St. Patrick Catholic Parish of White Lake is proud to host The Second Annual St. Patrick Mozart Festival to be held on Sunday, June 7th, 2026 at 5 p.m. in the Parish Church. The festival will offer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Austrian composer Michael Haydn’s Applicatio, in its North American debut performance. St. Patrick Director of Music Constantine Novotny (No-VOT-nee) will conduct the St. Patrick Mozart Orchestra and direct the St. Patrick Lorica Choir, with soprano Andréa Walker joining the ensemble as the featured artist.
Mozart’s Coronation Mass is one of the most widely revered and performed settings of the Roman Catholic mass. It is believed to have been written for Easter Sunday performance at the Salzburg Cathedral in 1779. The piece was the selected for Francis II’s coronation as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1792, and thereafter the preferred music for sacred imperial celebrations.
Michael Haydn’s Applicatio is a cantata in the style of an “applausus musicus”, a multi-movement celebratory piece in Latin. It was written in honor of the 50th anniversary of Beda Seeauer, abbot of the historical St. Peters Abbey in Salzburg, entering the Benedictine monkhood. After the piece was presented in 1782, there was no immediate practical use for re-performance, and it sat in obscurity for 242 years. In 2024, Salzburg scientist and musician Wolfgang Esser-Skala published the first modern edition on his website, marking the first time that this music has been accessible for performance. “This piece is highly influenced by the Gregorian chant psalm tones that the monks would have been singing every day, but also has the quintessential elegant sound of the Classical era, creating a splendid hybrid sonic experience,” Novotny explained, adding “We are thrilled to be giving this music its first modern performance.”
The event is open to the public, although seating is limited. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and donations are welcome.