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December 11, 2020The usually sold out, annual Christmas Concert series at the historic Mission San Xavier del Bac features new drone video of the church’s interior art and closed-to-the-public spaces, along with the Tucson Boys and Girls choirs and award-winning soloists.
Patronato Concert preview from Patronato San Xavier on Vimeo.
(Dec. 3, 2020— Tucson, Ariz.)— One of Southern Arizona’s most beloved holiday traditions and one that for many marks the beginning of the holiday season can be enjoyed online and from anywhere in the world in 2020.
With a one-time contribution in any amount, donors will receive a link to the 33-minute concert and unique experience of Mission San Xavier that they can enjoy on demand through the month of December. Funds benefit The Patronato, a nonprofit devoted to conserving and preserving the historic Mission San Xavier for future generations.
Concert preview video and more information: https://patronatosanxavier.org
After realizing earlier this year that gathering in person at the nationally and internationally recognized Mission San Xavier would be unwise, the Patronato produced a virtual concert that weaves performances from the traditional choirs and highlights Mission San Xavier in new ways. (production photos attached)
“Woven in with the performances are stunning drone shots of the Mission interior, including places usually closed to public—the choir loft, belfry, sacristy, high altar and transepts,” said Miles Green, Executive Director, Patronato San Xavier.
“Realizing how much our supporters look forward to our annual concerts, we wanted to find a way that, in a year filled with adversity, we could bring the beauty and joy they love when they attend Patronato’s Christmas at San Xavier, and we think we have succeeded,” said Green. “An added benefit is the opportunity to provide access to the performance to people from all over the world.”
The Patronato depends heavily on the steady support of generous people and organizations, including proceeds from these annual Christmas concerts to fund their ambitious agenda of conservation work at the Mission.
2020 Patronato Christmas Concert performers
Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus: Touring Chorus & Young Men’s Ensemble
Dr. Julian Ackerley, Director
Tucson Girls Chorus: Advanced Choir-Small Group
Dr. Marcela Molina, Director
Soprano 1: Chelsea Cannon, Rachel Solyn
Soprano 2: Sydney Wilson, Brissa Villa
Alto 1: Lucy Cotten, Rae Dudoit
Alto 2: Victoria Anthis, Krista Sevinsky
Soloists:
Lindsey McHugh, Soprano
Octavio Moreno, Baritone
Glendon Gross, Trumpet
Laura Tagawa, Violin
Janet Tolman, Dr. Will Thomas, Organ
2020 Christmas Concert supporters
Corporate: BJ Drilling Co. Inc., Long Realty Cares Foundation and Snell & Wilmer.
Families: Pat and Chuck Pettis, Laura and Arch Brown, Barbara and Hank Peck, Fred and Mary Frelinghuysen, and the Kenneth J. and Margaret F. McNealy Charitable Trust
National and international recognition of Mission San Xavier
1963: San Xavier designated a National Historic Landmark.
1998: National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic
Preservation citing “painstaking preservation of the interior and exterior of historic Mission San Xavier.”
2015: World Monuments Fund added San Xavier to its “Watch List” of most culturally significant, endangered buildings from around the world.
2019: The Patronato San Xavier awarded grant from The National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Preservation of the East Tower is their first project to be funded in Arizona.
More about The Patronato San Xavier
Patronato funds and directs ethical conservation, conducts scientific research and interprets the significance of Mission San Xavier del Bac, a National Historic Landmark in the community of Wa:k, part of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Patronato is a non-sectarian non-denominational 501(c)3 and does not receive sustaining support from any government or religious organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
In 1978, with destruction of the historic Mission imminent, a group of community leaders formed Patronato San Xavier, a nonsectarian, nonprofit organization charged with the conservation and preservation of the Mission. Recently that charge was expanded to include conservation research and education. To date, the Patronato has raised and spent over $14 million conserving sections of the Mission.
In 2020, Patronato funded a new Conservation Management Plan, the first to address needs across the whole Mission footprint and prioritize projects over the next decade. The last phase of the work to remove cement-based renders from the Church and replace them with traditional lime-based plaster (the East Tower project) is planned to begin in 2021.
Meanwhile, important conservation maintenance is continuing within the Church, stabilizing the fragile mural paintings that adorn the interior walls. This work began in 2014 and maintains the first comprehensive conservation of the Church’s interior that occurred in the 1990s. The first comprehensive conservation of doors within the Mission took place in 2020; the pine doors to the west courtyard now glow like they must have done when first put in place 225 years ago.
Future projects include:
• The Ornate Facade
• The Mortuary Chapel
• The East “Convento” Wing
• The Adobe Walls
• The Early-20th C. Administrative Wing
• Wooden Elements: doors, beams and windows
