Seat of Wisdom College Ecclesiastical Schola choir performs at St. Hedwig’s Parish

On Monday, December 3 Seat of Wisdom College (SWC) presented reflections and readings in the spirit of Advent at St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church in Barry’s Bay. Students from the Ecclesiastical Schola choir performed some of their in-class work, under the direction of the  college’s new music professor, Dr Richard Heinzle, for an audience of about one hundred people.

Many of the students coming to Barry’s Bay from all over Canada and the USA arrive with years of previous musical experience. Over a third of the students in the sacred music program have had some training in either voice or piano and according to Dr. Heinzle, “They are a joy to direct and teach.” He said, “There’s a great ease in creating beautiful music with such a talented group of people.”

Soprano section of Ecclesiastical Schola choir

Originally from Austria, Dr. Heinzle grew up near the border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein and is currently in his first year at SWC as the Director of the sacred music program. He has been instrumental in acquiring many new donations including six new practice pianos, including a concert grand and a baby grand. The college relies heavily on donations to function in the academically remote Barry’s Bay Area, without access to the infrastructure that many larger universities enjoy. When asked about how he chose the musical selections for the Monday night performance, Dr. Heinzle said,

Because we don’t have access to a lot of resources that a larger school would have, we rely heavily on public domain for our choral selections.

I chose Prope est Dominus by Josef Rheinberger because I find this piece to be beautiful and intimate, and just challenging enough. It is also a personal favourite due to the fact that Rheinberger is from Liechtenstein and as a child I could walk to where he wrote these pieces.

From left: Dr. Heinzle plays the organ as he directs Ecclesiastical Schola choir; student Geneva Ulmer from Ohio, USA does the readings between choral reflections.

Dr. Heinzle is a welcome addition and academic asset to the college community and he expressed his vision of where he’d like to see the SWC sacred music program in future years.

Our goal here in the music program at Seat of Wisdom College is to start and perfect our work here in Barry’s Bay, but who knows where we go from here? Travel as a choral group through Ontario, or maybe across Canada? Hopefully we will also be able to take our work to Europe!

Now that the work on the Advent Meditations has concluded, the students will begin working with Dr Heinzle on Fauré’s Requiem, which will be performed at St. Hedwig’s on March 23, 2019, with a second performance planned in Peterborough at a location to be determined on Sunday, March 24, 2019.

Photos: Timothy J. Baklinski