About Music at the Mission

Our Mission and Our Purpose is to help raise the awareness that society can not adequately thrive without art music. It is for that reason that we aim to present a wide array of exceptional classical concerts that would challenge, provoke, inspire and amuse. From the cutting of arts education in our schools to the bankruptcies of orchestras around our nation, it is imperative now more than ever that our society continue to be educated and nurtured in the arts.

According to the renowned 20th century Argentinean composer, Alberto Ginastera, “Art is first perceived by our senses; it then affects our sentiments and in the end awakens our intelligence. Without sensibility, the work of art is only a cold mathematical study and without intelligence, it is only chaos.”

Why should we listen to art music? “Listening to art music is not simply a matter of taste. It is an extremely important and learned skill that is easily lost in our contemporary world of hi-tech communication and mass marketing. As the world becomes more quickly connected, listening skills paired with abstract thought should be regarded as a necessity and one that makes us more human. How often do we listen to music because it forces us to understand more of ourselves?”

-Cynthia Mei, Adorno Ensemble

History

Mission San Jose was originally founded on June 11, 1797 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. With the arrival of Father Narciso Duran in 1806, it gained recog-nition as a center of music. An accomplished musician himself, Father Duran organized and trained a choir and orchestra of 30 Ohlone Indians which soon became known as “the wonder of the area”. On special occasions, people travelled far and wide to enjoy the music of Mission San Jose.

Fremont’s history and culture are intertwined with the indigenous Ohlone Indians and the establishment of Mission San Jose, which was the first European outpost in what is now Alameda County. Mission San Jose is the fourteenth mission of the twenty-one historic California Missions and is nestled at the base of the Fremont foothills. Mission San Jose’s 275 seat church proudly boasts a superb acoustic for a more intimate concert setting.

St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica of San Jose is California's oldest parish and newest cathedral. There was great joy in the pueblo in 1803 when the cornerstone was laid for the first pueblo church in the plaza, less than three miles from Mission Santa Clara. It became the center of pueblo life but was soon destroyed by an earthquake. A second adobe church was built in 1835 and renovated in 1858. In 1868 an earthquake did irreparable damage prompting “San Joseans” to build another church, this time designed by Theodore Lenzen and dedicated in 1869. Only six years later it was to go up in flames. Undaunted, Father Congiato started making plans immediately for the fourth St. Joseph's Church, which was dedicated in 1877. It is this church, restored at great effort and cost that is now the grand St. Joseph's Cathedral dedicated November 4, 1990.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is a vision of beauty and architectural elegance. The inter-ior features 710 seats, statues, paintings, custom stained glass, marble and wood all under a dome.