The Office of Sacred Music in the Archdiocese of St. Louis is presenting the fourth annual diocesan conference on Musica Sacra, February 13-15: a conference on Chant in the Liturgy, led by Dr. Horst Buchholz, director of sacred music, and chant scholar Mr. Scott Turkington. Both are CMAA board members and great teachers.

The conference schedule includes a mix of lectures and practicum, and it is designed for everyone with an interest in chant for the liturgy: musicians, clergy, singers, liturgists. You can register on-line.

As a bonus for people coming from out of town, the conference has a very good rate on lodging at Saint Louis University: just $70 for two nights.

For information, contact the Office of Sacred Music at music@cathedralstl.org.

Registration for the 2014 Winter Chant Intensive: Special Edition in Surprise, AZ, January 3-4, is open. Registration deadline is December 20. Join the revolution! Register now.

January 3 and 4, 2014
St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Surprise, Arizona

Join the CMAA in Surprise, Arizona this coming January for a special, two-day edition of the famed Chant Intensive. Making a bit of a detour from our usual offering for beginning to intermediate chanters, this year’s intensive includes two separate tracks for intermediate to advanced chanters who are interested in furthering their studies of the Gregorian modes or developing their skills conducting chant.

The Courses

Not Your Mother’s Modes; Dr. Edward Schaefer

We’ll do a deep dive into the underworld of the modes: archaic modes, the development of the Octoechos, the Octoechos itself (ecclesiastical modes), pentatonic structures, modal evolution, modal transposition (not what it appears to be), and the function of degree scales in the various modes… and what it all means with regard to the interpretation of chant. Whew! You will be surprised at how much fun we’ll have…in Surprise, AZ.

Chironomy for Chanters; Dr. Jennifer Donelson

Designed with the those who would like to direct or start their own scholas in their parishes, this course will give participants a rhythmic foundation for singing chant, an understanding of the conducting style necessary for beautiful renditions of the chant, and ideas about how to communicate well with the schola and manage a rehearsal. Beginning with a refresher course on the basics of the rhythmic approach of the “old Solesmes” method, participants will learn the fundamental rules of chironomy (directing) for Gregorian psalm tones, as well as neumatic and melismatic chants in the Gregorian repertoire.

Jennifer Donelson is an assistant professor of music at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She currently serves as a board member of the Society for Catholic liturgy and as the associate managing editor of the CMAA’s Sacred Music journal. Having studied Gregorian chant at the Catholic University of America and Abbey of St. Peter in Solesmes, Dr. Donelson has served as the director of music at St. Gregory the Great Seminary (Diocese of Lincoln, NE) and St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center (UNL). She currently directs the schola cantorum at the Mission of Sts. Francis and Clare in Miami, where the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is celebrated weekly.

Location and Details

Both courses will be held at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in beautiful Surprise, Arizona. The program will run all day Friday and Saturday, January 3 and 4, from 9:00am to 5:00pm each day. Two days of work will culminate in a sung vigil Mass in the ordinary form with propers for the Solmenity of the Epiphany. Full schedule and accommodations links forthcoming.

Tuition

The cost of the two-day course, which includes instruction, materials, breaks and a catered lunch on both Friday and Saturday is $190.

Registration Deadline

The deadline for registration is December 20, 2013.

Accommodations

Information forthcoming

To Register

Registration for this event is now closed.

For questions, call 334.444.5584 or send an email.

Regina Pacis Cantorum and St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno, NV, are pleased to present “The Living Tradition of Gregorian Chant,” a workshop series covering many aspects of Gregorian chant. The sessions are Sept. 7, 14, 21 & 28 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral. Presenters are Deacon Joe Bell (St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral), Rev. Francisco Nahoe, O.F.M., Conv. (Rector, St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral), Professor William Mahrt (President CMAA) and Kathy Reinheimer (Director, Regina Pacis Cantorum).

Each workshop will have a lecture session dealing with various liturgical topics followed by instruction in how to read and sing Gregorian chant. Participants will sing at the 5 PM Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral following the September 28 session.

Requested donation: $25 (covers all four weeks). Registration required. For information and to register, contact Kathy Reinheimer 775/345-6106 or e-mail bkreinh@gbis.com. Please put “Chant Workshop” in the subject line.

The Church Music Association of America will hold a conference exploring renewal movements within the Church’s liturgy and sacred music October 13–15, 2013, at the Church of Saint Agnes and the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The conference marks the 40th anniversary of the residence of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale, founded by Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, at the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul. The conference seeks to explore, through critical analysis, former and present efforts to revive the Church’s sacred liturgy and music, particularly as exemplified by Msgr. Schuler’s work.

Registration is due by September 13.

For more information, see the conference description.

Musica Sacra Scotland is presenting a National Music Day for clergy, laity, and parish musicians on November 9. Speakers include composer James MacMillan, Fr. Guy Nicholls, and conductor Charles Cole. Read all about it!

Musicians at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Manhattan are forming a children’s choir for 8-14 year olds. See the poster for information.

The Renewal of Sacred Music and Liturgy in the Catholic Church: Movements Old and New. St. Agnes Church, and Cathedral of St. Paul, MN; October 13-15, 2013; A conference in honor of the 40th season of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale at St. Agnes Church.

A Summer Gregorian Chant Conference in the Diocese of Baker (Oregon), August 15-17, 2013, sponsored by Schola Cantus Angelorum. Workshops by Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre, Yumiko Rinta, Rev. Daniel Maxwell. Masses celebrated by Bp. Liam Cary, Rev. Daniel Maxwell, Rev. Robert Greiner.

The event will be held at the diocesan Powell Butte Retreat Center in the town of Powell Butte, OR.