Soli Deo Gloria (arts organization)
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Soli Deo Gloria is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1993, that promotes classical sacred music. The organization takes its name from the words that Johann Sebastian Bach inscribed on many of his compositions — Latin for “to God alone be the glory.” The music director of Soli Deo Gloria is John Nelson [1].Though not connected with any religious group or denomination, Soli Deo Gloria's mission reflects its affinity for musical masterpieces such as Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St.Matthew Passion, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. These pieces were largely the result of perennial sponsorship from powerful patrons in centuries past, including the monarchs of Europe and the church. Since this manner of sponsorship no longer exists, Soli Deo Gloria provides support to help preserve this genre of music. The work of Soli Deo Gloria includes commissioning new sacred music, sponsoring sacred music concerts around the world and sponsoring recordings of sacred music.
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[edit] Commissions
Many of Soli Deo Gloria’s projects consist of commissions for new sacred music from the world’s leading composers. Some of Soli Deo Gloria’s completed commissions include D'vorah by Paul Shoenfield, Window Rock: Peter's Dawn by George Arasimowicz, Daylight Divine by Augusta Read Thomas, Children of God by Daniel Kellogg, Songs of Bathsheba by Gil Shohat and Requiem by Christopher Rouse.
[edit] Performances
Arranging performances of all its commissioned works is a valuable part of the work of Soli Deo Gloria. Another vital aspect is encouraging the performance of sacred masterworks already in the standard repertoire. SDG’s Project Uplift, a series of international concert sponsorships, is an example of how performances are supported. There are many orchestras around the world that, because of political change, economic instability or other reasons specific to their countries, lack resources to mount major performances. In some cases, the orchestras simply may not have had much exposure to the Western sacred repertoire. SDG has supported performances in China, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and Costa Rica.
[edit] Recordings
Recordings sponsored by Soli Deo Gloria include Górecki: Miserere (1994 Elektra/Nonesuch), Berlioz: Te Deum (2001 EMI Virgin Classics) and a DVD, Bach: Mass in B Minor (2006 EMI Virgin Classics).
