By Julia Goyette ’18
Accompanied by a new Steinway Concert Piano, Assumption hosted a concert featuring its Chorale and special guest New York Metropolitan Opera tenor Matthew Polenzani. This unique event was also an opportunity to formally recognize Jeanne Y. Curtis, for whom the performance hall is named, as well as her family and those who recently made donations to purchase the majestic piano.
The melodious voices of Polenzani and the Chorale, under guest director Richard Monroe ’85, were accentuated by the beautiful acoustics of the state-of-the-art performance hall. “Jeanne was a lover of art, a lover of music … who had a magnanimous heart and magnanimous spirit. She was a woman who lived her life to the fullest and spread her joy with those whom she encountered,” said President Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D., prior to the performance, expressing his gratitude to Jeanne’s children and grandchildren in attendance: Arthur Remillard III, Regan Remillard, Danielle (Remillard) Haxton P’07, Elizabeth Haxton Kelly, Amanda (Haxton) Sinicola, and Renee (Remillard) Granger. He added that the musical showcase was “a fitting tribute to her unwavering love for Assumption and its students.”
The program included selections from both Italian and Irish culture in addition to a number of classic Broadway pieces. These musical compositions were elevated by the accompaniment of the new piano, which was generously donated by Charles Brusard, professor emeritus of mathematics; Rene Lamothe ’57, brother of Assumption professor and archivist Rev. Donat Lamothe, A.A., Ph.D., ’57; and Steven O’Brien ’69 and his wife Cynthia.
The Grammy-nominated Polenzani — who has performed all over the world and traveled to Zurich to debut as Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller following his Assumption performance — called the evening a “gift” and felt extremely welcomed by the Assumption community. Polenzani said he was “very appreciative” of having been asked to be part of such a wonderful evening in which he performed four solos and an additional encore. When referring to the program that joined his pieces with the Chorale, he commented, “To be able to watch them and for them to be able to watch me — that’s joy going in both directions.”
Polenzani, who is passionate about the arts, applauded the institution’s commitment to the arts and provided a culturally rich evening for the campus and Worcester community. “We have a duty to children to promote a love of music and to help people understand that music is a beautiful and unifying element of life,” he said.
