In Principio (In the Beginning)

Composer, violinist, and poet Patricia Van Ness is Staff Composer at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational (Peter Sykes, Music Director) and Composer-in-Residence at St. Paul's Episcopal, Burlingame, CA (Susan Jane Matthews, Music Director). Her compositions draw upon elements of medieval and Renaissance music to create a signature voice that has been hailed by musicians, audiences, and critics. She has been called a modern-day Hildegard von Bingen (1,2,) with her ability to compose music “ecstatic and ethereal,” “both ancient and new” (2,3). As in medieval aesthetics, her music and poetry explore the relationship between beauty and the Divine
1 Gary Higginson, Music Web UK
2 Gaby Beinhorn, Suedwestrundfunk, Germany
3 Susan Larson, The Boston Globe.