Join us for the first event of the Spring 2024 installation of our Public Lecture and Concert Series! RSVP here!
Vox Psalmistæ, Vox Ecclesiæ: A Biblical-Liturgical Study of Sunday Vespers
Lecture by Fr. Joshua Neu, Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture and Director of Sacred Liturgy at St. Patrick’s Seminary
Friday, February 9, 2024
7 p.m. PST
Free Admission
In-person at St. Patrick’s Seminary (320 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, CA), or online streaming available.
Vespers and a reception follow the in-person event. Ample on-site parking is available. Please note that streaming of vespers following the lecture is not available.
About the Lecture
The psalms and canticles of the Divine Office represent the voices of ancient Israel from the time of the Exodus through the Second Temple period, more than 1000 years of the Divine encounter with Israel. Each psalm, whether praise or lament, history or instruction, sings of this encounter from its own particular circumstance, but in a way that opens into new readings of the psalms through the unique encounter between God and man in the Incarnation. The Church, whose liturgical prayer is one with the prayer of the Incarnate Son glorifying the Father, suggests fresh readings of the same psalms through the antiphons of the Divine Office, readings that both respect the voice of the original psalmist and simultaneously draw out meanings the psalmist may not have recognized. This study of Sunday Vespers explores the meaning of these important psalms in their original context and the renewed meaning of the same psalms when the voice of the psalmist is taken up into the voice of the Church at prayer.
About the Speaker
Fr. Joshua Neu is an Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture and Director of Sacred Liturgy at St. Patrick’s Seminary.
About the Series
The Public Lecture & Concert Series of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music welcomes the general public to St. Patrick’s Seminary to hear from preeminent scholars about topics which have a profound impact on the Church and humanity, inviting them especially to consider the Church’s wisdom on matters related to the worship of God, the spiritual life, beauty, and works of art.
We invite you to join us for these important and inspiring events.
We had such a great summer 2023 term, and now is the time to meet up again!
We are delighted to be able to offer continuing education opportunities for CISM students. Covering helpful topics with thoughtful perspectives from top professionals in the field, we are sure that these events will provide a great opportunity for students to learn more, brainstorm answers to practical questions, and meet again with fellow classmates.
Students will receive an invitation via email for the events, which are free, or they may RSVP here. Entrance to the events is reserved for students and not open to the general public.
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.
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.
