The Chapel Arts Series
The Chapel Arts Series is proudly supported by the Office for Mission at the University of Saint Thomas as an opportunity to engage our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community through the sacred arts.
During the 2025-26 season we will offer a wide variety of programming that will feature world-class musicians from around the globe. Every event is free, open to the public, and followed by a reception held in our Hoedeman Gallery of Sacred Art.
Watch this video to learn more:
Contact Information
If you have inquiries or are interested in supporting this series, please contact:
Dr. Jacob Benda
Director of Music, Liturgy and Sacred Arts
jrbenda@stthomas.edu
(651) 962-6570
Upcoming Events
Renowned for her virtuosity and stylistic mastery, international concert organist Lynne Davis opens the 2025-26 Chapel Arts Series with selections by Alain, Demessieux, Duruflé, Franck, and beyond. Sunday, September 28th at 3:00pm in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Past Events
Featuring Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals for organ solo, Rhapsody in lue by George Gershwin, and the monumental Concerto in D for Organ, Strings, and Timpani by Rachel Laurin, Musicians will include organist Jacob Benda, pianist Ekaterina Knayazeva, and Maestro Matthew George conducting the University of St. Thomas Festival Orchestra.
.
The Cathedral Choir of the Basilica of St. Mary directed by Patrick Schneider joins UST music faculty Jacob Benda in presenting music inspired by the seasons of Advent and Winter. Featuring Dreamweaver by Ola Gjeilo, The Nutcracker Suite for piano fourhands and orchestra by Tchaikovsky, and more.
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Polish organist Filip Presseisen, winner of the 2015 International Cinema Organ Competition, improvises music for the 1903 silent film La Vie et la Passion de Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Virtuoso guitarist Dan Nadel, clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski, and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi present an evening of enlivened improvisations inspired by music shared among the many cultures of the Mediterranean.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
A Holy Week meditation featured Franz Liszt's profound work for choir and organ, Via Crucis, as well as music by Allegri, Duruflé, Poulenc and Schubert. Musicians will include organist Jacob Benda, and conductor Elena Bird Zolnik.
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Celebrating the 35th Anniversary season of the Gabriel Kney pipe organ, soloist Jacob Benda and conductor Matthew George present organ concertos by Francis Poulenc and Josef Rheinberger with the University of St. Thomas Orchestra.
Saturday, October 28th, 2023
Concert pianists Ekaterina Knyazeva and Anton Melnichenko join forces to celebrate the 150th anniversary of virtuoso pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff with music written for two pianos/four hands, including a performance of his final major work, Symphonic Dances, Op.45.
Saturday, November 11th, 2023 - 7:30 PM
Featuring guitarist Chris Kachian, violinist Stephanie Arado, pianist Amy Grinsteiner, and narrator David Jordan Harris, the interactive experience of concert and conversation will serve as a compelling bridge between cultures and religious traditions.
Saturday, March 16th, 2024 - 7:00 PM
In partnership with the Claritas Initiative, the next event of the Chapel Arts Series will take place on Saturday, March 16that 7:00pm in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. The music for this concert will be inspired by themes expressed within the permanent art exhibit on display in the Iverson Center for Faith by artist Kelly Kruse, Embodied: The Earthly Immortal Soul and the Battle of Becoming. The musicians will include the artist, Kelly Kruse (soprano), Jacob Benda (organist), Ekaterina Knyazeva (pianist), and Marion Judish (violinist). A reception will be held afterward where Dr. Mark McInroy will offer inspiring words and facilitate a conversation between the artist and the audience. This event is free and open to the public.
Saturday, May 4th, 2024 - 7:00 PM
Chapel Arts Series Season Finale
Symphonic Sounds: A Celebration of MPR's Michael Barone and James P. Callahan
Saturday, May 4th at 7:00pm
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, University of St. Thomas
Please join us for the season finale of the 2023-24 Chapel Arts Series as we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Minnesota Public Radio's nationally syndicated program, Pipedreams, hosted by Michael Barone, and the musical life of former University of St. Thomas Music Professor, James P. Callahan. The program will feature favorite works of Michael and Jim including Organ Concerto No. 1 and Organ Concerto No. 2 by Callahan, Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Strings, Timpani, and Edward Elgar's Sospiri. A highlight to the evening will include the posthumous world premiere of Elegy for saxophone and piano by James P. Callahan.
The featured performers will include organists Jacob Benda and David Jenkins, conductor Matthew George, saxophonist Richard Dirlam, and the University of St. Thomas Festival Orchestra.
A reception will follow in the Hoedeman Gallery of Sacred Art. Please invite your family, friends, and colleagues as we honor two titans of American music.
The beautiful does not merely entertain; rather, it invades, chooses, and changes the one to whom it deigns to appear. It opens the mind to a consideration of ever higher forms of the beautiful, conducing finally to the transcendent source of beauty itself.