SHELTON—Hundreds of parishioners and friends filled St. Joseph Church in Shelton for “A Night with Mozart,” the St. Joseph Spring Concert held in honor of St. Joseph the Worker. Father Michael Dogali, St. Joseph’s pastor, said it was a night of joy and celebration with proceeds directed toward ongoing maintenance of the church organ and the parish’s music program.
“Day by day we strive to become a community built on deep friendship and charity, so that it can be considered a true family living in Christian joy,” said Father Dogali.
Violinist Darwin Shen of Stamford highlighted the program, which featured Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik ((Serenade No. 13) and his Quintet in A major for Clarinet and Strings.
During the memorable evening, Chen was accompanied by violinist Juliana Sharp, violist Kathy Kozinski, cellist Tom Hudson and clarinetist Nicholas Lewis.
Chen said the highlight of the evening for him was the duet with clarinetist Nicholas Lewis, who has played with many national symphony orchestras and also holds a master of divinity degree from Yale.
“I look forward to playing with Nicholas. I don’t often get a chance to play such wonderful music, and to do that with a friend was a real high point for us and for the audience,” he said, noting that Mozart’s music is written at the deepest level.
“The only way to look at Mozart’s genius is from above,” Chen says. “No one can write this much, this beautifully and at that young an age with that kind of connection to the human soul without having been touched from above.”
Chen, who has played in other parishes, including a recent performance at St. Pius X in Fairfield, says that churches are often “sonically perfect” venues for chamber music.
“People don’t realize that some of the ‘classical’ music that we play was originally written for the Church. Bach and Mozart both composed for the Church.”
The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker is celebrated on May 1st each year. The title was given to St. Joseph, the patron of carpenters, builders and all workers, by Pope Pius XII in 1955. St. Joseph is also patron saint of the universal Church of Christ on earth and patron saint of the dying, marriages, fatherhood, families, house sales and finances. He is also an excellent example of humility and obedience to the calling of God in his life.
Click below to watch part of the concert video at St. Joseph, Shelton.
