Cultural Arts
Recording artist to present concert
'Christmas at the Abbey' comes Friday
Friday,
November 30, 2007
Kelli Moore
The walls of Benet Hall at St. Joseph Abbey in Covington will resonate with the joyful sounds of Christmas when New Orleans-based Catholic recording artist Trish Foti Genco performs in concert Friday.
The concert, "Christmas at the Abbey," will begin at 7:30 p.m., and the public is invited to attend. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to St. Joseph Abbey for the renovation of Benet Hall.
The concert will showcase songs and music on Genco's latest album, "In His Presence . . . the Gift of Christmas." Produced partly in Nashville, Tenn., the CD was released in November and includes both classic and contemporary Christmas favorites, as well as some New Orleans jazz sounds.
"We did a Christmas CD because the people of New Orleans expressed (to us) that's what they wanted," Genco said. "We're excited about it."
A longtime singer who serves as music director for Immaculate Conception Church in New Orleans and cantor for St. Louis Cathedral, Genco said she was drawn to the idea of supporting Benet Hall through a concert to highlight the need for quality performing venues in the greater New Orleans area, particularly north of Lake Pontchartrain.
"We need venues for area musicians," she said. "I think (Benet Hall) is an important cultural center for the north shore."
Constructed in 1961 as a place for seminarians to perform as part of their formation process, the 610-seat venue has also been used for years by the local community for dance, musical and theatrical performances.
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According to Benet Hall's theater manager, Kit Friedrichs-Baumann, renovation is taking place in stages, while the theater continues to be in use.
She said visitors to Benet Hall on Friday can enjoy the benefits of a new HVAC system that was recently installed, as well as a new light-control system. Other upgrades planned for the future include seat restoration; new house and stage flooring; and a new sound, lighting and rigging system.
Tickets to "Christmas at the Abbey" may be purchased in advance through Friedrichs-Baumann, or at the door before the performance. The doors will open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for senior citizens, students and children. St. Joseph Abbey is located at 75376 River Road in Covington. To purchase tickets or obtain more information, call Friedrichs-Baumann at 867-2233.
For more information about Genco's music, visit
www.tfotigenco.com.
. . . . . . .
Kelli Moore covers community cultural arts in western St. Tammany. Send news about community art and music events and people to her at pnkmoore@bellsouth.net or 1001 N. U.S. 190, Covington, LA 70433.
Published on NOLA.com Friday, November 30, 2007 3:01 p.m.
Published in The Times-Picayune Sunday, December 2, 2007
Also performing in the concert will be two members of the St. Louis Cathedral Boychoir, Carl Helmers and Bryton Gunther, as well as members of the teen choir of St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington, under the direction of Mary Beth Russell. Members of the St. Peter Teen Choir are: Marybelle Bates, Jenny Bravo, Leah Couvillon, Kevin Coyne, Jacques Damare, Alexandra Doucet, Karista Filopoulos, L.A. Lam, Sarah Mariano, Alexandra Mejia, Gina Mejia, Anneliese Moore, Bradley Pregeant and Meagan Robert.
Together with Genco and her team of musicians, the concert promises to be one of Christmas cheer and inspiration.
Rather than using professional musicians furnished by the Nashville producer, Genco opted to record her Christmas CD using five New Orleans area musicians. All of them, she said, are lifelong friends who enjoy successful professional musical careers locally. These musicians, who will join her onstage at the Abbey concert, include pianist Dreux Montegut, director of music at St. Louis Cathedral; Anne Chabreck, of the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, on flute; Karen Ray, of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, on cello; and Jeremy Brekke, of Loyola University, and Vance Woolf, of the LPO, on trumpets.
Genco said she chose to collaborate with local musicians on her Christmas CD "to raise awareness" around the nation that there are good, professional musicians who have remained in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, and "as a city we need to support them."
She said many of the national critical reviews she's read since her CD was released last month indicate a lack of awareness nationwide of the musical talent still available in New Orleans.
"They're shocked that we still have great musicians in the area," Genco said.
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