Frank La Rocca and James Matthew Wilson, our composer and poet-in-residence respectively, team up to create a gorgeous new setting of the 6th century Akathist Hymn (still widely chanted in Eastern Orthodoxy, but less well-known to Roman Catholics). Hear Mary’s lovely ancient titles in a new musical setting.
Commissioned and premiered in 2024, this 2025 performance, conducted by Steven Ottományi, took place at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Pasadena, California, where Ottományi serves as Music Director. It was presented at one of Benedict XVI Institute’s Very Marian Advent Prayer Services, a service of prayer and sacred music centered on a simple but powerful idea: waiting with Mary through the last difficult month of her pregnancy for the birth of her Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
To learn more about Frank La Rocca’s work, visit his website.
To learn more about James Matthew Wilson’s work, visit his website.
The composer gratefully acknowledges Mr. and Mrs. James Hudon for their support of this work. Please pray for their intentions, and those of all the Hudon Family.
Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone J.C.D.
Frank La Rocca Ph.D. (Composer-in-Residence)
Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone J.C.D.
Frank La Rocca Ph.D. (Composer-in-Residence)
