STEUBENVILLE, OH— Former Pittsburgh City Council president Theresa Kail Smith presented Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Schola Cantorum Franciscana and Women’s Choir, and the choirs’ director, Dr. Vincent Rone, adjunct professor of sacred music, with an official city proclamation for artistic excellence. The proclamation also resolved to have May 3, 2024, declared “Franciscan Day” in the city of Pittsburgh.

According to the proclamation, this honor recognizes Rone and Franciscan University’s sacred music choirs “for their service of communicating the Word of God through beautiful sacred music.”

Smith made the presentation following the final performance of Franciscan University’s Schola Cantorum Franciscana’s sacred music concert “The God Bearer” on Friday, May 3. The performance was held at Holy Trinity Church of Archangel Gabriel Parish in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, where Rone also serves as director of music. This year’s audience of 155 was almost four times as large as last year’s, reflecting the growing awareness and appreciation for Franciscan University’s sacred music choirs’ excellence under Rone’s direction.

“In Franciscan University’s Sacred Music Department, we are committed to glorifying God through music, the preeminent art of the Church,” said Rone. “We work each day to offer the highest degree of music in thanksgiving and praise. We hope the Schola Cantorum, Women’s Choir, and all our sacred music endeavors raise awareness of the importance of art at Franciscan, and the music we provide invites us all to contemplate more deeply Christ and his Church through beauty.”

“The God Bearer” featured a selection of sacred choral music framed through four seasonal hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Alma Redemptoris Mater for Advent, Ave Regina Caelorum for Candlemas, Regina Caeli for Easter, and Salve Regina for Pentecost. It included works by 20th- and 21st-century composers including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Benjamin Britten, and Maurice Duruflé.

Luke Mayernik, composer of “Mary the Dawn” and winner of the VOCES8 composition competition, was also in attendance. Having received a contract with ECM publishing for his musical compositions, he plans to dedicate his soon-to-be-published compositions to Rone and members of the Schola Cantorum Franciscana of Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Following the concert, the Schola received invitations to provide workshops and perform at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School in Pittsburgh, as well as the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and to have “The God Bearer” performance aired on St. Gabriel Radio.

To watch the recorded livestream from the April 26 performance of “The God Bearer” in Franciscan University’s Christ the King chapel, please visit Schola-Cantorum-The-God-Bearer.