MusicaSacra

Church Music Association of America

Seven Days of Musical Heaven

You are invited to sing with and experience the Sacred Music Colloquium, the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world.

Gregorian Chant has been called the most beautiful music this side of Heaven. But as Pope Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council have emphasized, it is also integral to Catholic liturgical life and should be heard and experienced with wide participation in every parish. The Church Music Association of America is working to bring about this ideal with its Sacred Music Colloquium.

The primary focus of the Colloquium is instruction and experience in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant and polyphonic choirs, nightly lectures and performances and daily celebrations of liturgies in both English and Latin. You are there not merely as an attendee but as a singer in some of the greatest choirs you will ever experience, singing music that will touch your heart and thrill your artistic imagination — music that is integral to the Catholic faith.

Attendance is open to anyone interested in improving the quality of music in Catholic worship. Professional musicians will appreciate the rigor, while enthusiastic volunteer singers and beginners new to the chant tradition will enjoy the opportunity to study under an expert faculty.

SACRED, BEAUTIFUL, & UNIVERSAL: Colloquium XIX from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

SOME COLLOQUIUM HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Extensive training in Gregorian chant and the sacred choral tradition under a world-class faculty;
  • Choices of a chant class for beginners, and intermediate and and advanced chant classes;
  • Choral experience with one of four large choirs singing sacred music of the masters such as Palestrina, Isaac, Bruckner, Victoria, Byrd, Haydn, Brahms, Tallis, Josquin, and many others;
  • Daily liturgy with careful attention to officially prescribed musical settings;
  • Experience in singing at liturgy as a choir member assigned particular Mass settings, motets, chants, and responses;
  • Residency in dormitories or optional hotels;
  • Catered breakfasts, lunches, dinners and receptions;
  • Training in vocal production and technique;
  • Conducting practicum;
  • Training for Priests in the sung Mass;
  • Pedagogy demonstrations;
  • Composers’ Forum;
  • Seminars on parish music management, integrating sung parts of the liturgy, polyphonic repertoire for beginning and more established choirs;
  • All music, including prepared packets of chant and polyphony, as part of registration.

LOCATION

Duquesne University, the world’s only Spiritan university, is one of America’s leading Catholic universities, with a worldwide reputation of excellence in liberal and music education. Duquesne was founded on Oct. 1, 1878, by the Rev. Joseph Strub and the Congregation of the Holy Ghost (the Spiritans). Its beautiful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, campus is centrally located on the river with easy access from the airport, along with a large number of practice rooms and ballrooms for the Colloquium, and right next door to the Church of the Epiphany, where all Colloquium Masses will be celebrated.

THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY

Built in 1902 as the temporary cathedral, with a cornerstone blessed by the Bishop Phelan, the Church of the Epiphany has played a central role in this city’s history. The parish, which has marvelous acoustics (probably the best in the whole of the diocese) and stunning beauty throughout, has graciously opened its doors to the Church Music Association of America for its liturgical schedule. The building is a red brick Romanesque structure with Byzantine details. Edward Stolz was the architect. Taber Sears painted the images of Christ and the apostles in the sanctuary. George Sotter designed and installed the remarkable stained glass between 1902 and 1919. The marble canopy over the main altar, ordered an cut in Pietrasanta, Italy, contains the extraordinary Venetian mosaic tympanum of the Visit of the Magi, and on the upper arch the enameled mosaic of the Lamb of God. The outside statuary, larger then life, came from the original cathedral. The organ was original built by Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1903, and was restored in 2007.

GRADUATE CREDIT

The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University will be extending the option of two hours of graduate credit to interested Colloquium participants. Dr. Ann Labounsky, chair of Sacred Music at Duquesne University and internationally known organist, will be your faculty adviser. Registration and payment information for graduate credit is provided by Duquesne Universtiy and payable to Duquesne University. Click here for more detailed information and necessary forms. Please note that registering for graduate credit at Duquesne is supplemental to registering for the program with the CMAA through the registration process outlined below. Any questions concerning Duquesne’s policies should be directed to Mr. Chris Bromley at 1.800.934.0159 or summermusic@duq.edu

A FEW COMMENTS FROM HUNDREDS:

See the sound files from 2007-2009.

  • “I still can’t get over the unforgettable experience of attending the Colloquium. It was a real eye-opener and has enriched me musically, spiritually and intellectually. The instructors were excellent! The food and entertainment were great! The Masses were heavenly! I am already looking forward to the next one and hope I could bring along more people to help in restoring the Church’s musical and liturgical treasures.” Edwin Fernandez
  • “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful work you all put into the Colloquium. This was my second year attending and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The information was great, the conducting was amazing and the organization was fabulous. I had tears in my eyes several times during the Masses… I attended the colloquium last year as a volunteer musician at our parish and this year I attended as music director for our parish. I was hired three months ago and since then we have completely revamped our 11:30 Mass. Our pastor and I did a ton of education through bulletin inserts and preaching. I immediately formed a schola….”
  • “It was a wonderful experience for me, truly six days of heaven, and I will never forget it. I particularly enjoyed the conducting class, and the polyphony rehearsals, the lectures and organ performances and improvisations, all the Masses, of course. In short, everything that I attended. I know that this success did not come without a tremendous amount of work on everyone’s part…” Dove Pierce
  • “The CMAA Colloquium has now indisputably claimed a place among prestigious and well-run music conferences. You will certainly want to attend next year’s event – this was my first time, and the experience was overwhelmingly positive!” Gary Penkala, Cantica Nova Publications

SCHOLARSHIPS:

UPDATE: March 7, 2010: Scholarship disbursements will not be made until mid to late April. When available, scholarships are partial rather than full. As stated below, scholarship funds are limited. We’ve already received more requests than we can fulfill. If you are planning on attending but know that you will need help, you may well need to seek out an individual or local organization who can sponsor you, or go about doing some fund raising on your own — at your school, seminary, or local parish.

The CMAA is an all volunteer organization, and wholly dependent on donations for scholarships. If you are interested in sponsoring a musician, priest, or seminarian’s attendance, please write to us at programs@musicasacra.com. If you are registering yourself and would like to give a little extra toward scholarships, you can add that amount to your own fees, and indicate as much on the online or mail in registration form. No amount is to small. All donations are applied directly to scholarships.

REGISTRATION FEES:

HOTEL OPTION

Special arrangements have been made at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, located just across the street from the Duquesne campus and the Church of the Epiphany. Click on the hotel link to make your reservation at the special conference rate of $109 plus tax per night, single or double room. A limited number of rooms have been reserved for our group.

NEW MUSIC READING SESSION:
The Colloquium will feature a new music reading session on Saturday, June 26. If you have a piece of music you would like to submit for possible performance by the group at large at the session, please send it to newmusic@musicasacra.com in PDF format (limited to 15 pages) by May 15, 2010. Your submission will be published in the New Music Session 2010 packet. You must be a registered participant of the Colloquium in order to make a submission. There is a $20 submission fee, paid through paypal or by check to our programs office (address in the footer of this page).

FEES DEADLINE

The deadline for all tuition and fees due is May 15, 2010. Late registrations: add $15; subject to availability

You can also mail this registration form that includes your check or credit card number to: CMAA Colloquium Registration, 166 North Gay Street, Suite 21, Auburn, AL, 36830.

INFORMATION FOR PRIESTS

  • All priests are invited to concelebrate on the days that we use the Ordinary Form.

    • If you need help or have further questions, please write us or call us at 334.444.5584.