Music story

Maestro hopes to tap musical treasures at Vatican Library

PORTLAND, Maine — Toshiyuki Shimada wanted something exciting to do when he leaves his job as conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. He thinks he has found it in the role of a real-life Indiana Jones searching for musical treasures.

A licensing deal gives the mild-mannered maestro and newly minted Yale University professor access to the Roman Catholic Church´s Vatican Library, allowing him to produce musical CDs based on its treasure trove of manuscripts and prints.

How much you want to bet someone from OCP tries to sneak a yellowed, coffee-stained "On Eagles Wings" into the Vatican Library. "It says it was written by Michaelus Joncasus! It must be authentic!"