Mahler's First: A powerful bond between the Ninth Ward and Wall Street

Saturday afternoon (July 30) we attended an exhilarating performance of Gustav Mahler's First Symphony at Trinity Church. A large and excellent orchestra under the direction of Trinity Choir member James Blachly donated their time (two full days of rehearsal in addition to the performance) and their lovingly cultivated musical talents to raise money (and awareness) for a unique ministry of Trinity Church in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Four years ago Molly went with the grant committee from Trinity to evaluate proposals for funding. Then she and another soprano from the choir, Nacole Palmer, went down on a work trip and hatched up the idea of a music camp run by the professional musicians from the Trinity Choir. They found several people to donate a week to the task, and got approval for funding from the church. Some of you may have seen the video record of that first camp on the Trinity website, or followed the blog from this year's camp. The first year they had 15 kids; this year, over 60. The first year the new mission church where the choir meets - All Souls - still looked very much the abandoned, flood-ravaged Walgreen's that it was. No electricity the first day, and no air conditioning until the final day. Three years later the building is vastly improved and it is now very serviceable for most church purposes. Many of the Trinity volunteers are the same and many of the children are also returnees. Deep bonds have been formed, and increasingly there is community recognition and support. James Blachly has been a part of the camp since the beginning, and has made instrumental music increasingly a part of the picture. Now there is a year-round instrumental program and the hope of a youth orchestra. James is a charismatic and technically brilliant young conductor who was clearly in control of the extraordinary complications of this romantic/modern masterpiece. As a singer, I think he brings a particularly warm musicality to his conducting and elicited that from the orchestra. Mahler's work is not "sacred music," but in that beautiful sacred place and warm, resonant acoustic it seemed to take on angel wings. The afternoon, including the reception for all those who had been involved in the Trinity/All Souls partnership, was a magnificent experience in the spiritual depth of humanity and the redemptive power of Christianity. We were also very touched by the things many people said about Molly and her role in bringing this all to pass. Matt Heyd (one of our own at UNC and C of C) is the Trinity priest in charge of this kind of outreach. "There's nothing about this whole thing that doesn't have her fingerprints all over it - from the original idea, to recruiting for and running the camp, to the latest plan for financing." The Rev. Lonnel Wright, priest-in-charge at All Souls, called her a "force of nature" and a "game changer" whenever she comes on the scene!

Yeah, Molly!