Welcome! Since 2017, the SFORZANDO concert series has hosted talented musicians and ensembles from throughout Indiana and touring artists all across the country to present a wide variety of concerts, from Renaissance motets to 21st-century jazz and everything in between. Featured artists/ensembles include: Chanticleer, Echoing Air, VOCE, Hot Horns, Trio Pastorale, Catacoustic Consort, The Archibald Quartet, Trio Pastorale, Josefien Stoppelenburg, and more! The name comes from a musical term borrowed from Italian which indicates to play with a strong emphasis, but is also a nod to the initials of the parish (St. Francis [In-The-Fields], Zionsville).
Each concert is presented in the nave at St. Francis and most are free to the public with suggested donations (as you are able) of $15 per person or $30 per family. All concerts conclude with a sparkling reception in our new gathering space, allowing you to meet the performers in a friendly and refreshing atmosphere. For more information, please reach out to our Music Director, Robert Bolyard, at music@stfranciszionsville.org.
Upcoming Concerts:
Phil Pierick, saxophone
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Chicago Bagatelles Project
Music for solo saxophone from Bach to today.
Sunday, September 13th 2026, 4pm
Becky Archibald and Friends
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Wango Tzango Sfortzango!
Composer/pianist Becky Archibald will perform original violin/piano tangos with ISO violinist Bryson Karrer and jazz trios with a small combo in celebration of Becky’s new album, Tango for Disobedient Beasts.
Sunday, October 11th 2026, 4pm
Phil Pierick
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A Panorama of Classical Guitar Music
For anyone curious about just how much one guitar can do! This program brings together familiar favorites, overlooked gems, and rarely-heard heavy hitters of the guitar repertoire. Some works cross over from other instruments, transformed for guitar; others were composed to push the instrument to its full potential.
Sunday, November 1st 2026, 4pm
The Indiana Brass
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27th Annual Christmas Brass Concert
A seasonal highlight and longtime tradition at St. Francis, this concert features festive fun for the whole family as the world-class Indiana Brass brings your favorite holiday music to life. “YULE” not want to miss it!
DATE TBD
Haewon Yang
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Femmes de légende:
A Celebration of Four Women Composers
Featuring works by Florence Price, Clara Schumann, Mel Bonis, and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, this solo piano recital explores four distinct musical worlds that span Romantic lyricism to vibrant twentieth-century ideas. Along with brief introductions that bring each composer's story to life, the program offers audiences the opportunity to experience both celebrated masterpieces and deserving hidden gems of the piano repertoire.
Sunday, February 21st 2027, 4pm
Black Tulip
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Tulipmania – Music, Art, Politics & Society in the Dutch Golden Age
Tulipmania looks at the cultural and political events during the peak of Dutch power during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The new-found prosperity of this emerging capitalist society encouraged the development of the arts, and provided a large and receptive market for the musical and artistic productions of other countries as well. We’ll play music of native composers as well as foreign composers who were well known in the Low Countries, including music by Jacob van Eyck, Constantijn Huygens, Ferrabosco, Johannes Schenck and Buxtehude and Dutch folk songs.
Sunday, April 25th 2027, 4pm
Recent concerts:
Chanticleer
Our American Journey
Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 | 7:00 pm
We are thrilled to welcome GRAMMY®-award winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer for an exciting concert celebrating America’s 250th year of independence, showcasing the diverse voices, songs, harmonies, and rhythms of our shared musical heritage, from Black Gospel quartets to Shape-Note singing to Barbershop quartets and vocal jazz!
Annie Gregurich, piano
Sunday, April 19th, 2026 | 4pm
Join pianist and composer Annie Gregurich for an afternoon of works ranging from the classics to original pieces and arrangements inspired by Celtic folk music. Judith Mancinelli, retired professor of piano from Millikin University, will join her for a series of duets. To learn more about Annie, visit her website.
Music in the Air: Between Tears and Thunder
Andrew Egbuchiem, countertenor
Sunday, March 1st, 2026 | 4:00 pm
New York-based countertenor Andrew Egbuchiem joins Dr. Hsuan Chang Kitano on harpsichord and our very own Robert Bolyard on viola da gamba for an afternoon of Baroque song, including works by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Lully, Purcell, and more.
Hot Horns presents
ALL THAT JAZZ
…and more!
Sunday, October 19th, 2025 | 4:00 pm
Beginning with a New Orleans-style Dixieland parade, this internationally acclaimed and entertaining brass quintet – with percussion! – will take us on a musical journey through Jazz. Hot Horns, formerly called Bay Street Brassworks, was originally founded in 1995, and since that time has delighted audiences across the country (having toured all lower 48 States) and abroad!
Giant of the Baroque
Sunday, August 10th, 2025 | 4:00 pm
St. Francis is thrilled to host Andrew Flory on the Indiana stop of his national tour, where he will bring his engaging artistry to showcase a chronological evolution of solo theorbo works by Baroque masters Alessandro Piccinini, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, and Robert de Visée.
Forgotten Clefs: Gems from a French Publishing House
Sunday, March 16th, 2025 | 4:00 pm
Renaissance Wind Ensemble Forgotten Clefs returns to St. Francis to perform an exciting array of French Renaissance and Baroque music.
Purdue University
Fort Wayne
Chamber Treble Singers
& University Singers
Friday, February 28th, | 7:00 pm
Inspired by the Hebrew tenet that translates to “The world is sustained by three things: by truth, by justice, and by peace,” this powerful choral concert meditates on the importance of social justice that relies on truthful and peaceful action. The repertoire of this concert includes a wide array of pieces, including works by Eleanor Daley, Jeff Enns, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Mari Isabel Valverde, among others.
Tales from the Isles:
An Evening of British Songs and Stories
Sunday, October 20th, 2024 | 4:00 pm
Jared Hancock (baritone) and Colleen McGonigle (mezzo-soprano) join collaborative pianist Rebecca Edie the program of English song, including two complete song cycles by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar.
