Looking for some refreshers on your singing or teaching of chant? The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's fall workshop series is offered online via Zoom, and is presenting topics particularly helpful for parish music directors.

Registration is available here.

Gregorian Psalm Tones
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.