Upcoming Church Music Events

The CMAA is pleased to post information about your sacred music event. Contact us for details. See the forum for more church music events. If you are thinking of organizing a workshop, here are some practical suggestions, including a link to information on how to create your own online registration form.

Still thinking about the CMAA Summer Chant Courses?

Regular registration for the 2016 Summer Chant courses ends May 31st. Save late fees by registering now! We have a few spaces still available for each course.

During the week of June 27 – July 1, 2016, the CMAA and the Mary Pappert Music School of Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh are hosting two courses.

The Summer Chant Intensive is focused on directing skills this summer. Join Wilko Brouwers in developing your directing skills in a 5-day course on conducting chant. See all the details about the course at our Summer Chant Course webpage.

Ward I – That All May Sing is offered for the first time by the CMAA. Scott Turkington will share his expertise in the Ward Method during the course which also runs June 27 – July 1. For all the details, visit our Summer Chant Course webpage.

If you have questions about the courses, or want to check availability, please contact us at programs@musicasacra.com.

Announcing Southeastern Sacred Music’s Summer Workshop

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Mark your calendar:

Summer Sacred Music Workshop II

Friday and Saturday, July 22-23, 2016
The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
Chattanooga, Tennessee

Building on the success of the 2015 workshop held at Our Lady of the Mountains Church in Jasper, Ga, Southeastern Sacred Music invites you to join them again for the 2016 workshop in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Whether you are a singer, a choir director, priest, deacon, or seminarian, this one-and-a-half day workshop is an ideal opportunity for you to:

  • learn to read and sing Gregorian chant (or further develop your chanting ability), under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Donelson,
  • gain the skills and tools to immediately improve your parish music program, guided by the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council, and
  • explore repertory options (many of them available at no cost) for the Ordinary Form of the Mass, no matter what your parish or choir situation, and
  • study special topics including sacred polyphony, use of the organ, restoring Catholic tradition to the funeral Mass, and a session for clergy with Father David Carter, and
  • participate in a solemn Vespers and solemn sung Mass, and hear the Basilica’s majestic pipe organ in recital.

Read more ...

Announcing Musica Sacra Florida’s 2016 Chant Conference

MSF 2016 Web Banner

MusicaSacra Florida – 8th Annual Gregorian Chant Conference

Friday, May 20 & Saturday, May 21, 2016
at Saint Mark the Evangelist Church, Tampa, FL

The Florida Chapter of the Church Music Association of America (CMAA) is pleased to announce the 8th annual Musica Sacra Florida Gregorian Chant Conference.

The Conference will include:
Workshops

“Gregorian Chant as the Basis for Choral Excellence” (Larry Kent)

“Starting with English Chant” (Mary Jane Ballou)

“A Guide to Square Notation” (Susan Treacy)

“Basic Training in Chant for Priests & Deacons” (Fr. Patrick Hough, S.J.)

Chant Choirs
Scholae for beginning/intermediate (men & women), advanced men, advanced women

Masses
Opening Missa cantata in the Extraordinary Form on Friday evening. Music provided by the Florida Pro Musica Schola.
Closing Missa cantata in the Ordinary Form on Saturday evening (anticipated Sunday Mass) with English & Latin chants provided by conference participants

For all the details about the conference and how to register, visit:
MUSICA SACRA FLORIDA CHANT CONFERENCE PAGE

Conference Music Book Uploaded – Winter Sacred Music 2016

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Winter Sacred Music 2016 – Houston, TX January 4-8, 2016

Download and preview the Music Book for the CMAA’s Winter Sacred Music 2016 today! The entire repertory is now available online!

MUSIC BOOK – Winter Sacred Music 2016

Still deciding about joining us in Houston? Don’t delay. Register now and avoid late fees.

2015 Tournemire Conference

Tournemire-2015Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,  in collaboration with
The Church Music Association of America
and the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

present:

The Aesthetics and Pedagogy of Charles Tournemire:
L’Orgue mystique

featuring Richard Spotts
and the new Dan Jaeckel organ
in the Duquesne university Chapel of the Holy Spirit

November 20-23, 2015

Duquesne University will hold a conference exploring the legacy of Charles Tournemire’s L’Orgue mystique on November 20-23, 2015 on the campus of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Most of the events will happen on Monday, November 23rd.

Registration, conference schedule and details about hotel accommodations are available by downloading this document. For more information about registration, please contact: Vera Metz at metz@duq.edu or by phone at (412) 396-6080. Forms may also be sent by fax at (412) 396-5479. Please address any questions to Benjamin Cornelius-Bates at cornelius339@duq.edu.

Schedule:

Conference Schedule

Friday, November 20:
Duquesne University Chapel of the Holy Spirit
9:00-11:30 AM: Masterclass on Tournemire’s l’Orgue mystique by Richard Spotts and organ students of Duquesne University.

Sunday, November 22:
Extraordinary Form Mass, Duquesne University Chapel of the Holy Spirit
2:00 PM: Richard Spotts, organ, L’Orgue mystique office 51 (Last Sunday after Pentecost), Duquesne Schola Cantorum, Jacob Temple, conductor, Father Cyprian G. Constantine, O.S.B., celebrant, Servers from the Latin Mass Community.

4:00 PM Organ Artist Series, Jonathan Rudy, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Shadyside – $12, not included in convention fee

Dinner in the Downtown or Oakland area

8:00 PM Choral Compline, Heinz Chapel, Oakland

Monday, November 23:
Lectures, Mary Pappert School of Music
8:30 AM: Registration, Mary Pappert School of Music, lobby, 3rd Floor

9:30: Welcome Ann Labounsky, Chair of Organ and Sacred Music, Room 322
9:30 – 10:30: Richard Spotts: “An Introduction to L’Orgue mystique: practical aspects of performance”

10:45 – 11:45: Ann Labounsky and Kevin Lyczak: “Practical aspects in teaching Tournemire’s styles of Improvisations“

12 Noon: Lunch served in the lobby, 3rd Floor

1:15 – 2:15: Benjamin Cornelius Bates: “Spectral Implications in Tournemire’s L’Orgue mystique”

2:45 – 3:45: Kevin Faulkner: “Recent Research in Charles Tournemire’s Music: A new Biography”

3:45 – 5:00: Open consoles on the new organs in 314 and 216

(The Conference/AGO Chapter will divide into two groups, attending one session in each room)
5:00-5:30 Demonstration of the new organ in 314 and 216; first session; Peter Luley and Joseph Tuttle
5:38-6:15 Demonstration of the new organ in 314 and 216; second session

6:30 Dinner on the fifth floor of the Power Center

7:45 Peter Luley: “Practical tips for maintaining organs,” Duquesne University Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

8:00-9:00 Richard Spotts; Program of l’Orgue mystique

The official language of the conference is English.

Sacred Liturgy Conference – Portland, OR

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Sacred Liturgy Conference: The beauty and spiritual treasures of the liturgy

Saint Stephen Catholic Church and Schola Cantus Angelorum in Portland, Oregon are sponsoring a Sacred Liturgy Conference October 29 – November 2, 2015.

The conference will cover a wide range of topics ranging from The Bishop as Guarantor of the Liturgy, Papal Legislation on Sacred Music, Active Participation in the Eucharist, Monastic Life: Virtues and the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Space and sacred Architecture and other topics. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from the outstanding faculty including:

Jesson Mata, Director, Office of Divine Worship
Rev. John J. Boyle, JCL
Rev. John Paul II, OSB
Rev. Paul Thomas, OSB, JCD
Rev. Eric Andersen, MA, STB
Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre, MD, PhD
Rev. Theodore Lange, STL
Francisco Romero, PhD
Indra Rustandi, PhD
The Most Reverend Alexander Sample, JCL, DD
Rev. Pius Harding, OSB

The Conference opens with a Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist (OF) followed by one lecture and compline on Thursday evening, October 29th. On Friday, October 30th, participants will hear a full day of lectures, after which attendees will participate in a Votive Mass of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King (EF), followed by Compline. Saturday morning, October 31st begins with a Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary (OF), followed by more lecture sessions. The day concludes with Vespers of All Saints. On Sunday, Nov. 1st, participants can participate in Lauds and the Mass of All Saints (OF) with Archbishop Alexander Sample. On Monday, November 2nd, the conference will conclude with the Mass of All Souls (EF) in the evening.

To find out more specifics about the schedule, accommodations, and how to register for the conference, download this form . Online information is also available at: www.CantusAngelorum.org and www.archdpdx.org. For information by telephone, contact Marlina Natalia at (971) 220-2750. Don’t delay; space is limited. Registrants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Colloquium XXVI

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Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

The Church Music Association of America presents:

Sacred Music Colloquium XXVI

June 20 – June 25, 2016
St. Louis, Missouri

The Church Music Association of America is proud to invite you to celebrate with us as we hold our 26th Colloquium in 2016. The CMAA’s Sacred Music Colloquium continues to be the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world.

Our 2016 program offers new and expanded opportunities for learning, singing, listening, and interacting with some of the best minds and musicians in the Catholic world today! Liturgies will be held at three great venues – the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, The Pro-Cathedral of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist and the Shrine of St. Joseph.

The CMAA Colloquium is primarily focused on instruction and experience in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant choirs, lectures and performances and daily liturgies. During the week, you’ll be able to participate in ordinary and extraordinary form Masses, in Latin or English, as well as an evening Vespers, and sung morning and night prayer.

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Pro-Cathedral of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church

As a participant, you are an integral part of the beautiful music from the Roman Catholic tradition. Experience not only the traditional Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony of the church’s musical treasure, but also new compositions of English propers and ordinaries by various composers, as well as modern motets.

Attendance is open to anyone interested in sacred music in Catholic worship. Professional musicians, volunteer singers and beginners to the chant tradition will enjoy the opportunity to study under an expert faculty. We will also offer specific training for priests, deacons and seminarians who want to Sing the Mass, and for those who work to train clergy at home, taught in a relaxed atmosphere, friendly to the non-musician.

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Shrine of St. Joseph, St. Louis

Make plans now to join us this year in St. Louis, sharing a wonderful six days of liturgies, training, breakout sessions, morning and night prayer, and camaraderie with fellow church musicians.

Most training sessions, plenary talks and breakout sessions will be held at the conference hotel, the Saint Louis City Center Hotel. We have secured an amazing conference rate for our attendees of only $109/night (plus taxes) for room occupancy up to four people.

Registration information and details forthcoming.

Winter Sacred Music Workshop, January 4 – 8, 2016: St. Mary’s Seminary, Houston, Texas

Mosaic - StMary

 

UPDATE: Regular registration is now closed.*

 *(There may be space available for late registrants, but please contact us at programs@musicasacra.com before making any payment to be sure!)

REGISTER NOW

The Church Music Association of America is pleased to announce the first Winter Sacred Music Workshop for Chant and Polyphony. This five-day workshop offers participants the opportunity to study chant and polyphony with outstanding directors Scott Turkington and Wilko Brouwers.

Experience the beautiful liturgies of Epiphany (January 6) and a Votive Mass for the Holy Name of Jesus (January 8) at St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel. The liturgy on January 6 will be celebrated in the Extraordinary form; the liturgy January 8 will be celebrated in the Ordinary form and will combine the lovely sacred music from chant and polyphonic traditions.

Experience Morning and Night prayer, training in chant and polyphony, and shared meals with fellow musicians in the sunny Texas city of Houston. The Texans have promised to provide hospitality and beautiful weather for our visit.

As a special treat, early arrivals to the event can choose to experience Solemn Vespers with Felipe Gasper and the professional choir Sola Stella in residence at Annunciation Parish (1618 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX) at 7:00 pm on Sunday evening, January 3rd. For more information, visit the parish website at: http://annunciationcc.org or the google calendar link for the event. The repertory for Vespers will include: Willan “The Three Kings”, a Gombert Magnificat, and Marenzio “Tribus miraculis”. The hymn and chants are from Antiphonale Romanum II, with one of the psalms done to Anglican chant, but in Latin.

In addition, the children’s choir from St. Theresa’s Parish will provide music for daily Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 7th in the seminary chapel. The choir is directed by Ben Geier, along with Dr. Kevin Clarke.

Chant Courses

When you come to the Winter Sacred Music program, you will need to choose a chant choir for your participation during the week. There are few joys greater than singing in a well-prepared Gregorian chant choir. Although there is always a little tweaking after the first day, i.e. singers moving up or down a level, most people find it relatively easy to choose.

Many returning attendees to the CMAA events find themselves advancing from a fundamentals/refresher choir to the advanced. Some attendees may choose to attend a fundamentals/refresher course in order to learn teaching techniques for beginners from the conductors, even though their level of chant singing is on a higher level than most attending a fundamentals/refresher course.

Each participant should choose one of the chant courses:

Fundamentals and Refresher Course for Men and Women (Director, Scott Turkington) This course in Gregorian chant is intended for chant beginners or for those with some background in chant, but without the opportunity to sing it on a regular basis. Participants will learn how to read the four line staff, the names of the neumes, and how to navigate the intervals with solfege. Rhythm will be introduced. This group will sing the Mass ordinaries, as well as some of the less difficult Mass propers for the liturgies.

Intermediate to Advanced Course for Men and Women (Director, Wilko Brouwers) This course is intended for intermediate or advanced singers who sing chant regularly. The bulk of the more difficult Chanted Mass Propers for the liturgies will be sung by this choir, as well as the chanted Mass ordinaries.

Polyphony Courses

Being part of a polyphonic choir is one of the many highlights of the CMAA events. Note that there is no sign-up or pre-registration for either of the choirs. Simply arrive at the rehearsal of your choice on Monday. If the conductors find they have too many sopranos or too few tenors, for example, a little shifting around may occur from choir to choir on the first day.

But as a matter of good choir etiquette, conductors ask that you not bounce from choir to choir. Five days of rehearsal is not much time to develop an ensemble sound, and the deadlines of performing in liturgy loom delightfully throughout the week.

Each participant should choose one of the polyphony courses:

Beginner/Intermediate Motets (Director, Wilko Brouwers)

This choir is designed to introduce and improve on the critical vocal and musical techniques necessary for singing polyphonic music. Singers will learn how to carry a part on their own, independent of other sections, and without accompaniment. Members of this choir will learn rhythm, pitch, and vocal production. The choir is designed for novice to intermediate singers who would not yet benefit from the more advanced choir, but it might also be useful for directors who wish to see how a master goes about teaching less-experienced singers to make beautiful music. Repertory information to be forthcoming.

Intermediate/Advanced Polyphony (Director, Scott Turkington)

Because of the larger amount of repertory this choir will sing, it is recommended that intermediate to advanced choral singers with more experience in singing unaccompanied pieces choose this choir. Repertory information to be forthcoming.

Breakout Sessions

Dr. William Mahrt (Board President of the CMAA and Professor at Stanford University) will speak during three breakout sessions during the week. The topics will be:

Tuesday, January 5, 2016: “The Basics of Gregorian Notation and its Relation to the Sound of the Music”
Wednesday, January 6, 2016: “The Differences in Style Between Kinds of Gregorian Chant”
Thursday, January 7, 2016: “The Beauty of the Liturgy and Why It Matters”

Useful Links

Winter Sacred Music 2016 Schedule (preliminary)
Repertory
Conference Hotel
Registration Form
Online Registration and Payment
St. Mary’s Seminary Website
Instructions for Priests, Deacons and Seminarians
NEW! Conference Music Book
Missa super Pilons pilons l’orge, by Orlando di Lasso
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei

Winter Sacred Music will begin at 1:00 pm on Monday afternoon, January 4th, and will conclude on Friday, January 8th, with the closing Mass at 11:30 in the Seminary Chapel.

Registration Information

Mail-in and online registration can be completed now. To To register by mail and pay by check, complete the registration form and mail to CMAA, PO Box 4344, Roswell, NM 88202. The discount code for members has been sent to our member list by email. Please contact Janet Gorbitz or call 505-263-6298 for questions about your member discount code if you have not received it.

Register online here

Tuition includes all sessions and materials as well as meals as described in the schedule. You will receive all course materials including the Parish Book of Chant upon arrival. The week’s events will culminate with Mass at the Seminary Chapel at 11:30 a.m.

Early Registration (deadline: November 14, 2015) for CMAA members is $325, including nonrefundable deposit of $75. Non-member price is $375. Payment must be made in full by November 14 to receive this rate.

UPDATE: Early Bird Registration is no longer available.

Regular Registration (deadline: December 15, 2015) for CMAA members is $375, including nonrefundable deposit of $75. Non-member price is $425. Payment must be made in full by December 15th to receive this rate.

Space is limited for this course, but late registrations will be accepted if space is available after 12/15/15. The late registration fee is $50.

Conference Hotel

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS are available at the Sheraton Suites Houston near The Galleria (2400 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77027, (713) 586-5187). Rooms are available at the special conference price of $119 per room per night, plus tax, for single or double rooms, up to occupancy of four per room. Make your reservation before December 14th, 2015 to get the special group rate. Please mention “Winter Sacred Music Conference” if calling the hotel directly to make reservations.

Amenities include free internet in all guest rooms and self parking at $7 per day (discounted from $16/day). The property includes a fitness center, full service restaurant, bar, and complimentary shuttle service within a 3-mile radius. This hotel is 3.7 miles from the Seminary, so guests should plan to make other arrangements for transportation to and from the course at St. Mary’s each day. The hotel shuttle can provide transportation to local area shopping centers and restaurants.

To register for hotel accommodations at this special rate, mention “Winter Sacred Music Conference” when making your reservation. Link to hotel reservation page.

An early departure fee of $59.50 will apply if a customer checks out prior to the confirmed checkout date. The hotel is smoke-free (the hotel will post a $250 cleaning fee to the account of any guests who smoke in their guest room).

Cancellations

Requests received in writing at the CMAA Office (by mail or email) by December 15th will receive a refund less the nonrefundable $75 deposit. Refunds will be processed after the Winter Sacred Music course has concluded. Any requests for cancellation after December 15th will only be processed if a replacement from the waiting list is able to take your place. We expect this course to fill quickly, so don’t delay.

Faculty

mku monteverdikamerkoor utrecht (145 van 210)(1)Wilko Brouwers of the Netherlands joins us this year for Winter Sacred Music. He has taught both chant and polyphony at the CMAA Colloquia since 2004 and has developed a loyal following among CMAA program attendees. We are indeed fortunate that his schedule will allow him to also teach this course.
Wilko Brouwers has conducted the Monteverdi Kamerkoor Utrecht since 1989 and the Strijps Kamerkoor Eindhoven since 2004. He is also currently the director of the Gregorian Schola of St. Benedictus Abbey in Achel, Belgium, a post he has held for the last eight years. His original compositions have been published and recorded.
As a music educator, Wilko Brouwers teaches choral conducting at the Utrecht Art Center in the Netherlands. Internationally, he has taught workshops on Gregorian chant in Auburn, Alabama, Still River, Massachusetts, and Pamplona, Spain. Brouwers is the author of Stepping Tones, a method of sight reading for elementary schools and children’s choirs based on the Ward Method. His Words with Wings: Gregorian Chant for Children in Twenty Lessons has been published by the Church Music Association of America, with both student and teacher’s workbooks and demonstration CDs. Brouwers also writes on chant, music education, vocal training, and choral repertoire for a number of Dutch and European music journals.

turkington1Scott Turkington, Organist and Choirmaster of Holy Family Church and Holy Family Academy in Minneapolis, MN, joins us for Winter Sacred Music.

Prior to joining the staff at Holy Family in 2013, Turkington served as principal organist and choirmaster of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston, SC. Until 2010, he served as organist and choirmaster for the Roman Catholic Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist in Stamford, Connecticut, where he conducted a choir in a program of weekly polyphonic Mass settings and Gregorian chant. Before accepting the position at St. John’s in 1998, he was Assistant Organist and Conductor at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. While at the National Shrine, he played for over 500 services each year, and appeared on live national television dozens of times.

He has been Music Director at the Church of the Covenant in Boston; Music Teacher and Organist at St. Paul’s Choir School in Harvard Square, under Theodore Marier. A native of Minneapolis, he studied music at the University of Minnesota, the Boston Conservatory of Music and The Catholic University of America. His former teachers include Heinrich Fleischer, Phillip Steinhaus, and George Faxon.

In frequent demand as an organ recitalist, he has played innumerable recitals in the Northeast, having made his New York debut at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He has performed for a national convention of the Organ Historical Society, and is a featured performer on the Organ Historical Society’s compact disc, Organs of Baltimore. In 1994, his choir performed for Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

He is editor of A Gregorian Chant Masterclass by Theodore Marier, published by the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. This book and its companion CD feature the Stamford Schola Gregoriana and the nuns of Regina Laudis, both conducted by Turkington.

mahrt1William Mahrt will be providing breakout sessions for attendees during the week.

Dr. Mahrt is Associate Professor and Director of Early Music Singers at the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Stanford University, President of the Church Music Association of America, and editor of Sacred Music, the oldest continuously published journal of music in North America.

Dr. Mahrt grew up in Washington state; after attending Gonzaga University and the University of Washington, he completed a doctorate at Stanford University in 1969. He taught at Case Western Reserve University and the Eastman School of Music, and then returned to Stanford in 1972, where he continues to teach early music. Since 1964 he has directed the choir of St. Ann’s Chapel in Palo Alto, which sings mass and vespers in Gregorian chant on all the Sundays of the year, with masses in the polyphonic music of Renaissance masters for the holy days.

His research interests include theory and performance of Medieval and Renaissance music, troubadours, Machaut, Dufay, Lasso, Dante, English Cathedrals, Gregorian chant, and Renaissance polyphony. He has published articles on the relation of music and liturgy, and music and poetry. He frequently leads workshops in the singing of Gregorian chant and the sacred music of the Renaissance.

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Kevin Clarke will serve on the faculty as the organist for the Winter Sacred Music course.

Clarke was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. After several years of self taught playing Mr. Clarke studied with George Kent and Steven Martorella. He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from Rhode Island College and his Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston where he studied with Frank Taylor and Yuko Hayashi. During that time he was organist and choirmaster of St. Peter’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Providence where one of two Fisk organs in Rhode Island resides. He has coached with Dr. Jesse Eschbach in French organ technique and style as well as improvisation with George Baker and Philippe Lefebvre. In the art of choral training he has worked with Malcolm Archer, Sir David Willcocks and the late George Guest. In 2000 he was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters from the Seminary of the Southwest for his compositions and recordings of sacred music.

He has held positions at Washington National Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral, Bristol England, Church of the Incarnation, Dallas, Texas and St. Mary’s Greenville, South Carolina. Beginning in July 2010 the Clarke family moved to the Houston Texas area to be closer to Elizabeth’s family, work with the family business, to be Music Director of St. Theresa’s Sugar Land and to continue work on the faculty of St. Nicholas School.

As a recitalist, he has performed in North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany, where he played the world premiere of Hans-Dieter Karras’ 2nd Symphony for orchestra and organ. He has represented the United States in several international festivals including the Cervantino Festival International, The International Organ Festival of Caen, France and the Morelia International Organ Festival.

Mr. Clarke’s most recent recordings feature music of the English Cathedral tradition sung by the Incarnation Chancel Choir on the Pro Organo label, and an organ CD entitled “Trumpet Tunes” on the Prospect label and is on the Albany label. His newest release on the Pro Organo label entitled “A Sacred Romance” is a recording of French organ music. Last fall, a recording of all Bach on the Fisk organ at Palmer Memorial, Houston, TX, was released and is available on itunes.

Several of his compositions can be found published by St. James’s Press. His performances have been heard on National Public Radio and Organlive.com.

Kevin lives in Sugar Land, Texas with his wife Elizabeth, children Lucy, Hugh, and dog Skipper, a Golden Retriever. In his spare time, he bikes, builds model ships, works with his children on a scale model railroad and likes to sail on Galveston Bay.

Not a CMAA Member? Join Now.

Musica Sacra Florida Annual Gregorian Chant Conference 2015

MSF 2015 Web Banner

Musica Sacra Florida

7th Annual Gregorian Chant Conference

Friday, May 15 & Saturday, May 16, 2015

at Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, FL

The Florida chapter of the Church Music Association of America (CMAA) and the Ave Maria University Department of Music are pleased to announce our seventh annual conference in Gregorian Chant.

The conference will include:

Keynote Speaker:
Father James Bradley, Catholic priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (UK)

NEW:
Special day-long Saturday sacred music workshop for children (ages 9 to 18) with renowned clinician Michael Olbash, board member of the American Federation Pueri Cantores, the international Catholic choral organization for children (www.pcchoirs.org). Participating children are invited to chant chant in the closing Mass on Saturday, and are invited to serve as the principal choir for the 10:00 a.m. Mass at Ave Maria Oratory on Sunday, May 17.
Workshops

  • “A Guide to Square Notation”: Basic instruction on how to read Gregorian chant notation
  • “Learning the Ancient Notations Online”: Opportunity to a new software program to learn the notations of the oldest chant manuscripts (Laon and St. Gall)
  • “English Chant for Parish Cantors”: Learn how to bring chant in English to your parish

Chant Choirs

  • Scholae
    for beginning/intermediate (men & women); advanced men; advanced women

Masses

  • Opening Missa cantata in the Extraordinary Form on Friday evening
  • Closing Missa cantata in the Ordinary Form on Saturday evening (anticipated Sunday Mass) with English & Latin chants performed by conference participants

Registration

For more information on the conference, contact Susan Treacy, Ph.D., at: susan.treacy@avemaria.edu | (239) 280-1668

Conference Faculty

  • Keynote Speaker:
    Father James Bradley, Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
  • Mary Jane Ballou, D.S.M., Director of Cantorae Saint Augustine
  • Michael Olbash, M.Mus., CAGO/ChM, Saint Adelaide Church, Peabody, Massachusetts
  • Edward Schaefer, D.M.A., University of Florida College of Fine Arts
  • Susan Treacy, Ph.D., Ave Maria University

For more information about the event, see the conference details page.

Register now!

2015 Summer Chant Intensive

Duquesne5Announcing Summer Chant Intensive 2015
Duquesne University – Pittsburgh, PA
June 23-26, 2015

The Chant Intensive lives up to its name: though no previous experience with chant is required, beginners and intermediate chanters should be prepared for full immersion from the start. You will learn or review how to read and fully navigate all aspects of traditional Gregorian notation (square notes) with a masterful teacher.

The course will also address correct Latin pronunciation, the sound and mystery of the eight Church modes, Psalm tones and their applications, questions concerning the rhythm of plainsong, and more. Compline will be sung to allow participants to experience the beauty of a portion of the sung Divine Office. Gregorian repertoire will be used for Divine Office, Mass and for a concert on Thursday evening.

The CMAA Summer Chant Intensive is intended for beginning and continuing students and all who love and appreciate the central role that chant plays as the prayerful song of the Roman Rite–not only at cathedrals and basilicas but in any parish. The conference will inspire and prepare participants to continue the renaissance of sacred music in our time, in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass.  In the years since the first CMAA Chant Intensive course was taught in 2008, hundreds of students have benefited from this in-depth course in Gregorian chant.

This summer’s course will be taught by instructor Wilko Brouwers, from the Netherlands, in one section including men and women. In addition to the sessions on chant, this year’s course will also offer breakout sessions by Dr. Ann Labounsky on organ improvisation, as well as a concert on Thursday evening combining chant and organ improvisation.

Breakout Detail

Organ Improvisation based on Gregorian Chant
Session 1 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015):
Demonstration of the modes and  chant hymns on them with their harmonizations. Students with particular interest in this material will receive handouts prior to the first session.

Session 2 (Thursday, June 25, 2015):
Application of material from session one in simple improvisations for preludes, offertories, communions, and postludes based on the chant hymns used in the course.

Useful Links

Summer Chant Intensive 2015 Schedule
Course Description
General Information about the Hilton Garden Inn
Special Conference Rate at Hilton Garden Inn
Registration Form
Online registration and payment
Detailed Information about Duquesne’s Housing and Facilities
Maps of downtown Pittsburgh
Map of Duquesne University
Course Registration for Credit at Duquesne University
Downtown Made Easy in Pittsburgh
Transportation to and from the Pittsburgh airport
Instructions for Priests and Seminarians
Suitability Form for Priests
Suitability Form for Deacons

The intensive will begin on Tuesday afternoon, June 23rd, and conclude with a 12 p.m. chanted Votive Mass in the ordinary form on Friday, June 26 at the Duquesne University Chapel of the Holy Spirit. The sung Mass will include Mass Ordinaries and the Gregorian propers for a Votive Mass.

Registration Information

Mail-in and online registration can be completed now. To register by mail and pay by check, complete the registration form and mail to CMAA, PO Box 4344, Roswell, NM 88202. The discount code for members has been sent to our member list by email. Please contact Janet Gorbitz or Mary Weaver or call 505-263-6298 for questions about your member discount code if you have not received it.

Registration is Now Closed

Tuition includes all sessions and materials as well as snacks and Dinner on Tuesday. You will receive all course materials including the Parish Book of Chant upon arrival. The week’s events will culminate with Mass at the Duquesne University Chapel, after which an optional closing lunch will be served.

Early Registration (deadline: March 31) for CMAA members is $300, including nonrefundable deposit of $75. Non-member price is $350. Payment must be made in full by March 31 to receive this rate.

Regular Registration (deadline: May 31) for CMAA members is $350, including nonrefundable deposit of $75. Non-member price is $400. Payment must be made in full by May 31 to receive this rate.

Space is limited for this course, but late registrations will be accepted if space is available after 5/31/15. The late registration fee is $50. UPDATE: Registration is now closed.

Meal Plan
An optional meal plan is available that includes breakfast (Wednesday – Friday), Lunches (Wednesday – Thursday) and Dinner on Thursday for $85. Wednesday dinner is on your own.
An optional Final Lunch after the Friday Mass is available for $25.

Dormitory accommodations will be available again to CMAA program attendees this summer. With easy walking distance to classrooms, chapel, dining facilities and other campus amenities, the reasonable rates and convenience of Vickroy Hall (Address: 1345 Vickroy Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219) will make the dorms very attractive to our registrants. Dorm rooms are arranged in a suite arrangement, with two rooms sharing a bath. Complimentary wi-fi will be available in the dormitories. Login and Password information to be provided. Registrants may choose either single or double occupancy in the dorms. Room rates are $50/night single occupancy or $40/night for double occupancy. Take a look at the general appearance and layout of the dorm rooms on this Dorm flyer. All residence halls are air-conditioned. The University is patrolled by sworn officers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

On-campus parking is available in the Forbes Avenue Parking garage for all guests. The garage is covered and centrally located on campus. Guests may park in the garage on a cash basis or a parking permit may be established for their stay on campus. It is recommended that you park in the garage on cash basis when you arrive and then visit the parking office during regular office hours to purchase your parking pass for the duration of your stay.

Parking Rates
Rates subject to change, printed rates are not guaranteed.

Weekday Parking: $12.00
Evening and Weekend Parking (after 5pm): $ 6.00

For any participants with mobility issues, there is handicapped parking available at Duquesne University around campus. You can find out where those parking spaces are located by visiting the Duquesne University website here. These spaces do require the purchase of a surface parking pass at the parking office. Rates are the same for surface parking passes as for parking garage passes. Guests must have a handicapped tag or plate to make use of these surface tags.

Two payment options are available:

Payment by check, with $75 deposit due now and the balance due by March 31, 2015. If paying by check, please complete the registration form and send it with your deposit. Checks should be made payable to CMAA and mailed to CMAA Programs, P.O. Box 4344, Roswell, NM 88202. Add $25 if you need the special meals option.*

Accommodations and other information

Other Suggested Accommodations

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS are also available at the Hilton Garden Inn, University Place, 3454 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, telephone: 1-412-683-2040. Rooms are available at the special conference price of $134 per room per night, plus tax, for single or double rooms, up to occupancy of four per room. Make your reservation before June 8th, 2015 to get the special group rate.
Amenities include free internet in all guest rooms and valet parking at $7 per day (discounted from $18/day). The property includes a business center with complimentary printing and printer, fitness center, full service restaurant, bar, complimentary beverage area and complimentary shuttle service within a 3-mile radius. This hotel is not within easy walking distance of Duquesne University, so guests staying at the Hilton should plan to use the hotel shuttle, public transportation or their own vehicle to attend the events on the Duquesne campus.
To register for hotel accommodations at this special rate, access our event reservation page.

Online Registration

Registration is now closed.

E-mail Janet Gorbitz or Mary Weaver or call 505-263-6298 for questions about your member discount code. If you sign up as a non-member, you will not receive your $50 discount.

Cancellation: Requests received in writing at the CMAA Office by June 8 will receive a refund less the nonrefundable $75 deposit. Refunds will be processed after the Chant Intensive course has concluded. Any requests for cancellation after June 8 will only be processed if a replacement from the waiting list is able to take your place. We expect this course to fill quickly, so don’t delay.

 

Faculty

mku monteverdikamerkoor utrecht (145 van 210)(1)Wilko Brouwers of the Netherlands will be the instructor for the Chant Intensive course this summer. He has taught both chant and polyphony at the CMAA Colloquia since 2004 and has developed a loyal following among CMAA program attendees. We are indeed fortunate that his schedule will allow him to also teach this course.

Wilko Brouwers has conducted the Monteverdi Kamerkoor Utrecht since 1989 and the Strijps Kamerkoor Eindhoven since 2004. He is also currently the director of the Gregorian Schola of St. Benedictus Abbey in Achel, Belgium, a post he has held for the last eight years. His original compositions have been published and recorded.

As a music educator, Wilko Brouwers teaches choral conducting at the Utrecht Art Center in the Netherlands. Internationally, he has taught workshops on Gregorian chant in Auburn, Alabama, Still River, Massachusetts, and Pamplona, Spain. Brouwers is the author of Stepping Tones, a method of sight reading for elementary schools and children’s choirs based on the Ward Method. His Words with Wings: Gregorian Chant for Children in Twenty Lessons has been published by the Church Music Association of America, with both student and teacher’s workbooks and demonstration CDs. Brouwers also writes on chant, music education, vocal training, and choral repertoire for a number of Dutch and European music journals.

ann-labounsky-by-terry-deglauDr. Ann Labounsky is widely known, both in the United States and in Europe, as a virtuoso performer and improviser at the organ and particularly as a leading American disciple of Jean Langlais. From 1962 to 1964 she lived and studied in Paris as a Fulbright scholar. There, as an organ student of André Marchal and Jean Langlais, she immersed herself in the French organ tradition, studying many of Langlais’s organ compositions with the composer, and playing them for him on the organ at Sainte-Clotilde. In 1964, as Langlais’s student at the Schola Cantorum, she was awarded Diplôme de Virtuosité with Mention Maximum in both performance and improvisation, the first American organist to be so honored.

Labounsky has been a frequent concert performer on two continents, including a number of recitals on the organ at Sainte-Clotilde. Her performances have been broadcast over the French National Radio, as well as public radio stations in the United States. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees in organ were earned at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. She also holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of a biography of Langlais, Jean Langlais: The Man and His Music, (Amadeus Press, 2000). In celebration of the centennial of Jean Langlais in 2007, the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organists produced a DVD entitled Life and Music of Jean Langlais for which she was the narrator and performer at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, California.

Labounsky holds the position of Organ Artist in Residence at First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh. For more information about Dr. Labounsky, visit her website.

Graduate and undergraduate music students may receive credit for their attendance at CMAA Colloquia and Chant Intensive courses.

Recommended Text, available for purchase at the course: Gregorian Missal or Graduale Romanum. Please bring your own copy or make plans to purchase one at registration.

Not a CMAA Member? Join now.

 

More information on events is at our past events archive page.

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