Out & About: Reception welcomes PSO, Mendelssohn Choir to campus

Shirley McMarlin
Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 12:01 a.m. | Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 12:01 a.m.

Shirley McMarlin | Tribune-Review

From left: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck, Aimee Kakos and Archabbot Douglas Nowicki of Saint Vincent Archabbey at a reception prior to a Sept. 21 concert by the symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

Shirley McMarlin | Tribune-Review

From left: Mary Lou McLaughlin of Shadyside, Joanne Rogers of Oakland, widow of Fred Rogers, and Jim Rodgers of Moon, a Pittsburgh Symphony bassoonist, at a reception prior to a Sept. 21 concert by the symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

Shirley McMarlin | Tribune-Review

From left: State Sen. Kim Ward, Pittsburgh Symphony President/CEO Melia Tourangeau and Fr. Paul Taylor, president of Saint Vincent College, at a reception prior to a Sept. 21 concert by the symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

Shirley McMarlin | Tribune-Review

Soma Ivan (left) an exchange student from Hungary, and Ben Becze, Saint Vincent College senior director of development and alumni relations, at a reception prior to a Sept. 21 concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

Shirley McMarlin | Tribune-Review

Carey and Suzanne McMonagle of Uniontown at a reception prior to a Sept. 21 concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

The Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College was the setting for a Sept. 21 reception prior to a concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Saint Vincent Basilica.

Reception attendees gave a warm welcome to Manfred Honeck, PSO musical director and renowned conductor, and Melia Tourangeau, PSO president and CEO.

Also among distinguished guests was Joanne Rogers, widow of children’s television pioneer and Latrobe native Fred Rogers.

The sumptuous reception menu included appetizers, a carving station with apricot-glazed turkey, pasta station with tri-color asiago tortellini, dessert and coffee.

Thoroughly sated, guests made the short uphill trek to the basilica, where the beauty of the surroundings melded with the beauty of the music for an evening to remember.

Following the symphony’s performance of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in Saint Vincent Basilica, the choir — under the leadership of Matthew Mehaffey — joined the symphony for Bruckner’s “Te Deum.”

Seen at the soiree: The Rev. Paul Taylor, Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, Mary Lou McLaughlin, Dr. George and Linda Austin, Linda Assard, Michael Philopena and George Shaner, Chuck and Nancy Anderson, Linda Boxx, John Stevens, Kim Feigel, Dr. Angelo and Pam DeMezza, Aimee Kakos, Bibiana Boerio, Msgr. Bill Rathgeb, Linda Earnest, Margaret DiVirgilio, The Rev. Ed Mazich, Roberta Schomburg, Lynne Carrell, Dorothy Zello, Jim Berger, Melissa Intrepido, Mike Hustava, Chris Foschia and Ron Hegedus.

A portion of event proceeds will benefit Saint Vincent’s Students First Fund, which assists students with financial needs.