Join Us This Summer!

We welcome the public to join us for several Masses this summer!

Friday, July 4, 2025 – 6:00 p.m.

Final Mass – Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit – St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto

Celebrate July 4th by joining conference participants in worshipping Our Lord at a Solemn Pontifical Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart. Celebrated by Abbot Marc Crilly, O.S.B., the professional ensemble assembled by CISM will sing Frank Martin’s spectacular Mass for Double Choir, along with motets by Tomás Luís de Victoria and CISM faculty member Frank La Rocca.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025 – 11:00 a.m.

Sung Mass for the Feast of St. Augustine Zhao Rong – St. Patrick’s Seminary Main Chapel

Join CISM students attending the Choral Institute and Organ Improvisation Seminar as they sing the music of Henri Du Mont, accompanied by organ improvisations.

Friday, July 11, 4:30 p.m. 

Sung Mass for the Feast of St. Benedict – St. Patrick’s Seminary Main Chapel

Join CISM students attending the Choral Institute and Organ Improvisation Seminar as they sing the music of Josef Rheinberger, accompanied by organ improvisations. Motets composed by students in the Composition Seminar will be featured. 

Friday, July 18, 11:00 a.m. 

Sung Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart – St. Patrick’s Seminary Main Chapel

Join CISM students attending the Introduction to Gregorian Chant class as they sing and direct a Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart. Mass will be celebrated by recent graduate of St. Patrick’s Seminary and newly ordained priest Fr. Leandro Calingasan.

Launching this Summer:

CISM’s Chorister Program for Young Singers

Discover the joy of singing the Church’s sacred music!

The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music launches its choral program for young singers with an inaugural chant camp. (More information on the academic-year program forthcoming! The camp is open to all, regardless of intent to join the academic-year program.)

A week of fun, engaging, and positive rehearsals, games, catechesis, time for prayer, and meals together; Chant Camp is a day camp for students who want to grow in their faith, learn to sing, and enjoy fellowship with other Catholics.

Add-on afternoon sessions: pipe organ, music theory, music composition

For students of all levels, from new chanters to those who have some experience chanting or singing in a Catholic choir.

Instructors: Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka & Prof. Christopher Berry

Early bird pricing through June 25th

Discounts available for multiple children from the same family

CISM Welcomes Prof. Christopher Berry in Move to Menlo Park

The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music Announces Christopher Berry Hired as Assistant Professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, and as Director of Chorister Program

Menlo Park, CA – May 17, 2025 – The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music (CISM) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Christopher Berry as Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University. Berry will also serve as Organist and Director of Sacred Music at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, California, and as the Director of CISM’s newly-founded Chorister Program for young singers in grades 3+. He joins a world-class roster of faculty, including Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, CISM’s founding director, as well as adjunct faculty such as Dr. Frank La Rocca, Dr. Charles Weaver, Dr. Christoph Tietze, Dr. Edward Schaefer, and Dr. Joseph Dyer, all outstanding experts in their respective fields.

A distinguished musician, Christopher Berry brings a wealth of experience in organ performance, choral conducting, and Gregorian chant to his new roles. With a career molded by studies under renowned mentors such as Jesse Eschbach, James Higdon, Marie-Claire Alain, Andrew Megill, and Simon Carrington, Berry has earned international recognition, including a Premier Prix from the conservatory of Rueil-Malmaison in Paris. His deep knowledge of early music and chant, born out of work at the Paris Conservatory, has profoundly influenced his approach to sacred music.

Berry’s extensive conducting experience includes leading choirs at iconic venues such as St. Peter’s Basilica, Canterbury Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. As Director of Music at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, he made a commercial recording and conducted an historic concert in the Sistine Chapel. After redefining a model music program for the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, Berry moved to St. Stanislaus Oratory, where the music program for the parish flourished with new ensembles and a chorister program grounded in traditional principles of chant and polyphony. While developing choirs at St. Stanislaus and at various summer conferences, he taught as Professor of Organ at Carthage College and University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

“We are delighted to welcome Christopher Berry to the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music at St. Patrick’s Seminary,” said Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, professor of sacred music and director of CISM. “His extraordinary talent, dedication to sacred music, and proven ability to develop excellent choirs and organists make him an ideal director for our Chorister Program, an inspiring leader for the development of the sacred music program at the vibrant Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, and a vital year-round addition to our faculty.”

At the Church of the Nativity, Berry will oversee the sacred music program, enriching liturgical celebrations with his expertise in organ performance and choral direction. As director of CISM’s Chorister Program, he will guide young singers in developing their musical and spiritual formation, fostering a deep appreciation for the Church’s sacred music tradition.

Christopher Berry – Biography 

In June 2025, Christopher Berry joins the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music (CISM) as Assistant Professor of Sacred Music. Berry will also serve as Organist and Director of Sacred Music at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, California, and as the Director of CISM’s newly-founded Chorister Program for young singers in grades 3+.

Christopher Berry’s international career as an organist began in 1993, when he served as an organist for the final liturgy of World Youth Day, presided over by Pope St. John Paul II. Since then, he has performed concerts throughout the United States and Europe, including Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Italy, France, and Poland. His performance venues have included Notre Dame Cathedral, La Madeleine, and St. Sulpice, Paris; St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague; and St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

Read more about Prof. Berry here.

Catch up on Our Podcast!

We’re nearing the end of Season 7, and we’ve surpassed 100 episodes of wisdom, scholarly insight, and practical advice about the Church’s sacred music. 

Check out our latest season:

• Episode 1 – Building a Great School & Parish Sacred Music Program in a Rural Community – with Kelsey LaCour
• Episode 2 – How Did the Parts of the Mass Ordinary Get Arranged into Groups in the Kyriale? – with Dr. Andrew Kirkman
• Episode 3 – Singing the Credo: Historical Origins and Development – with Dr. Harrison Russin
• And more!

You can listen on your favorite app and subscribe to the show!

The podcast is distributed via Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and Podbean.

The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music commends the soul of treasured faculty member, Dr. William Mahrt, to the hands and mercy of God. Beloved by students and colleagues alike, he will surely be missed. We are grateful for our time with him, and all he taught us will remain in our souls, minds, and hearts. May he rest in peace!

Read about Dr. Mahrt’s remarkable life and work here in his obituary.

From the Director’s Desk

Feast of Corpus Christi, 2025

Dear friends of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music,

2025 has been an extraordinary year for us, and it’s about to become even more remarkable!

We have just welcomed to our campus in Menlo Park Prof. Christopher Berry, a wonderful faculty member who has been present every summer and is now here full-time. Prof. Berry has been hired as an Assistant Professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, will serve as the Director of our Chorister Program (launching in August 2025), and as the Organist and Director of Sacred Music at Nativity Catholic Church in Menlo Park. 

We just wrapped up our work in providing music for the Artists Retreat of the Benedict XVI Institute which was held last weekend here on the campus of St. Patrick’s Seminary. Our musicians sang and played music by Fauré, Charpentier, Hassler, Peeters, and Josquin, of course as well as all of the Gregorian chant propers, and some lovely English chant adaptations for Vespers by Dr. Richard Skirpan. 

In a little over a week, we look forward to welcoming Cardinals Robert Sarah, Malcolm Ranjith, and Seán O’Malley, along with Archbishop Cordileone, Bishop Fernandes, Bishop Barber, and Abbots Benedict Nivakoff and Marc Crilly, along with other prominent theologians and hundreds of participants for our Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit. CISM has prepared the music for the Summit, featuring a choir from among our students and other top-notch singers from around the country. 

After the Summit, we move into 3 weeks of summer classes, welcoming students from 20 states and 5 foreign countries, as well as new adjunct faculty members, Dr. Joseph Dyer (Advanced Seminar in Old Roman Chant) and Prof. Sandra Bengochea (Vocal Pedagogy), along with returning adjunct faculty Drs. Frank La Rocca, Christoph Tietze, and Charles Weaver, along with myself and Prof. Christopher Berry. Students will be immersed in a liturgical horarium and intensive 5-day classes, all supported by preparing extensive reading and music lists before arriving on campus. 

We have also recently welcomed to our staff Sr. Mary Vianney Owens, who will serve as Program Associate and Assistant to the Director. Welcome, Sister!

August 4–8 we launch our Chorister Program with a Chant Camp. Registration for the camp is open to all, regardless of intent to enroll in the academic-year program. We’ll soon release more details on the academic-year program, which starts Tuesday, September 9th. Earlybird pricing for Chant Camp ends Wednesday, June 25th. Discounts are available for multiple children from the same family, and scholarships are available. 

Finally, we have marked many of the dates for the huge list of 2025–2026 offerings, both online and in-person, on our calendar, and we’ll be publishing more details on workshops, public lectures, and concerts in August. Check out our calendar here!

I hope to see you sometime soon at one of the many offerings of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. 

Finally, please know that we count on your prayers and support! Please pray that our work continue to grow and flourish, supporting musicians all over the world in their work of singing to the praise and glory of God almighty, and redounding to the sanctification and edification of souls.

In the Sacred Heart of Our Lord,
Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Director

Missed an Event?

Check out a video archive of our previous events.