The Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra will perform Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert, proclaimed by the Maestro as “The most important thing I have ever done.” The Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Artistic Director and renown trombonist, Vincent Gardner, and phenomenal saxophonist David Caceres will perform Duke Ellington’s masterpiece, which includes a forty-voice choir made up of singers from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Fallbrook Church, under the direction of Reneé Rybolt and George Powell respectively. Featured soloists on the program are Kenneth Gayle and Belinda Munro, along with tap dancer phenom Alde Lewis. The concerts will be presented on Duke Ellington’s birthday weekend, April 29th at St. Mark’s and April 30th at Fallbrook Church and are free and open to the public.

The Sacred Concerts were born when Grace Cathedral in San Francisco presented its "Festival of Grace", with a variety of cultural works and speakers, and Ellington's program as a focal point. The concert premiered on September 16, 1965, and was recorded by KQED, a local public television station. The performance was released on CD as A Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD as Love You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral. The Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra, made up of students from area high schools, will showcase the talent of its members by performing Ellington’s challenging work.

Rev. Patrick J. Miller states, “St. Marks has been honored to support the JHYO for the last year and one-half by holding their rehearsals at our church. We are excited to partner with them to celebrate and create a sacred event during the season of Easter and honor the birthday of Duke Ellington on April 29. In addition, we look forward to sharing this celebration with Fallbrook Church.”

St. Mark’s held its first service in October, 1939, in a neighborhood theater. Before the end of that year, St. Mark’s had its first priest, numerous volunteers, and preliminary plans for a church building. On August 8, 1940, Bishop Quin broke ground for a church on 3816 Bellaire Boulevard, and on September 29, the cornerstone was laid. The building was dedicated in 1941 and St. Mark’s made the transition from mission to parish. From that time, the church grew and played a prominent role in life of the larger community. In 1959, St. Mark’s established a Day School for pre-schoolers which has now grown into St. Mark’s Episcopal School, educating more than 400 girls and boys from age two through eighth grade. The campus has grown due to various building projects, but St. Mark’s still resides in its original church building, beautifully refurbished in 2012. St. Marks is now under the leadership of Rev. Patrick J. Miller. St. Mark's Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

“I am extremely excited about the Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra’s upcoming concert here at Fallbrook Church! Fallbrook has always been a supporter of the arts and hosting this concert is another opportunity to support our youth here at the church and the youth of our beloved Houston Community. We have already begun to create buzz of the event around here, so the excitement is building! I would absolutely recommend this concert to any parent and youth; I am certain you will enjoy this experience!” -Pastor Michael Pender, Sr.

Located in north Houston, Fallbrook Church is led by Founding and Senior Pastor Michael A. Pender, Sr. Fallbrook reaches the community one home at a time, while changing the way people see church forever. The first public service took place at Gray Elementary School in September 1994, and they went on to worship and fellowship in individual homes, an office space, and a co-leased church until they closed on 6.14 acres of land on Walters Road. The first building opened in late 2001, followed by the second building, the Community Center, in August 2004. On Easter Sunday 2009, they opened the third building, the Worship Center, which provides a 2,500-seat worship center, double gym, bookstore, café and space for meetings and trainings, conferences, classes, camps, sporting events and more. In need of more space for classrooms and activities, they opened the fourth building, the Children and Youth Building, in December 2013. This 3-story, 82,000 square foot facility, offers 30 classrooms, 24 offices, a gym, a full-service kitchen and concession area, an indoor play area and three custom-made aquariums. Fallbrook currently houses a K-12 charter school, and a before-and-after-school program and daycare. We serve over 10,000 members, and more than 3,500 individuals have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and were baptized.