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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Sacred Choral Program (Living Water College)

Guest Author · March 29, 2013

The following is a guest article by Ms. Nicole Dunn, Assistant Director of Development for Living Water College of the Arts, Canada. They have a stupendous website, which everyone should visit. The link is given at the end of the article.

“Music, great music, stretches the spirit, arouses profound emotions and almost naturally invites us to raise our minds and hearts to God in all situations of human existence, the joyful and the sad. Music can become prayer.” — His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI


IVING WATER COLLEGE OF THE ARTS embodies the thoughts of Pope Benedict in this summer’s Sacred Choral Music Program. As the faithful learn how music can be beautiful, soul-lifting prayer, they naturally aspire to sing better music. Why be satisfied with the ordinary when, in fact, there is a wealth of beautiful church music readily accessible and very learnable? All that is needed is some education.

Living Water College offers this education through a 2 week program, where students immerse themselves in the quiet, pastoral setting of Living Water College, enjoying a significant break from the normal pace of life. “Try something this Summer that will change your life;” says Dcn. Kenneth Noster, President of the college, “it’s comprehensive; a great opportunity to develop skills, while refreshing your mind and spirit amidst some of Alberta’s most beautiful countryside. No matter where you are in your faith, you will grow here.”

One of Canada’s pre-eminent choral directors will provide the training in sacred choral music, using motets, gregorian chant, and the works of great classical composers. Maestro Uwe Leiflander, head of the music department at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, returns to Living Water with over 3 decades of experience in musical pedagogy and performance as an instrumentalist and choral conductor. Professional musicians and beginners alike can expect to benefit from the course as they immerse themselves in Schubert, Mozart and Bach. Unique to Living Water, the choral program contains an academic component which complements the practical training and informs each singer’s understanding of music. Classes in the liberal arts emphasize both the power and the objective beauty of music.

Participants will find themselves truly engaged in the study of fine art, perhaps reading the ground-breaking works of Aristotle, suggesting that the measure of fine art is in the eye of the beholder. They might then discuss the more cautious Plato, who insisted art couldn’t be judged by just any old “beholder”, but rather only by the one who was eminently refined in his tastes. No doubt they will ultimately discuss the long-held Christian view, affirming that artistic expression becomes “fine art” when it speaks to something quite different in man, not limited to cultural refinement, but found as frequently in the poor, even the illiterate. It is not cultural refinement that makes fine art powerful, but rather moral character. The person who is morally vigilant, striving daily to become holy, will be truly elevated by fine music. It will not only be an aid to personal growth but a source of true joy. Why? Simply because the soul is open to truth and beauty.

Open your soul to truth and beauty this Summer. Expand your mind, build your repertoire of church music, and enter into Mass more profoundly than you may have thought possible.

Alumni relish the friendships they have formed in this peaceful place among the rolling hills of Alberta’s Lakeland, while they grow personally and artistically. They also treasure daily Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, opportunity for spiritual direction, and the opportunity to form a network of like-minded artists.

For more details, please visit:

      * *  LIVINGWATERCOLLEGE.COM [url]      E-mail: admin@livingwatercollege.com

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Quick Thoughts

23 May 2022 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “I wasn’t looking for it. But, I stumbled across your hand-dandy arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon. Jeff, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I had to play a wedding on Saturday. The bride requested the Canon. There were 11 bridesmaids! The organ loft is a football field away from the communion rail. It’s so difficult to play and keep checking the mirror. Your arrangement is absolutely genius. One can skip and choose which variations to use. The chord names are handy so that when my eyes are off the music, I always know where I am at. A thousand times thank you for sharing this arrangement!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“It would be a grave error to imagine that the principle orientation of the sacrificial action is towards the community. If the priest celebrates «VERSUS POPULUM», which is legitimate and often advisable, his spiritual attitude ought always to be «VERSUS DEUM PER JESUM CHRISTUM», as representative of the entire Church.”

— Official Vatican Statement (25 September 2000)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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