This past weekend at the Strathmore Center in Maryland the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra featured a special concert: Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa, performed and led by conductor Dante Anzolini. It was an event worthy of the support and celebration of Christians and conservatives who have bemoaned the way the performing arts, not to mention popular culture, have been scrubbed of all religious content. Apparently, faith still inspires.

Highlights from the Strathmore show include the D.C. premiere of Hymn for Mother Teresa, by Albanian composer Genc Tukiçi and Lorenc Antoni, Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, and works by Philip Glass, Leonard Bernstein, Missy Mazzoli, Thoma Gaqi, Herbert Hughes, Bach, Balfe, Anzolini, and Vavilov.

I recently spoke with Catherine Wethington, the featured soprano of Journey of Faith and one of the organizers of the show. 

Q: In a world that is often divided on religious and political lines, Mother Teresa is still someone who inspires near universal accolades. What are your personal feelings about her?  

Catherine Wethington: Well, I’m not sure that today everyone can agree on much of anything! That being said, I have great admiration for the way she consistently and tenaciously worked to make an impact on the lives of those in greatest need. She is an example how one person, who was seemingly ordinary, can make an impact that ripples across the world for generations. I also have great admiration for the way she stood up for and advocated for world peace. Today, our world is filled with war-torn, hungry, sick, and suffering people. I wish our world leaders would take a page out of Mother Teresa’s book and strive to ease and end that suffering.

Q: There have been criticisms in the last few decades about Catholic and Christian art, which was so rich for hundreds of years, becoming empty and tacky in the later 20^th century and even in recent times. Journey of Faith includes both Bach and Philip Glass, two of my favorite composers, and is incredibly rich and dynamic. Thoughts?

CW: Being an opera singer I certainly have a love for tradition and the “old school.” I think there is a lot of value in remaining connected to our roots. But, like all things, art, music, and literature are not stagnant and as society changes the arts often lead the way in pushing the boundaries. This concert purposefully chooses to draw from tradition and move to the modern in order to highlight that the legacy and message of Mother Teresa is not of the past, but of the present and future.

Q: You grew up in Northern Virginia. It’s been quite amazing to see a hometown artist achieve such notoriety. Tell me about growing up here.

CW: I love being from Northern Virginia. It’s a vibrant and diverse community. Growing up just outside the nation’s capital provided me access to lots of museums and arts organizations. I spent much of childhood going to choral concerts with my family and was exposed to a lot of classical music at a young age. Those experiences certainly had an impact on my interests as I grew up.

Q: Strathmore is a gorgeous venue. How do you feel about performing in such a wonderful space?

CW: Strathmore is a gorgeous venue and I feel incredibly honored to perform there alongside the Baltimore Symphony. Every space has its own bit of magic from the history of the musicians that came before you, to the people in the audience that night, to the acoustics of the space. The way an artist can fill a hall with only their voice from a delicate pianissimo to a soaring fortissimo is unique to each space and Strathmore is like a sanctuary for the music that fills its walls. There is certainly a desire and a pressure to do justice to the stage you are singing on and honor its legacy.

Q: Tell me what musicians, artists, and religious figures inspired you.

CW: As I mentioned earlier, I have a love for the “old school.” I’m a big fan of singers like Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, Marilyn Horne, Edita Gruberová, Jessye Norman, etc. As a person of deep faith, Jesus and his teachings certainly have an impact on how I live my life. I am very proud of some of the modern voices of the church that are calling for caring for our neighbors, urging forgiveness, and striving for peace. And of course, Mother Teresa has been an inspiration to me, especially over the last few years as I got to know her better and envisioned this musical tribute.