by admin | Nov 25, 2025 | News
A happy (belated) feast of St. Cecilia to the friends of the Catholic institute of Sacred Music!
Here at CISM we celebrated with a Mass offered by Archbishop Cordileone here at the Seminary that was part of our first “Jornada de Estudio de Música Sacra” (Sacred Music Study Day in Spanish). We welcomed 225 participants and nearly 400 Mass attendees from as far away as Santa Rosa, CA down to Bakersfield, CA.
The archbishop offered a beautiful reflection on the nature of sacred music as fitting for the nuptial feast of the Lamb of God. Participants learned a Gregorian ordinary (Mass XII), a few new hymns in Spanish, and the congregational responses in the Misal Romano with Fernando Gil and Christian Cortés. A professional choir aided the singers by supplying Gregorian and Spanish-language proper chants and some polyphony, alongside wonderful accompaniments and improvisations by CISM professor Christoph Berry. They heard a talk about the nature of sacred music and active participation by CISM director Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, and attended an extensive session on vocal technique by CISM professor Sandra Bengochea.
Thanks to all who came to our first-ever Sacred Music Study Day entirely in Spanish! We are especially grateful to parish-level coordinators who worked to bring their choir members to the event.
Many thanks also to Fr. Emmanuel Gutierrez for his work in bringing pilgrims from St. Anthony’s in Redwood City, Mrs. Martha Sheridan and Sr. Mary Vianney for their assistance with day’s logistics, and to our donors who made the day possible.
We look forward to more Spanish-language events in the future!
by admin | Nov 24, 2025 | News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music Announces the Inaugural John A. McInnes Choral Fellowship for Summer 2026
Menlo Park, CA – November 24, 2025 – Feast of St. John of the Cross – The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music (CISM) is pleased to announce the establishment of the John A. McInnes Choral Fellowship, a new initiative that will support twelve outstanding singers in the summer of 2026. Beginning in 2026, twelve John A. McInnes Choral Fellows will be selected to serve as section leaders for the CISM Choral Institute, an intensive week-long graduate course held July 20–24, 2026, under the direction of CISM faculty Prof. Christopher Berry and Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka. During the Institute, participants sing daily Lauds, Mass, and Vespers, immersing themselves in the Church’s living tradition of sacred music. Each Fellow will receive:
- A $1,000 stipend
- Up to $600 in travel allowance
- Room and board for the duration of the program
In addition to their liturgical leadership, the 2026 Choral Fellows will participate in a professional recording session featuring one new work from each of the five composers enrolled in the concurrent Composition Seminar under the direction of Dr. Frank La Rocca.
Eligibility and Application Requirements
The fellowship is open to practicing Catholics of all experience levels, aged 25 years and older, including current and prospective CISM graduate students. Applicants must submit:
- Video recordings of themselves singing their voice part in two a cappella Renaissance motets of their choice
- Video recordings of themselves singing two Gregorian chants of their choice
Applications are due by February 15, 2026, with decisions announced on March 20, 2026.
Selected Fellows must arrive on campus no later than the morning of Saturday, July 18, 2026, and remain on or commute to campus through 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 24, 2026; singers are free to stay on campus through Saturday morning (July 25th). Fellows are expected to prepare all the music for the Choral Institute on their own in advance of coming to campus. The daily repertoire includes two motets, five Gregorian propers, and Gregorian vespers, as well as three Gregorian and two polyphonic masses throughout the week.
“We are deeply grateful for the visionary generosity that has made the John A. McInnes Choral Fellowship possible,” said Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, founding director of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. “This fellowship will enable twelve talented singers to lead one of the most intensive liturgical singing experiences available anywhere, while removing financial barriers that often prevent talented musicians from participating. Singers will have a chance to deepen their own formation and contribute to a landmark recording of new sacred music. We are profoundly grateful to the donor for his vision and trust in our mission.”
“Today, which is both the dies natalis of St. John of the Cross and the date of birth of John McInnes in 1931, the McInnes family wishes to thank Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka and the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music for inaugurating this unique scholarship program to prepare the next generation of sacred music practitioners for a life of service to the Church. We look forward to returning each July to spend time at St. Patrick’s Seminary enjoying the choral preparation and singing.”
A longer, more detailed obituary for John McInnes will follow in 2026 in time for the inaugural class to commence. In brief, John grew up in an age rapidly fading from our memory—a Great Depression era existence in which life-long frugality became a bulwark against uncertainty. John lost both his father and mother to cancer, his father in 1934, his mother in 1955, shortly before his civil marriage to his wife, Joan McInnes, who passed way December 25th, 2020. An only child, John maintained a reflexive reticence to speak about his family and personal life to all but his closest confidantes. Combined with his depression-era moderation, he was able to leave behind enough for posterity to enable this scholarship program to be created.
In his corporate career, he had seen the perishability of buildings and legacies. His final verbal wishes were to “make it something that endures.” Received into the Catholic Church on July 16th, 2020, John would endure declining health and the loss of control over his faculties common to many who enter their ninth decade. His late father, Archibald McInnes, served on World War I ships until his discharge. John would never return to his father’s homeland in Scotland but would finish his days watched over by the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer in the Orkney Islands and the Discalced Hermits of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
St. John of the Cross’s commentary on the Spiritual Canticle, Stanza 39 includes this prescient passage:
“The ears of God signify the desire He hath that the soul should sing in perfect joy. And that this song may be perfect, the Bridegroom bids the soul to send it forth, and to let it sound in the clefts of the rock, that is in the transformation which is the fruit of the mysteries of Christ, of which I spoke just now.”
The donor added, “May this gift give voice to the aspirations of continuing generations in their service and a reminder to all of us that ‘The world is thy ship and not thy home.’”
For the application and full details, please visit https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/ensembles/mcinnes-fellowship/.
Media Contact: Sr. Mary Vianney Program Associate Catholic Institute of Sacred Music mary.vianney@stpsu.edu (650) 353-7153
by admin | Nov 12, 2025 | News
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music is thrilled to announce the summer 2026 launch of its summer-based 36-credit Master of Sacred Music degree, and two 20-credit Post-Baccalaureate Certificates in Gregorian Chant and Sacred Choral Music, pending approval from WSCUC. Applications open November 15th, 2025.
https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/
The MSM and Certificates are completable in three to five summers, depending on how many weeks you can be on campus during the summer. During the regular fall and spring semesters, you’ll work with a voice teacher in your area, and take a 1-hour online (live via Zoom) colloquium with other graduate students.
Our affordable tuition ($250 per credit hour) and compact format mean that you can keep your job at a parish or school while completing graduate studies.
Courses will also remain open to students wishing just to take a graduate class or two, without matriculating into a degree/certificate program.
Check out this summer’s classes here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/.
Our curriculum prepares you with the theological, philosophical, and historical knowledge—as well as the practical skills (singing, playing, conducting, teaching, composing, organizing, fundraising)—necessary to build excellent sacred music programs in parishes and schools.
Our world-class faculty of dedicated Catholic scholars and practitioners delivers a curriculum that is robust, and focused on musical excellence and fidelity to the Catholic faith and tradition. Summer classes are buttressed by an horarium that allows time for sung daily Mass and vespers, access to confessions, and time for private prayer, study, relaxation, and fellowship.
Interested in learning more?
We have two digital open houses this week. Sign up here to learn more.
Summer 2026 Courses:
– History and Principles of Sacred Music
– Advanced Seminar in Gregorian Chant: Manuscript Sources, Semiology, and Interpretation
– Advanced Seminar in Gregorian Chant: Vocal Technique and Semiological Performance Practice
– Teaching Gregorian Chant to Children
– Liturgical Theology
– Introduction to Gregorian Chant
– Organ Accompaniment of Chant
– Choral Institute
– Composition Seminar
– Organ Improvisation
– Choral Preparation: Choral Conducting, Rehearsal Techniques, and Group Vocal Pedagogy
– Advanced Seminar in Gregorian Chant: Notation and Practice in the Tenth through Fourteenth Centuries
– Advanced Seminar in Gregorian Chant: Cantare super librum
Program faculty:
– Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Music History and Gregorian Chant
– Prof. Christopher Berry, Choral Music and Organ
– Dr. Frank La Rocca, Composition
– Dr. Charles Weaver, Gregorian Chant
– Dr. Alison Altstatt, Gregorian Chant
– Prof. Sandra Raquel Bengochea, Vocal Pedagogy
– Dr. Joseph Dyer, Gregorian and Old Roman Chant
– Dr. Rosemary Heredos, Gregorian Chant
– Fr. Joshua Neu, Liturgy and Scripture
– Dr. Edward Schaefer, Gregorian Chant
– Dr. Christopher Tietze, Organ
– Fr. Nicholas Schneider, Liturgy
– Dr. Adrian Walker, Philosophy
– Fr. Vincent Wood, Canon Law and Liturgy
Contact us for more information at info@catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org
by admin | Aug 18, 2025 | News
It was a wonderful beginning of August here at CISM as we welcomed nearly 80 young singers to campus for a 5-day chant camp. Students sang morning prayer, had intensive rehearsals preparing 5 days of sung Masses, and sharpened their vocal technique and solfège skills in rehearsals. Snack breaks and lunchtime games punctuated the days, and afternoons were spent learning about the pipe organ, the names of neumes, key signatures, and doing some composition.
We can’t wait to welcome students back to campus for camp again next summer!
In the meantime, CISM is launching a MAJOR NEW initiative: a comprehensive cathedral-style Chorister Program, training students in the Catholic faith and the Church’s treasury of sacred music, especially Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.
Scholarships are available for families in need. The registration deadline is Friday, August 29th. Classes start Tuesday, September 9th and meet each Tuesday at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park from 4:15-6:15 p.m.
More information and registration are available here.
by admin | Jul 26, 2025 | News
Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, 2025
Dear friends of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music,
Thank you for being part an amazing summer 2025 here at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. It’s not yet over, but I wanted to write to you with an update.
We welcomed hundreds of guests here at the beginning of the month for the inaugural Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit. Anchored by the celebration of solemn pontifical Masses and Vespers, celebrated by Cardinals Sarah and O’Malley, Archbishop Cordileone, Bishops Fernandes and Barber, and Abbots Benedict Nivakoff and Marc Crilly, participants encountered God’s presence in sacred liturgies celebrated with utmost care, reverence, and beauty. CISM provided music for each of the liturgies with its all-professional choir, drawn from students and colleagues across the U.S. and directed by Prof. Berry and Dr. Donelson-Nowicka. We heard fantastic talks from over a dozen leading prelates, theologians, and artists, and we developed friendships and collegiality over meals and working sessions. Stay tuned for the book-format publication of the Summit’s addresses!
Earlier in the summer, CISM provided music for the Artists Retreat of the Benedict XVI Institute, held 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.
Our summer graduate session moved into full-swing following the Summit with 9 classes in 3 weeks. Students in the Choral Institute sang the Gregorian propers for Mass, two motets per day, a Mass by du Mont, the Byrd Mass for Four Voices, the Rheinberger Mass in E-flat (JWV57), as well as Gregorian Vespers and English Morning Prayer under the direction of Prof. Christopher Berry and Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka. Composition Seminar students, under the tutelage of Dr. Frank La Rocca studied species counterpoint, and shared their own compositions with each other throughout the week, with all students hearing their compositions rendered by the Choral Institute students at the end of the week. Dr. Christoph Tietze‘s Organ Improvisation class improvised processional music for Mass and vespers, antiphon and hymn incipits, as well as an improvised accompaniment to the Mass in the First Royal Tone of Henri du Mont. We welcomed the Knights and Dames of Malta, along with many other guests for the final Mass of the week.
In the second week of classes, Introduction to Gregorian Chant students, taught by Dr. Donelson-Nowicka, developed their abilities to sing, teach, and direct music for Mass, focusing on Mass XI (Orbis factor) and the Gregorian propers of the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart, while also learning to sing Lauds in English-language adaptations of chant. In Organ Literature, taught by Prof. Christopher Berry, students covered the monuments of the organ repertoire with a special focus on the development of organ building techniques which buttressed developments in repertory, as well as understanding this music in the context of the Catholic liturgical services. In Vocal Pedagogy, taught by Prof. Sandra Bengochea, students received in-depth instruction on the anatomy and physiology of the vocal tract, and discussed teaching techniques which build healthy technique, as well as those approaches which are detrimental to the voice. On Wednesday evening of the second week of classes, some of our students were invited to sing for a solemn Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at the Carmelite Monastery of Cristo Rey in San Francisco. Afterward we enjoyed a meal at nearby Star of the Sea parish before heading back to the seminary to get some sleep for another great day of classes.
The final week’s classes included Teaching Gregorian Chant to Children, in which students learned to teach the first level of the Ward method with Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, concluding the week with a 5th teaching demonstration by students before they headed home to finish their final projects. Two fantastic seminars in chant also filled the hallways with singing. Dr. Charles Weaver‘s seminar on the modes and hexachordal solfège had students practicing the Guidonian hand all week, both in chant and polyphonic practice, as well as looking at some of the complexities of understanding modality in the Gregorian repertoire. Dr. Joseph Dyer‘s seminar on Old Roman Chant drew together historical and manuscript studies, as well as secondary literature, in understanding theories of transmission of repertoire and the relationship of the “Old Roman” repertoire to the Gregorian. Students enjoyed preparing a sung Mass for the feast of St. James, featuring music from the Codex Calixtinus, and are now at home wrapping up final projects, papers, and exams in the next weeks.
We are now in the final stages of preparation for the launch of CISM’s Chorister Program. The program launches with an August 4–8 Chant Camp in which we’ll welcome 80 young singers to campus for a week of sung Masses, catechesis, vocal training, and fun! We will soon be posting the registration page for the academic-year chorister program, which starts Tuesday, September 9th.
Major Announcements of the Summer
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music was thrilled to announce, earlier this summer, 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+. Please join us in welcoming Professor Berry and his family to California!
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!
We are also thrilled to announce the new Master of Sacred Music (MSM) degree program and Post-baccalaureate Certificates in Gregorian Chant and Sacred Choral Music, starting summer 2026, pending accreditation approval from WSCUC. We will have much more information forthcoming about these programs soon. Please stay tuned!
Additionally, 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.
All for the praise of His glory!
Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Director
The 
