"Magnificat" Concert for the Month of the Rosary｜Macao Catholic Culture Association

October is the month of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Catholic Church, a month especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. During this month, the Church encourages the faithful to recite the Rosary and meditate on the life and mystery of Christ in order to understand the role of Mary in the plan of salvation. This October, the Associação Católica Cultural de Macau is honored to invite Vox Antiqua, a renownedchoir from Hong Kong specialising in sacred music, to perform in Macao for the “Magnificat” Concert for the Month of the Rosary, presenting a number of choral and organ works dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, including Antonio Vivaldi's setting of the Magnificat, the canticle that Mary herself proclaimed. Through sacred music, allowing the audiences to have a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Month of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Virgin’s passion for God.

This project is sponsored by the Cultural Development Fund of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.

Magnificat

Concert for the Month of the Rosary

Organizer: Macao Catholic Culture Association

Choir: Vox Antiqua

Conductor Director of Music: Andrew LEUNG

Organist, Associate Director of Music: Chere KO

Organist, Organ Scholar: Kenneth MA

PROGRAMME

Salve Regina Plainchant, Mode V

Ave Maria Franz Biebl (1906-2001)

A Hymn to the Virgin Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Le Tombeau de Duruflé: 3. Ave Maria David Briggs (b. 1962)

Stabat Mater Dolorosa Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (1590-1664)

Ave Maris Stella Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)

Ave Maria Doming Lam (1926-2023)

Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

(Fuge über das Magnificat), BWV 733

Magnificat, RV 610 Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

1. Magnificat

2. Et exultavit

3. Et misericordia

4. Fecit potentiam

5. Deposuit potentes de sede

6. Esurientes implevit bonis

7. Suscepit Israel

8. Sicut locutus est

9. Gloria Patri

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Date

October 5, 2024 (Saturday)

Venue

St Joseph's Seminary Church (Rua do Seminário Entrance)

Time

17:00 (Free Entrance)

Vox Antiqua

Vox Antiqua (VA), meaning “the antique voice”, is a liturgical choir based in the city of Hong Kong. The choir was founded in October 2017 by Andrew Leung, along with a group of Catholic music enthusiasts.

The mission of VA is to sing church music to its highest standard. The choir is especially passionate in singing sacred choral music written in the Western “Classical” style, both old and new. VA is committed to the pursuit of musical excellence both inside and outside of the liturgy.

VA takes residence at St. Joseph’s Church in Central. The choir has been invited to sing for various liturgies, as well as non-liturgical performances, at over forty churches in Hong Kong and Macau. The choir was also featured in the inaugural season of the Hong Kong Hymnos Festival in 2021, and has taken a central role again in the 2022 and 2023 Festival. Other recent projects of the choir include the world premiere of Andrew Leung’s Requiem for All Souls in 2021 and the Hong Kong premiere of Josef Rheinberger’s Requiem in D, Op. 194 in 2020. In 2019, VA collaborated with Babεl, a Canadian choir, in a “Sacred Music Exchange” programme which includes a series of workshops and concerts in Hong Kong and Macau. Most recently, VA collaborated with the Hong Kong Diocesan Audio and Visual Centre on an online video series bringing sacred choral music and hymns to nearly one hundred thousand viewers.

ANDREW LEUNG — Conductor, Director of Music

Andrew LEUNG serves as the Choirmaster of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Macau and the Diocesan Director of Sacred Music. He is the founding director of the Cathedral Schola of Macau and the music director of the Coro Diocesano de Macau. He has previously held similar positions at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of China Church in Hong Kong, and St. Pius X Catholic Church in Atlanta, USA.

Andrew received his training in sacred music from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, USA, where he studied vocal performance, organ, conducting and Gregorian chant. Upon his return to Hong Kong in 2017, Andrew founded Vox Antiqua, a choir specializing in sacred choral music. The group have sung in over forty churches under his direction in the past few years. Since 2018, he has also been serving as the Musical Director of the Cecilian Singers, one of the oldest choirs in Hong Kong.

Passionate in the promotion of church music, Andrew is currently serving as a board member of the Hong Kong Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the Hong Kong Hymnos Festival. He is also the artistic director of the annual Musical Celebration in honour of the Pope organized by the Holy See Study Mission in Hong Kong.

As a baritone, Andrew enjoys singing as a soloist and as a chorister, performing with groups like the Tallis Vocalis and Die Konzertisten. Andrew is currently an artist and the vocal coach at the Paul Phoenix Academy, where he works with the former tenor of the King's Singers and the two-time Grammy Award winner.

CHERE KO — Organist, Associate Director of Music

Born in Hong Kong. Chere KO graduated from the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music (U.K.). She was the first female recipient of The Flentrop Scholarship, which enabled a residency at the Flentrop Orgelbouw and further studies with renowned Dutch organists. Chere was the recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award (Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University) and the John R. Rodland Memorial Organ Competition (Third Prize). She has given recitals at notable venues such as Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Portland, OR), St. Mark’s Cathedral (Seattle), St. George's (Hanover Square, London), Central Synagogue (NYC), Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine (NYC). She also participated in the Pipedreams broadcast - Pipedreams Live – Indiana University II!

Chere is a doctoral candidate at the Jacobs School of Music. Her past teachers include Janette Fishell (Indiana University) and David Briggs (Artist-in-Residence at St. John the Divine). Chere is the associate director of music of Vox Antiqua.

KENNETH MA — Organist, Organ Scholar

Kenneth MA, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Economics and Finance in his second year, majoring in Economics and Finance, Entrepreneurship, Design and Innovation (EDI) and Music has completed his studies at St Joseph's College and St Joseph's Primary School.

Under the guidance of esteemed teachers Dr. Mary Wu and Mr. Peter Fan, he attained the Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) with distinction in piano performance in 2019.

Kenneth is a rising star in conducting. He is an apprentice of Mr. Angus Lee, Mr. Felix Yeung, Mr. Sanders Lau, Dr. Jerome Hoberman in conducting. In the past year of being the choirmaster of the University Choir, CA, HKU, notable events include premiering Dvorak Mass in D in Hong Kong, capturing the Champion in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival Category N820 and Silver Award in the Singapore International Choral Festival. After completing his term of office with the University Choir, he founded Luff Chorus, which had its debut performance in Chung Chi Chapel, CUHK in March 2024. He also is active in the choral community and is the assistant conductor or the accompanist for the Hong Kong Bach Choir, the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir, the Cecilian Singers, Vox Antiqua and the Hong Kong University Alumni Association Choir.

Download Program Book

“Magnificat” Successfully Performed