An Evening for Artists with Frank La Rocca at St. Mark's in Venice (CA)!

Meet Frank La Rocca at our first Evening for Artists and Art Lovers in SoCal!

Dear Friends and Soon-to-Be Friends:

Join us March 2 for our very first Evening for Artists and Art Lovers at St. Mark's in Venice, CA.

Two gifted composers, Benedict XVI Institute's own Frank La Rocca, the renowned composer of The Mass of the Americas and Fr. Angelus Echenverry will share audio/video clips of each other's work and discuss it with each other--and then with you!

We launched these evenings, after our enormously successful first Retreat for Artists and Art Lovers at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, because we found that Catholic artists are craving community and the knowledge that Catholics care about their hethework. So whether you yourself are a Catholic creative, or "merely" the lover of the arts for whom the artist creates, your presence at this event matters. This is the start of something new, a home for Catholic artists in SoCal, the launch of a nationwide network for the Benedict XVI Institute.

We are so grateful to the pastor of St. Mark's, Father Albert van der Woerd, and to St. Mark's Deacon Charlie Echeverry for partnering for this event.

If you love sacred music, come. If you love creative art in any form, come. If you are an artist your self, come and meet your fellow artists at the launch of this new partnership between St. Mark's and the Benedict XVI Institute.

Please come and invite your friends to form a new fellowship of Creative Catholics in Southern California.

After this extraordinary experience, we will break bread together. Usually this is a meal I cook with my own hands. A donation of $25 or more helps cover our expenses for this home-cooked meal, but the gift of your presence and your prayers is our first wish for and from you.

I look forward to seeing many of you again and meeting some of you!

Warmly,

Maggie

Maggie Gallagher, Executive Director, BenedictInstitute.org

About Frank La Rocca

Frank La Rocca is Composer-in-Residence at the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Liturgy. Frank, an award-winning classical music composer, has released two #hit recordings on the Billboard chart for traditional classical music since joining the Benedict XVI Institute: the Mass of the Americas and the Requiem for the Forgotten/Messe Des Malades: Honoring Our Lady of Lourdes, both with Cappella Records. He is the composer of three other major Masses for the Benedict XVI Institute including a Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra which will be celebrated by Archbishop Cordileone in honor of the 250th founding of San Francisco at Mission Dolores in 2026, and a forthcoming Requiem Mass for Pope Benedict XVI.

His other work for Benedict XVI Institute includes two hymns for the Martyrs of Communism and a new Advent Carol: While All the Earth in Darkness Sleeps (all with Benedict XVI Institute's poet-in-residence, James Matthew Wilson).

His iconic Mass of the Americas has been hailed as "Perhaps the most significant Catholic composition of our lifetimes." (Dr. Michael Olbash), and " a cornerstone of modern liturgical composition." (Mark Nowakowski) and "The best piece of liturgical music for the Mass since Duruflé." (Michael LInton).

FrankLaRocca.com

About Fr. Angelus Echeverry

Angelus Echeverry is a composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. His music is oriented toward and inspired by the sacred mysteries of God. Musical styles and form range from chamber to large-scale works; from art songs, litanies and hymns, to devotional, liturgical and concert works. Some compositional influences include: Hildegard of Bingen, Victoria, Bach, Messiaen, Part, Penderecki, among others. Angelus is a Roman Catholic Benedictine Priest-Monk from St Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, California, U.S.A.

His choral music has been performed notably at St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (by the former Paulist Choristers of California, now the National Children's Chorus), at St Anne's Church in Jerusalem, and at the unSUNg concert series at St Mark's Episcopal Church in Glendale, California as well as in other local churches in the greater Los Angeles area.

Currently, Angelus serves as Choir Master, Cantor, and Organist at the monastery and continues to showcase his works locally. He is presently working on a new concert mass, “Missa Somnii Divini" (The Mass of the Divine Dream) for String Orchestra, Organ and Mixed Choir and also sketching out plans for two major recording projects: 1) a collection of his concert choral works 2) a multi-media package featuring: The Chanted Mysteries of the Rosary (a entirely-sung rosary for Cantor, Coloratura Soprano, Mixed Choir, Organ, Clarinet, Trumpets, Hand Chimes, and Percussion).

AngelusEcheverry.com

About St. Mark's Pastor Fr. Albert van der Woerd

Father Albert van der Woerd (1960) is a native of the Netherlands and a graduate of the Rotterdam Conservatory and Saint John Seminary, Camarillo. He holds advanced degrees in Music Education, Divinity, and Spiritual Theology. Ordained by Archbishop Gomez in 2016, his first assignment was as Associate Pastor at the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura.

In July 2019, he was appointed Administrator of St. Mark and was installed as Pastor on July 10, 2021, by Bishop Edward Clark. He has started energetically to help unlock Saint Mark's great potential for the future, growing as an authentic and diverse Catholic community. Living in the United States since 2009, Fr. Albert perfected the art of baking Flemish fries with American potatoes and the Dutch delicacy of Stroopwafels using ingredients from Californian soil. If you are early on campus, you can hear him practicing Beethoven Sonatas on the piano or his Jazz improvisations on the sax. His day of reflection is on Monday.

About Deacon Charlie Echeverry

Deacon Charlie, deacon assigned to St. Mark's parish, reaches and speaks throughout the country and is the host of LIVING THE CALL a podcast at the intersection of faith & cultural influence. He’s been featured on EWTN, The Lila Rose Podcast, America Magazine, OSV, Relevant Radio, Catholic Answers Live and Guadalupe Radio among others.His ministerial and professional focus is Arts & Media and he is Vice Chair Emeritus of Catholic Answers, and sits on the boards of the Catholic Association for Latino Leadership; Guadalupe Radio; Sent Ventures and is Chairman of SOFESA, a non-profit that accompanies homeless children and their families.

In his professional life, Deacon Charlie is founder and Managing Director of Black//Brown an LA-based strategic advisory purpose-built to help business leaders turn diversity into a revenue engine. Before launching his own company, Charlie was Chief Revenue & Partnerships Officer at mitú, a company which revolutionized Hispanic media, where he led all aspects of revenue generation.

Prior to mitú, Charlie was Executive Vice President for Univision Communications, the largest Spanish-language media company in the US. He oversaw the digital advertising businesses both nationally and locally in over 70 markets. Prior to joining Univision, Charlie was Vice President at The Walt Disney Internet Group, where he focused on emerging markets & platforms and managed the company’s sales offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

Charlie serves on a variety of non-profit boards, is an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church and is a natural father, adoptive father, Godfather, stepfather, foster father, sponsor father, father-in-law and grandfather! He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his family and English bulldogs, Chulo & Duke.

Learn more about his ministries at DeaconCharlie.com

Host or Publisher Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music & Divine Worship