Reverend Monsignor Anthony Mancini & The Gregorian Concert Choir
Ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence in 1978, Monsignor Anthony Mancini has served in several parishes in the diocese, and was pastor of Holy Cross parish in Providence for nine years. He was named Rector of The Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul in 2005. He was a long time protege of Dr. C. Alexander Peloquin in the areas of piano, organ and choral conducting. He formed the Gregorian Concert Choir in 1987 to preserve that rich legacy of traditional church music while continuing to expand their repertoire with contemporary sacred choral works.
Monsignor Mancini has himself composed numerous pieces, ranging from settings of various psalms to a Marian liturgy, Mary Our Mother, commissioned in honor of the parish jubilee, and a Jubilee Te Deum premiered in Calabria in Southern Italy as part of a symposium on sacred music in 2000. In 1994, he studied choral conduction for a semester in London, England.
The Gregorian Concert Choir is now the resident choir of The Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, having succeeded the Peloquin Chorale in that role upon Dr. Peloquin's retirement in 1991. In addition to their participation in diocesan liturgies, they perform in concerts extensively through out the diocese each year. They have sang several times at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome as well as at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Among their outstanding achievements is the preservation of the musical legacy of the late Dr. C. Alexander Peloquin, through liturgical and concert performances of his works. In 2005 the choir recorded a cross-sampling of Peloquin's compositions for a CD entitled Radiating Christ: The Music of C. Alexander Peloquin.
