Music of Faculty Member Frank La Rocca Featured in Wall Street Journal

by | Apr 27, 2023 | News

From the article in the April 20th edition of the Wall Street Journal:

“Another fascinating example emerges in recent works of composer Frank La Rocca of the Benedict XVI Institute. Mr. La Rocca’s ‘Mass of the Americas’ draws on distinctly American Catholic religious themes. The work is a tribute to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the U.S., and Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of all the Americas. Musically, the ‘Mass of the Americas’ incorporates Mexican folk hymns into the fabric of contemporary high-church sacred music, while showing due respect for its sources. It also includes possibly the first Ave Maria ever set in Nahuatl, the Aztec language in which Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to San Juan Diego.

“As with great Masses composed during the Renaissance, the Mass of the Americas has won new audiences—in packed celebrations in churches and cathedrals in Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, as well as Canada and Mexico. Prof. Michael Linton recently dubbed the work ‘the best piece of liturgical music for the Mass since [the requiem of Maurice] Duruflé.'”

Interview with Faculty Member Prof. Christopher Berry – Advice for Choral Directors

by | Apr 2, 2023 | News

Professor Christopher Berry, who will direct the choir at this summer’s Choral Institute (July 17–21, 2023) was recently featured on Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast.

Looking for fresh ideas about how to take your parish choir to the next level, developing a repertoire of well-prepared polyphonic motets and ordinaries, helping your singers develop their technique and musicianship, and integrate it all into the bigger spiritual picture of the offering of one’s very self united to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross? Prof. Christopher Berry of St. Stanislaus Oratory in Milwaukee tackles all these topics, with advice about warm-ups, how to get through a bunch of repertoire with limited rehearsal time, and which motets and masses to start with.

To learn more about or apply for this summer’s Choral Institute at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, please visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/.

Discover the Ward Method! Free Online Info Session March 21, 2023

by | Mar 12, 2023 | News, Uncategorized

Reserve a spot.

Developed in the early part of the 20th century for use as a Catholic school music curriculum, the Ward Method is a comprehensive music education system designed to promote the active participation of children in the sacred liturgy through the singing of Gregorian chant.

Starting from the premise that all children can sing, the method presents vocal technique, ear training, music reading, phrasing, rhythm, and improvisation in the form of short games and activities which progress from the known to the unknown.

At the heart of the method is the development of the musicianship and spiritual disposition needed for the singing of the Church’s Gregorian chant in the sacred liturgy.

Learning how to teach using the method is accessible to classroom teachers, parish music directors, and parents alike. The Ward method is an engaging methodology that can form the basis for any Catholic school curriculum, parish children’s choral program, or music class in a homeschool co-op. Some elements of the pedagogy are even useful for the instruction of adults in Gregorian chant.

Join Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka (William P. Mahrt Chair in Sacred Music, Program Director of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park) as she presents a free online information session about the method.

Participants will discover answers to the following questions:

  • What is the goal of the Ward Method?
  • What are the basic principles of the Ward Method?
  • What are the elements in a lesson?
  • How can I use the pedagogical methodology in rehearsals with older students and adults to learn chant?

The information session will include a discussion of the method, demonstration videos, and an opportunity for questions and answers.

Participants will also find out more about the July 10 to 14 class of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, “Teaching Gregorian Chant to Children,” which focuses on fully equipping and training teachers to use Book 1 of the Ward Method, among other topics.

Spaces in the online information session are limited to 99 participants. The information session will be presented via Zoom.

Participants who RSVP will receive a link to login to Zoom for the live session.

Interview with Faculty Member Prof. Charles Weaver about the “Solesmes School” of Singing Chant

by | Feb 28, 2023 | News

A member of the Institute’s faculty, Prof. Charles Weaver (Juilliard, CUNY) was recently interviewed on Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast about the topic of his upcoming summer course. Professor Weaver’s course will cover Mocquereau’s “classical Solesmes” approach to rhythm through a deep discussion of its philosophical and musical underpinnings. He will also work to contrast it with other styles of singing chant. The course, “Advanced Seminar in Gregorian Chant: Approaches to Gregorian Rhythm” will take place on the mornings of July 3 to 7. From the course description:

For students who have taken Introduction to Gregorian Chant or who sing Gregorian chant on a regular basis, this seminar explores complex issues in the study of rhythm. Beginning with the problematics of “authenticity,” oral transmission, and the relationship between notation and performance practice, this seminar will provide an overview of various approaches to rhythm in Gregorian chant, both historical and current, with an eye to developing the ability to sing chant according to several methods. Special emphasis will be placed on the approaches the writings of Doms André Mocquereau and Eugène Cardine. 1 credit or audit. Synchronous online or in-person 8 to 11:30 a.m. PDT.

To apply to this or another course click here.