In early November, a hundred participants gathered to fête the life and work of Dr. William Mahrt. The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music was proud to co-sponsor a three-day conference of scholars and practitioners, inspired by the scholar and practitioner Dr. William Mahrt. About thirty wonderful papers and recitals adorned the liturgical structure (sung Lauds, Mass, and Vespers) of the conference, in emulation of the six decades of Dr. Mahrt’s example at Stanford University and in the Church Music Association of America.
Now, we look forward to publishing a festschrift in honor of Dr. Mahrt through the CMAA’s publishing house. Stay tuned for an announcement about CISM’s first publication!
In the meantime, enjoy a selection of pictures from the conference here.
And catch the keynote by Dr. Kerry McCarthy that formed part of our Public Lecture and Concert series.
We are grateful to the hundreds and hundreds of guests who came to the first Advent & Christmas concert of the St. Patrick’s Seminary Schola Cantorum. It was a beautiful event, adorned through the hard work of the seminarians who sang well and welcomed the community into our home with Christ-like hospitality.
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music’s director, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, recently appeared on Ave Maria radio’s “Notes from Above,” discussing some beautiful recordings of chant and basics for understanding sacred music at parishes.
Mondays, September 25 & October 2, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., PDT
Join us for two Monday evenings as Dr. Donelson-Nowicka explains how to chant the Psalms according to the Gregorian psalm tones.
You’ll study the anatomy of a psalm tone, the relationship between the tone and the mode, as well as the relationship between the tone and the antiphon. The workshop will focus on how to point the text (put the correct notes on the correct syllables) according to the required accentuation patterns and preparatory syllables. Dynamics and tempo considerations for the phrasing will also be addressed. Sessions will present the texts sung in Latin.
Techniques for Teaching Gregorian Chant to Your Parish Choir
Mondays, October 16 and 23, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., PDT
Are you looking to refresh your pedagogical techniques so that your parish choir feels confident and enthusiastic about singing Gregorian chant? Join Dr. Donelson-Nowicka as she covers different teaching techniques to start a new chant with your choir, help them feel more confident on the melodic intervals in the melody, and have a strong sense of the phrasing in the piece.
Solfège 101: Solfège Basics & How to Use It to Learn and Teach Basic Chants
Mondays, October 30, November 6, and 13, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., PDT/PST
Designed and paced for absolute beginners to solfège, and presenting teaching models for those music directors who teach chant novices, this series will cover the basics of solfège, focusing on major-mode patterns familiar to the modern ear. Attendees will learn drills for improving their ability to use the solfège syllables to sight-sing and audiate (hear the music in their minds). Exercises will be applied in easy chants within the repertoire that are accessible to new singers of chant.
We hope you can join us for what promises to be an exciting season.
Two fantastic scholars will kick things off with lectures, and our first-ever Advent and Christmas concert of the St. Patrick’s Seminary Schola Cantorum will wrap up the fall term.
RSVP for admission to the lectures via our Eventbrite page. A link to admission to the concert coming soon!
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music’s director, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, recently appeared on Ave Maria radio’s “Notes from Above,” discussing some beautiful recordings of chant and basics for understanding sacred music at parishes.
