minnesota Intercollegiate Honor Band
Three talented Saint Mary’s musicians were selected to perform with the Minnesota Intercollegiate Honor Band last week at the Minnesota Music Educator’s Association (MMEA) conference in Minneapolis.
Clarinetist Mitch Modic and percussionists Maura Michener and Daniel Note performed with other select collegiate musicians on Feb. 16. The honor band was directed by retired director of the U.S. Army Band, Colonel Timothy Holtan.
Heukeshoven’s new composition to be premiered internationally
WINONA, Minn. — A new composition by A. Eric Heukeshoven of the Saint Mary’s University Department of Music will receive both international and national premieres in the coming weeks. The piece, titled “Father Forgive,” focuses on reconciliation and forgiveness.
A. Eric Heukeshoven
The work for the choir and flute is based on the “Coventry Litany of Reconciliation,” written by Canon Joseph Poole in 1958. The text was inspired by a relentless bombing raid on the city of Coventry, England, and its famous cathedral on Nov. 14, 1940. In the days that followed, two enduring symbols emerged from the rubble: two charred roof beams which had fallen in the shape of a cross were bound and placed at the site of the ruined alter, and three medieval roof nails were also formed into a cross, which would become the original Cross of Nails.
Shortly after, the words “Father Forgive” — deliberately neutral in content — were inscribed on the wall of the ruined chancel. Provost Dick Howard made a commitment not to seek revenge, but to strive for forgiveness and reconciliation with those responsible.
Heukeshoven said he first read the “Coventry Litany of Reconciliation” while visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp near Munich, Germany, last summer. After reading, he knew he wanted to set the words to music.
The Saint Mary’s University Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, will premiere the new music on their 2019 international tour of Germany and Belgium in late February and early March. Dr. Janet Heukeshoven of the Saint Mary’s Music Department will accompany the choir on flute.
Local audiences can attend the U.S. premiere at the group’s homecoming concert on Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels (1155 W. Wabasha St.). The concert is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact A. Eric Heukeshoven at 507-457-7292 or eheukesh@smumn.edu.
Saint Mary’s in the news
Connecting in faith at World Youth Day
They were just 15 in a crowd of more than 500,000 gathered in Panama City this past January for World Youth Day.
Although relatively small in number, the 15 Saint Mary’s University attendees (comprised of students, staff, and alumni) had an extraordinary emotional and faith-filled experience. Not only did they have the opportunity to see Pope Francis and travel to Panama City, they also had the reaffirming opportunity to encounter their worldwide Catholic community of peers.
Saint Mary’s sophomore education major Brianna Jacobson said that, for her, World Youth Day was a chance to grow in her faith and experience other cultures.
“Being surrounded by so many different people made me think, ‘Yes, God is real because there are so many people who believe.’ And not all of them were Catholic,” said Jacobson, a Sycamore, Ill., native who is also a peer minister on campus.
Open to all young people, World Youth Day is an opportunity to experience the universality of the church and share in the hope of many who want to commit themselves to Jesus Christ. The week-long event is a unique way to deepen one’s faith through prayer and sacraments together with others from around the world who share the same interests and ambitions. This worldwide gathering is typically celebrated every three years in a different country.
Each day was packed with festival programming and events, including encounters with Pope Francis, which Jacobson said was a highlight for her.
“We were in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds,” she said. “He had just given a talk to the youth and then drove right by us in his popemobile. Here we were 15 feet away from the pope. He goes by so fast. It was surreal. We were hugging and crying.”
Another trip highlight occurred during one of Pope Francis’ presentations as he told attendees that you have to let youth grow and can’t cut them down; they need to sprout — which is the exact theme of a Bible study group she leads on campus called Sprout. “During that moment, I got the chills all over! It was crazy,” she said.
This wasn’t Saint Mary’s junior Kamila Kuchta’s first World Youth Day and probably won’t be her last. She’s already looking into the next World Youth Day 2022 in Portugal.
“Before coming to Saint Mary’s, I attended World Youth Day in Poland, which is where my family is from and many family members still live,” said Kuchta, a Woodbury, Minn., native who is involved in Campus Ministry and Student Activities at Saint Mary’s. “My faith is very important to me, so I knew I wanted to go back to World Youth Day if I had the chance.”
A memorable part of World Youth Day for Kuchta was the International Lasallian World Youth Encounter that took place. The gathering brought together Lasallians from Panama, France, Mexico, Nicaragua, Columbia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, the United States, and more for shared community and association.
“Before coming to Saint Mary’s, I didn’t know what it meant to be Lasallian. I knew Saint Mary’s was a Catholic university, but Lasallian was a new thing to me,” said Kuchta. “I’ve learned a lot about it through my years at Saint Mary’s, but that gathering really stood out to me. We believe in the teachings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle. It was cool to be there with people from other countries and see that they pray the same prayers we do, just in their respective languages. I got to see that there are Lasallians all over the world.”
Kuchta said she hopes to bring back the same fire, energy, and pure happiness experienced every day of the event.
“It’s hard when you’re back in classes and you have so many responsibilities … I hope I can inspire others to hear the word of God,” she said. “And keep the friendships that were made on the trip alive.”
Kuchta is active in her faith and on campus. She has also participated and led TEC (Together Encountering Christ) retreats, now called LIFT (Lasallians in Faith Together) retreats, and has been on S.O.U.L. (Serving Others United in Love) trips with Saint Mary’s.
“As youth, now is the perfect time to live out our faith,” she said.
While at World Youth Day, the Saint Mary’s group stayed with host families, which both students agreed was a good way to immerse themselves into another culture.
Jacobson, who is also a Spanish minor, said she was able practice using her Spanish speaking skills, communicating with and even translating for others from different countries.
“Experiencing different cultures is important,” Jacobson said. ““You need to go and experience new things. If you stay in one place your whole life, you might be missing out on meeting your best friends or people from different countries … and on creating new memories.”
Learn more about World Youth Day.
The Saint Mary’s group poses with the bishop of Bangued in the Philippines.
Top photo caption: The Saint Mary’s group poses in front of a statue of Saint John Baptist de La Salle at Colegio De La Salle, the Lasallian High School in Panama City.
Twin Cities, Apple Valley, Rochester locations closing at 4 p.m.
The Saint Mary’s University Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) Twin Cities Campus, Apply Valley Center, and Rochester Center at Cascade Meadow will close at 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, Feb. 20, due to extreme weather conditions; there will be no evening classes in these locations.
Essential employees will be contacted individually by their supervisor to determine the need to report for work. When traveling, please take necessary safety precautions.
The Saint Mary’s Winona Campus remains open.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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