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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Biography • Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 15, 2013

ALLED “one of the finest conductors of his generation” by maestro Robert Shaw, Alfred Calabrese enjoys a diverse career as conductor, educator, composer, scholar, and church musician. He has been director of choral activities at Southern Methodist University, Emory University, and Brevard College, Visiting Professor at Indiana University, and guest lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, the University of South Carolina, and the Conservatoire de Versailles. Since 2007 he has been Director of Music at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX, where he oversees a music program with six choirs including the newly established St. Rita Choral Academy, professional singers and organists, and six full and part-time staff members. Calabrese holds the Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in Conducting from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He has prepared choirs for several prominent conductors including John Nelson and Sir David Willcocks, and in the early 1990’s was an assistant conductor to Robert Shaw and the Grammy © Award winning Atlanta Symphony Chorus.  He worked in close collaboration with Maestro Shaw for three years, rehearsing the ASOC in works as diverse as Mahler Symphony #2, #3, and #8; Berlioz Romeo et Juliette; Janáček Glagolitic Mass, Verdi Quattro Pezzi Sacri, and the annual Christmas with Robert Shaw concerts.

*  DR. ALFRED CALABRESE • Publicity Photo (A)

*  DR. ALFRED CALABRESE • Publicity Photo (B)

Possessing an affinity for compositions for orchestra and choir, his repertoire includes, among others, major works of Bach, Brahms, Britten, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Handel, Haydn, Stravinsky, Fauré, Duruflé, Poulenc, and Pärt, and well over 500 smaller pieces for choir alone. In 2005 he led performances of I Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticanafor the Atlantic Coast Opera Company. His orchestral repertoire includes symphonies and concerti of Beethoven, Mozart, Poulenc, Handel, Weber, Dvorak among others. Calabrese has been a guest conductor and clinician in America and abroad. As a clinician, he has conducted All-State and honor choirs and has participated in numerous festivals and clinics throughout the United States.  He was a guest conductor at the Conservatoire de Versailles in both 2013 and 2019 and in concerts with l’Ensemble Polyphonique de Versailles. He is presently a guest conductor with the festivals of the American Federation Pueri Cantores.

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Dr. Calabrese has been composing and arranging intermittently since 1990 and self publishes. His compositions since 2007 are primarily for the liturgy, including a nearly completed three-year cycle of Responsorial Psalms for the church year. These have been performed across the country in recent years. Presently, he is at work setting the ad libitum Communion propers as Latin motets for SAB Choir. Dr. Calabrese was born and raised in upstate New York, in the small town of Waterford. A cradle Catholic, his youth was colored and influenced by his strong Italian-American heritage, the Catholic culture of his family and the upstate area, and the beauty of his boyhood parish, St. Mary of the Assumption, Waterford, known affectionately as “the little Cathedral on the hill,” where he sang in the choir beginning at age 15. He is married to Cynthia Calabrese, a musician and development executive. They have two grown children who both work for Catholic-based organizations.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles, Biographies Last Updated: August 27, 2020

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About Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have two children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Victoria not only made his professional debut as church organist: he also continued active on the organ bench until the very eve of his death. Indeed, during his last seven years at Madrid (1604-1611) he occupied no other musical post but that of convent organist.”

— Dr. Robert Stevenson (1961)

Recent Posts

  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
  • Involving Women in the Communion?

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