Catholic recording artist to perform in Tooele

Friday, Jan. 22, 2016

TOOELE — Javier Iván Díaz will perform at St. Marguerite School and Parish during Catholic Schools Week Feb. 5-6.

Díaz, a singer, songwriter, teacher, composer and choral conductor, performs in the Christian Latin, Latin pop and pop pock genres.

On the morning of Feb. 5, Díaz will put on an assembly for St. Marguerite School students; that evening will be a concert open to the public. On Feb. 6, Díaz will be the guest speaker and performer for a school fundraiser banquet.

St. Marguerite School Principal Lorena Needham invited Díaz to come to Utah after hearing him perform during the Hispanic Pastoral Musicians Conference last summer in Las Cruces, N.M. Needham attended because she serves on the diocesan liturgy committee and the music subcommittee. 

“I was interested in his music, so afterward I listened to more and it really touched my heart,” she said. “I thought it would be something the people in Utah would enjoy, too.” 

Díaz said he hopes to inspire families. “Pope Francis inspired us last year about the importance of worshipping as a family and my music will be oriented toward the kids at school and for the public.”

He also tries to connect people with God, and shares his own stories and testimonies of how God has been great in his life and to share the Gospel of God through music, he said. “People will have an opportunity to pray and put their needs in the presence of God; this is a concert that will be of prayer, songs and small talks,” Díaz said. “I hope people will come to hear different contemporary music that is dedicated to God and different from what they hear on the radio, their iPod or phone.”

Díaz began his musical journey in Colombia, where he was born. He was inspired and motivated by the music played at church, he said. When he was 12 years old his older brother died at age 23. 

After that loss, “I began taking guitar and piano lessons, and had a very profound spiritual encounter with Christ,” Díaz said. “I went to a seminary retreat for teenagers and I felt a call from God to service and that music could be the perfect path for that service. I believe you must have a passion; I was dedicated, and music requires discipline. Even though it was a difficult time for my family, they supported me. I was also attending a youth group in my parish, so everything was connected; music was part of worshipping.”

Díaz completed his high school education in a music program led by the Salesian priests at Don Bosco Center in Bogota. He also was a musician in his parish and began composing music for Masses and inspirational songs that have been recorded in compilation CDs popular in youth groups and Catholic events in Colombia.

In 2000, he moved to Florida to finish his professional education in music; he was sponsored by San Isidro Catholic Church in Pompano Beach, where he also worked as the music director. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a bachelor’s degree in commercial music and vocal performance and a master’s degree in choral conducting. He also studied at the Pontifical Xaverian University in Colombia.

Díaz, a tenor, has sung in opera master classes with well-known American singers and coaches. He helped establish the Internet-based Christian radio station “Radio Paz Musical” based in Miami; he also has composed, directed, and arranged music for several music ministries, Christian recording artists, choral groups, and Catholic bands. In addition, he serves as director of music at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Miami Beach, Fla., where he lives with his wife and four children. 

The public concert will be Friday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Feb. 6, Díaz will speak and perform at a fundraiser for St. Marguerite School. Banquet tickets, which are $40, are available at the school office, 15 S. 7th St., Tooele. 

For information, call 435-882-0081.

WHAT: Javier Iván Díaz Concert

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.

WHERE: St. Marguerite Parish, 510 E. Vine St., Tooele

TICKETS: $5 at the door