Attend Mass in Spanish at Christ Cathedral celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe featuring traditional, congregational Spanish Marian hymns, and movements from the famed Mass of the Americas by living, California composer Frank La Rocca sung by the Diocesan Choir of Orange accompanied by the Hazel Wright Organ!
Frank La Rocca, Composer
Frank La Rocca is Composer-in-Residence at the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Liturgy, and teaches a summer course at St. Patrick's Seminary and University.
His Mass of the Americas, has been hailed as "Perhaps the most significant Catholic composition of our lifetimes." (Michael Olbash), and " the best liturgical music for the Mass since Duruflé." (Michael Linton). He is also the recent winner of the ORTUS international choral composition competition, and was awarded a 2018 American Prize for his A Rose In Winter – the life of St. Rita of Cascia, a major work for chorus, orchestra and soloists. A complete list of works can be seen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_La_Rocca
La Rocca’s commissions for the Benedict XVI Institute also include Requiem for the Forgotten, Messe des Malades, Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra and Missa Pange Lingua. He has received grants, commissions and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, the Foundation for Sacred Arts, and many others. The Cappella Records disc of Mass of the Americas debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical charts, as did that of Requiem for the Forgotten/Messe des Malades. Mass of the Americas ranked in the annual Top Ten for 2022.
His CD In This Place (Enharmonic Records) reached the top ten in classical CD sales on Amazon and was a 2013 "Critic's Choice" at American Record Guide.
Trained as an academic modernist during his degree studies at Yale and University of California, Berkeley, La Rocca came to see this approach as a barrier to authentic musical expression, and spent many years in search of a personal creative language. His catalog includes works in all genres, with an emphasis on a cappella sacred choral works. At a recent University of Notre Dame conference, "James MacMillan: The Musical Modes of Mary and the Cross", La Rocca presented a talk entitled, "The Apologetics of Beauty: a Musical Theology of the Incarnation", based upon his choral work O Magnum Mysterium.
He is published by Boosey and Hawkes, Walton Music, Santa Barbara Music and Lumen Verum Music.
Dayris Lira, Soprano
My name is Dayris Lira. I am from Anaheim, California. I recently graduated from Valencia High School in Placentia, CA (Class of 2024) and am currently studying at California State University Fullerton where I am majoring in Business Finance while also pursuing a career in Veterinary Medicine. I am currently a member of the Cathedral Spanish Choir for about 3 years where I regularly sing soprano and cantor during the Spanish masses while having vocal coaching with Hannah Headland.
During my time singing at Christ Cathedral, I have been able to partake in various events such Christ Cathedral’s Christmas at the Cathedral concert, Noche Guadalupana, A Choral Adoration, and much more. I recently started my journey with Christ Cathedral music back in 2022, when I attended the Diocesans Children’s Choir Camp where my interest in joining a cathedral choir sparked after that. Growing up, I was always surrounded by music. In my younger years, I played flute and participated in various musical groups such as concerts and marching bands. Over time, as I began to visit Christ Cathedral more often, my interest shifted towards choral music. It was then that I decided to audition for the Cathedral Spanish Choir, then directed by Anna Betancourt. I was thankfully accepted into the choir unaware of the many opportunities that would be coming my way soon after joining. In the future, I hope to continue having music as a big part of my life by continuing to sing in many choirs around the country. As I start my journey as a Cathedral Choral Scholar, I hope to learn many things that will help me become a better vocalist so that I may continue following the footsteps of my mentors’ and to show future generations the importance of preserving sacred Catholic music tradition in our churches.
Lauren McCaul, Soprano
Lauren McCaul is delighted to serve as Cathedral Music Administrator for Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange, California. Ms. McCaul is a native of Southern California and has been involved in music ministry throughout the Diocese for over 20 years. She was the Administrative Assistant for the Director of Music Ministries at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano and was the Assistant to the Director of Choral Music at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. Ms. McCaul has served on the Music Advisory Board for the Diocese of Orange since 2005 and was a founding member of the Board of Directors for de Angelis Vocal Ensemble.
In addition to her work as Administrator, Ms. McCaul has sung for many years at various parishes in the Diocese of Orange. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Chapman University in 1999 where she performed with the University Choir, University Singers and Chapman Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She has sung as soloist and ensemble member in various choral ensembles throughout Southern California including Zephyr: Voices Unbound, Legacy and de Angelis Vocal Ensemble. Ms McCaul has performed in many of the beautiful churches and music halls in Europe and has toured with a number of ensembles as soprano soloist. Ms. McCaul has been featured as a soloist for various choral works including Mozart’s Sparrow Mass, Schubert’s Mass in G, Finzi’s In Terra Pax, Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Haydn’s Heiligmesse and Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise. She currently sings at Christ Cathedral and for many of the liturgies and events for the Diocese of Orange.
Brian Shank, Marimba & Carillon
Brian Shank is a composer, percussionist, and musicologist.
His music has been performed in the United States and Europe by ensembles like the New Jersey Symphony, Rome Opera Choir, the Juilliard Pre-College Percussion Ensemble, the Caroga Arts Collective, and many others. In 2021 his composition “Come la luna si vede a volta in pieno giorno” entered the permanent collection at Italy’s National Gallery for 21st Century Art in Rome (MAXXI). In 2018 he was a winner of the prestigious Cone Composition Institute.
As a percussionist, Brian specializes in performing electroacoustic works and experimental works. He is a member of the Caroga Arts Collective (CAC), one of the premier un-conducted chamber orchestras in the United States. Brian facilitates the orchestra’s collaborations with diverse artists by producing arrangements for musicians including Judy Collins, Cory Wong, Sierra Ferrell, Cody Fry, Eddie Benjamin, and The Huntertones.
Brian holds degrees from The Juilliard School (B.M. Percussion) and San Francisco Conservatory (M.M. Composition). He is completing a PhD in History and Theory of Music at UC Irvine where his research focuses on 20th-century French compositions and human-center applications of artificial intelligence in music. His composition teachers include Philip Lasser and David Conte, as well as Daniel Druckman, Gordon Gottlieb, Joseph Pereira, and Richard Albagli in percussion.
Brian’s current projects include a string quartet adaptation of his children’s concert for narrator and orchestra, Louie the Loon!, and a double disc album of his “un-metered” solo music for various instruments.
www.brianshank.com
Margeaux Maloney, Violin
Described as “nothing short of dazzling” and playing “with impeccable bowing and intonation” by South Florida Classical Review, Margeaux Maloney is a long-term Acting Section Violin with the San Diego Symphony and holds the Associate Concertmaster position in the Reno Chamber Orchestra. She has performed as a substitute violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony and Charleston Symphony.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ms. Maloney began studying the violin at age five and had her first concerto performance at age nine. Since then, she has received awards and recognitions at regional and national levels. She earned her degrees from The Juilliard School and University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where she studied with Lewis Kaplan and Martin Chalifour, respectively. Ms. Maloney then went on to be a Violin Fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida from 2017-2022.
Ms. Maloney has performed alongside members of the Tokyo String Quartet, Eroica Trio, Dover Quartet, Attacca Quartet and Vega Quartet and has also been coached by members of the Cleveland, Juilliard and Formosa string quartets, and pianists Jerome Lowenthal, Julian Martin and Conor Hanick. She has performed with various contemporary ensembles and several premieres, most recently the US premiere of the new edition of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Matthias Pintscher’s Piano Concerto !Nur for solo piano and ensemble. Ms. Maloney has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at Lincoln Center, Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara, Tokyo Suntory Hall, The Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland and Teatro Metropolitano José Gutiérrez Gómez in Medellín, Colombia.
As a teacher, Ms. Maloney has coached students from the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program and the Iberacademy in Medellín, Colombia. In February 2020 Ms. Maloney had the opportunity to travel to Medellín, Colombia to teach and perform with the young musicians of the Iberacademy and The Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín.
Outside of music, Margeaux Maloney is passionate about photography, dancing, traveling and the great outdoors; she hopes to one day climb Mt. Fuji and hike the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails.
The Diocesan Choir of Orange
“Large choirs (capellae musicae) existing in Basilicas, Cathedrals and other major Churches, which have in the course of centuries earned for themselves high renown by guarding and fostering a musical heritage of inestimable value, should be used for sacred celebrations of a more elaborate kind” - Musicam Sacram
Representing over 30 Parishes, the Diocesan Choir of Orange, made up of volunteer singers from parishes all around the Diocese, sings for major Episcopal Liturgies particular to the Cathedral such as Chrism Mass, Ordinations, an annual Christmas Concert, and other special liturgies throughout the year.
Dr. Emma Whitten, Organ
Dr. Emma Whitten is an accomplished organist and church musician based in Southern California. Emma serves as Associate Organist at Christ Cathedral, home of the Hazel Wright Organ, and as Director of Music at Community Church Congregational in Corona del Mar. In Fall 2022, she joined the faculty of Concordia University in Irvine, where she currently serves as Senior Adjunct Professor of Organ and Church Music, teaching courses in music history, church music, and organ performance.
Emma Whitten is represented by Seven Eight Artists.