Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck Saint Vincent College Commencement Speaker May 8

LATROBE, Pa., May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maestro Manfred Honeck, the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, will be the principal speaker and receive an honorary doctor of music degree at the 164th annual commencement of Saint Vincent College at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 8 in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.

For Maestro Honeck who typically is seen standing with baton in hand in front of the orchestra, this will be a rare a cappella performance since he will appear at SVC without instrumental accompaniment.

"Saint Vincent College is honored to present Maestro Honeck as this year's commencement speaker because it continues a tradition of presenting to our students outstanding individuals who are known internationally," Mr. Jim Towey, president of Saint Vincent College, said.

Appointed the ninth music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January 2007, Maestro Honeck began his tenure at the start of the 2008-2009 season. In 2007, he assumed the post of music director of the Stuttgart State Opera, and in September 2008, he became the principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague.

"I think that many of this year's graduates will be impressed that the leader of one of Pittsburgh's greatest treasures will be addressing the class as well as our parents and friends on our special day," Ale Muzika, president of the senior class commented.

A group of Saint Vincent College singers – the Saint Vincent Schola Gregoriana – were invited to take part in three performances at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this past fall. Maestro Honeck invited Saint Vincent to provide a Gregorian chant schola to sing as part of his reading of the Requiem Mass of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on December 4, 5 and 6.  Entitled "Requiem Mass for Mozart", the performances included the Requiem in its entirety, together with other sacred music of Mozart, and incorporated Scriptural readings, biographical readings from the letters of Mozart, and a Gregorian chant schola. Honeck recorded his "Requiem Mass for Mozart" with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir. The Saint Vincent Schola Gregoriana was composed of 20 singers and included Saint Vincent Benedictine monks, college students, seminarians and parishioners under the direction of Fr. Stephen Concordia, O.S.B.

Maestro Honeck joins a distinguished group of commencement speakers who have spoken at Saint Vincent in recent years, including The Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, in 2007, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin in 2008, and J. Christopher Donahue in 2009.

More than 300 undergraduate and graduate degrees will be awarded at this spring commencement in a traditional public ceremony that marks the successful completion of the students' formal studies.

SOURCE St. Vincent College