Florida Catholic | Missions :: Priest and Pianist

ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO I FC
Pianist Paul Posnak and Father Federico Capdepón pose in St. Martha Church with the Yamaha C7 conservatory grand piano that gave rise to an acclaimed concert series.

The priest and the pianist

Father Federico Capdepón and pianist Paul Posnak make beautiful music at St. Martha Parish.

ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 11.02.07

MIAMI SHORES | Recipe for a musical miracle: Combine a priest’s dream with a pianist’s piano and stir in a heavenly venue.

That’s how Father Federico Capdepón and pianist Paul Posnak cooked up the St. Martha-Yamaha Concert Series, which kicks off its fourth season Sunday, Nov. 11.

Their delightful concoction has brought world-class musicians to the Miami Shores church and allowed an eclectic audience to sample the pleasures of classical music — all for the price of a movie ticket.

The priest and the pianist also throw in dessert, giving audience members the opportunity to mingle with the musicians after each concert, and at the same time make friends with each other.

“What we have here is unique,” said Julie Williamson, the St. Martha parishioner who brought the priest and the pianist together. “We get people here who’ve never been to a Catholic church,” but are brought together by the experience of listening to beautiful music.

“When people are exposed to good music, classical music, their spirits open up,” said Father Capdepón. “Speaking as a priest, it’s a religious experience.”

His goal, however, is not to bring people to church, but to bring people together and to make classical music accessible to a wide variety of audiences.

“People learn to like classical music,” Father Capdepón said. “It’s a conversion experience.”

Posnak agreed. “In many ways we’re in a spiritual and cultural crisis. We have to find new ways of reaching people.”

Posnak, who is Jewish, describes great music as “a manifestation of holy spirit in the world.” He described the concert series as “an extraordinary stroke of divine good fortune.”

The idea of hosting musical events at St. Martha dates back to when Father Capdepón became pastor in 2002. A music lover since childhood, he dreamed of bringing people together through music.

He turned to Williamson for help and she turned to Posnak, professor of music and piano at the University of Miami Frost School of Music and an acclaimed artist himself.

He admits he was less than enthusiastic about the project. “I was figuring out how I could say no to Julie and preserve our friendship.”

He changed his tune after visiting St. Martha.

“My mouth dropped open,” he said. “It has the best acoustics of any hall in south Florida, bar none.”

Posnak credits a combination of things: the gabled oak roof with its tongue-in-groove beams, the upholstered oak pews, the cantilevered walls, the dozens of nooks and crannies. “It’s anything but a box.”

It was a venue worthy of the best piano, so Posnak went out and got one — a Yamaha C7 conservatory grand piano “hand-crafted for concert use. These are the Rolls Royces of their fleet.”

In exchange for putting its name on the concert series, Yamaha sold the piano to St. Martha for about a third of its $75,000 price, and threw in the services of its top technicians.

The parish launched the series in fall 2003. Among the acclaimed, world-renowned artists who have performed there are Miami’s own Nestor Torres, a flutist who will perform again Sunday, Dec. 9, with Posnak and Russian-American violinist Mikhail Barash; Israeli duo pianists Stanislava Varshavsky and Diana Shapiro; the St. Petersburg String Quarter; members of the Cleveland Orchestra; and Miami’s New Philharmonic Orchestra.

As artistic director, Posnak plans out the five-concert series and contracts with the artists, all of whom agree to perform at a fraction of their usual fee.

“The word is out. This is a wonderful place to play,” Posnak said, and not just because of the acoustics or the impressive piano. “The artists I play with cannot get over the warmth of the audience, the appreciation. A lot of it comes from members of the audience who had not been exposed to music before who are falling in love with it. It’s also attracting music lovers from far and wide.”

The concerts also are creating an ecumenical bond among Miami Shores churches.

“The amazing thing is the amount of Jewish people coming, the amount of Presbyterians,” Father Capdepón said. “Thanks to the concerts our church is being known right now. It’s amazing the amount of people who don’t know there is a church (next) to the (archdiocesan) Pastoral Center.”

Funding for the series is provided by TotalBank, its chairman Adrienne Arsht, and the Piano Music Center, along with a growing number of individual donors. The after-concert receptions are provided by St. Martha parishioners who cook up their own delicacies, from Colombian empanadas to Filipino skewered meats.

“This is the event that all the groups in the parish pitch in,” Father Capdepón said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity and a good example for me to see the Anglo community, the Hispanic community, the Haitian community, the Filipino community working together.”

“It’s inspiring,” said Posnak. “This is, in many ways, the highlight of my career. To do something on this level, with this kind of feeling, it’s a blessing.”

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The priest and the pianist

Father Federico Capdepón and pianist Paul Posnak make beautiful music at St. Martha Parish.

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