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Where charity and love are, God is there. We sang different arrangements and the Gregorian chant for Ubi caritas which the first 2 lines are as follow: I believe one of the reasons we were as successful and as joyful in it is because of Di Marco. It was one of the best times I had in the island. It started as an elective, but then we had 3 successful “seasons” as a group. We say this with provide since we have choirs in almost every high school in the south side of the island compared to the majority of Puerto Rico. After all, my home town in Puerto Rico is called the choral capital of Puerto Rico. All of the members were our professors, their families, and choral members from different choirs in our town. In 2010, I had the crazy idea of reviving a Renaissance choral group we had in our town. We can help you and offer our knowledge, but being a musician is a gift from God that will only blossom with your perseverance” – ADM To my students: to those who were, who are, who will be- Abel Di Marco “I would like the student to remember that there is no theoretical study, book or professor that would substitute your constant musical activity (hearing or practical). Todos podremos ayudarlo y ofrecerle nuestros conocimientos, pero ser músico es un don De Dios, que sólo fructificara con el esfuerzo personal” – Abel Di Marco March, 1994 “Quisiera recordar al estudiante que no hay estudio teórico, ni libro, ni profesor que substituyan su constante actividad musical, auditiva y práctica.
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His answer was something that is straight out of his book, but also from Sister Act 2. I remember talking to him about composing, music, and if I should truly go to a graduate program. In my last post, I talked about Di Marco, one of my undergraduate professors at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Ponce Campus) and his deep rooted faith (being a priest) and his passion and love for music. While the accompaniment for this piece, its based on the improvisation he did in a concert, it truly elevates a song that is already beautiful in itself. It was not until yesterday where I realized that he had a version of this Ubi Caritas with accompaniment. While I was attending grad school at Western Illinois University, we sang his Ubi Caritas. His attention to both the accompaniment and choir (or whatever ensemble he uses) is no short of extraordinary. In this Mass, text, in my opinion, is critical for this movement. If you ever hear his Sunrise Mass it feels as if the music is in a constant stasis, but at the same time moving forward. His mastery in weaving seemingly familiar tunes, and rich harmonies are evident.
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It wasn’t until grad school that I learned who Ola was, had the pleasure of emailing him (and Morten Lauridsen) for some of my classes. I remember when I first started to dabble in composition, my friends told me that the scores I write reminds them of film score. Ola Gjeilo´s magic in creating music straight out of a film score is incredible.