Kingston Chant Workshop
Why does the Second Vatican Council say that Gregorian chant should be given first place amongst all musical forms? What does this have to do with the liturgical reforms of Benedict XVI? What’s the point, so to speak, of square notes? How do I start a chant choir in my own parish?
If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, this two-day workshop in March 2009 is for you! Set at beautiful St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Kingston, Ontario, next to the campus of Queen’s University, this workshop is designed for newcomers and more experienced chant practitioners alike. Choir directors, singers, clergy, students, and anyone with an interest in the Gregorian art will benefit from this conference. Sessions will focus on both theoretical aspects of Gregorian chant and the practical considerations of singing for the sacred liturgy. The workshop will culminate in a sung Mass on Saturday evening.
David J. Hughes, Organist & Choirmaster at St. Mary Church in Norwalk, Connecticut, director of the Sleepy Hollow Schola Cantorum (New York), and faculty member of the annual Sacred Music Colloquium of the Church Music Association of America, will lead two days of intensive and enjoyable immersion in the normative musical form of the Church. The men of the Sleepy Hollow Schola Cantorum will sing for a concert on Friday evening, and will join the participants of the conference Saturday evening in rendering both the propers and ordinary of the anticipated Mass of Laetare Sunday.
The workshop fee, $60.00 for adults and $50.00 for students, covers lunch, receptions, and all materials, including a copy of the Parish Book of Chant.
Send a check to:
Chant Kingston
200 Frontenac Street
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3S6
For those coming from out of town, a group rate of $109.00 per night for two double-beds or one queen-sized bed has been secured at the Confederation Place Hotel (about an 8 minute walk from the Cathedral). If you are interested, please make your reservation on or before Monday March 9, 2009 and ask for the “Kingston Chant Workshop” group rate.
Confederation Place Hotel
237 Ontario Street
Kingston, ON
(888) 825-4656
www.confederationplace.com
For further information, please contact Emilie Bruno at <http://www.privatedaddy.com?q=c0lndk1WLmFPVTdOf04fYnJZaiIIXjlSaDZr_50>.
Schedule
Friday, 20 March 2009
1:00-1:30pm Registration
1:30-1:45pm Welcome
1:45-3:15pm Chant: essentials of notation, techniques of singing
3:15-3:30pm Break
3:30-4:15pm “Why Sing the Mass?”
4:15-5:30pm Chant: elements of Gregorian style
5:30-6:30pm Reception in Parish Hall
6:30pm Dinner on one’s own (list of area restaurants to be provided)
8:00pm Concert & Compline with the Sleepy Hollow Schola Cantorum
Saturday, 21 March 2009
8:30-9:00am Coffee and registration
9:00-10:15am Chant
10:15-10:30am Break
10:30-11:45am “The Aesthetics of Silence: Gregorian Chant as Source and Summit of Musical Form”
11:45-1:00pm Lunch (provided)
1:00-2:30pm Chant
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:30pm Discussion: Practical considerations in beginning and maintaining a chant schola
3:30-4:45pm Final rehearsal
5:15-6:15pm Vigil Mass of Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
6:15-7:00pm Reception in Parish Hall
