National Conference: “Gregorian Chant in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education”

• Friday, March 10 – Saturday, March 11, 2017
• St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie), Yonkers, New York
• www.dunwoodiemusic.org/conference
• $75 registration for both days, or $50 for one-day registration
• Meal package available
• Registration deadline – February 1

What role does the Church’s treasury of sacred music play in contemporary pastoral ministry and religious education? How does one build a sacred music program of excellence which serves as an integral part of the sacred liturgy and is also effective both in drawing souls to Christ and forming people in the Catholic faith? This national conference will bring together clergy, seminarians, scholars, musicians, teachers, and Catholic school administrators to consider the place of Gregorian chant and excellent choral music in the life of the Catholic Church in America today. The conference seeks to inspire attendees with ideas for starting or continuing to develop sacred music programs of excellence in Catholic parishes and schools. The conference organizers also hope to encourage discussion about the vitality and necessity of beauty and sacred music in the catechesis and formation of Catholics, as well as in the evangelization of non-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics.

This two-day conference will feature:

• Keynote addresses by Msgr. Robert Skeris, Fr. Christopher Smith, and Mark Langley
• Presentations, workshops, and panel discussions on topics related to the conference theme
• Masses and the sung Divine Office with distinguished children’s and parish choirs
• Opportunities for informal discussions

Topics include:

• Sacred Music in Spanish-Speaking Communities
• Chant Camp for Parishes
• Pastoral Care of Musicians
• Pastoral Implications of Vernacular Chant
• Parish Youth Orchestra and Conservatory For a Diverse Neighborhood
• Mystagogical Catechesis and Sacred Music
• The Schola Cantorum as an Integral Part of the Catholic School
• A Practical Perspective in Starting an After-school Children’s Choir Program
• Gregorian Chant as a Unifying Force in Multiethnic Parishes
• Liturgical Formation in Catholic Schools
• Forthcoming English Translations of Hymnody of the Liturgy of the Hours
• Musical Literacy and Liturgy
• The Role of Beauty and Chant in Spiritual Formation
• The Dollars and “Sense” of Catholic Education
• Training Choristers according to the English Cathedral Tradition and Royal School of Church Music
• Liturgical Formation in Catholic Schools
• Gregorian Chant in a Small Rural Parish
• The Ward Method of Music Instruction

Presenters include: Dr. Mary Jane Ballou, Dr. Francis Brancaleone, Mary Ann Carr Wilson, Heitor Caballero, Colleen Crafton, Fr. Richard Cipolla, Dr. Jennifer Donelson, Fr. David M. Friel, Raymond Henderson, Dr. Aaron James, Fr. Robert Johansen, Lisa Knutson, Nathan Knutson, Alexis Kutarna, Frs. Robin Kwan and Kevin Mann, SJC, Dr. Ann Labounsky, Nicholas Lemme, Mary Catherine Levri, Dr. Crista Miller, Joel Morehouse, James Monti, Dr. Jared Ostermann, Kurt Poterack, Dr. Ronald Prowse, Laurence Rosania, Jonathan Ryan, Dr. Edward Schaefer, Dr. Samuel A. Schmitt, Fr. Innocent Smith, OP, Students of the Atonement Academy, Dr. Jay Swain, Fr. Jon Tveit, Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, The Ward Centre of Richmond, Virginia, Nicholas Will, Gustavo Zayas, and Amy Zuberbuler.