From Vienna to St. Louis

Recently the famed Vienna Boys Choir performed at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis the King in St. Louis. Among the selections on the program was the "Credo", from the Gospel Mass by Robert Ray. It was announced that this work was performed in homage to the contributions made by American composers. What seemed to escape the attention of far too many listeners, including (perhaps understandably) the performers themselves, was the fact that composer Robert Ray resides in St. Louis, and lived probably less than three miles from the Basilica.

After some rapid notifications and phone calls, Mr. Ray was contacted and was able to attend the performance at the Basilica the following evening, where he was recognized and introduced to the audience and performers. If you think about it, it was an historic moment that a local composer was able to join the ranks of such luminaries as Haydn, Schubert, Mozart and others, and have his music performed by such a venerable institution as the Vienna Boys Choir.

This goes to show the power of music to unite us all. We speak much about diversity, yet on this particular program various strands of diversity were grafted to a central stem to produce an ever-growing bloom. It also serves as a reminder that we should always be aware of the heroes in our midst.