Bernstein's MASS

This event runs on Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7, 2018.

Generously supported by OUC—The ReliableOne® and Baker Barrios Architects, Inc. This production of Mass will be performed without intermission.

UCF Celebrates the Arts 2018 opens with a tip of the hat to one of classical music’s most iconic artists: Leonard Bernstein. Leonard Bernstein at 100, a two-year global celebration of the life and career of the 20th century cultural giant with more than 2,000 events on six continents, kicked off in the fall of 2017 and UCF is pleased to be able to honor this musical composer, conductor, and educator. 

Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers is an enormous and ambitious piece, with more than 200 musicians, vocalists, and dancers on stage. Written for the inauguration of the Kennedy Center in 1971, the controversial piece gave voice to an anti-war youth culture that was seeking truth and transparency from its government. Though Mass challenges divine authority, exposing its contradictions and questioning religion’s relevance to contemporary life, it ultimately serves as a reaffirmation of faith and hope for universal peace.

The eclecticism of Mass‘s music reflects the multifaceted nature of Bernstein’s career, with blues, rock, gospel, folk, Broadway, and jazz idioms appearing side by side with 12-tone serialism, symphonic marches, solemn hymns, Middle Eastern dances, orchestral meditations, and lush chorales, all united in a single dramatic event with recurring musical motifs. Bernstein uses the uninhibitedly tonal rock ‘n’ roll of the Street Chorus to challenge the dogmatic, atonal music of the Church; ultimately, the musical argument is resolved with a glorious, tonal chorale (“Almighty Father”) sung by the entire company.

Join the UCF Symphony Orchestra, UCF Choirs, Theatre UCF singers and dancers, and School of Performing Arts alumni at this “Massive” centenary event!

“…Mass re-emerged as the moving and visionary piece it’s always been — arguably the best thing Bernstein ever wrote.” —The Washington Post

“Bernstein left nothing of himself out of Mass, and like the man who wrote it, the piece demands to be noticed. …beneath the original dramatic conception, the creative exuberance, the showbiz glitter and the ear-catching set numbers is a sophisticated, carefully controlled piece of musical craftsmanship that repays close scrutiny. …Yes, Bernstein could manipulate a 12-tone row with the best of them.
“…[an] extravagant, exuberant and endlessly inventive creation…” —The New York Times

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (August 25, 1918- October 14, 1990) was a world-renowned conductor and composer, and one of classical music’s icons of the 20th century. He was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world’s major orchestras, leaving behind an enormous legacy of audio and video recordings. His books, as well as the much-beloved televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, established him as a leading educator. His orchestral and choral works include three symphonies (No. 1 “Jeremiah”, No. 2 “Age of Anxiety”, and No. 3 “Kaddish”), Serenade, Mass, Chichester Psalms, Songfest, Divertimento for Orchestra, Arias and Barcarolles, and Concerto for Orchestra. Bernstein’s works for the Broadway stage include On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide and the immensely popular West Side Story. In addition to the West Side Story collaboration, Mr. Bernstein worked with choreographer Jerome Robbins on three major ballets, Fancy Free, Facsimile and Dybbuk. Mr. Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including eleven Emmy Awards, one Tony Award, the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Read more about the extensive history and background of Mass and the Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration. #BernsteinAt100

By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., Sole Agent for Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Company LLC, publisher and copyright owner.