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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

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

St Ambrose had to be “corrected” by Pope Urban VIII. The ‘Iste confessor’ was greatly altered and the hymn for the Dedication of a Church—which no one ought to have touched—was in fact completely recast in a new meter. Singular demand, made by the taste of that particular epoch!

— Re: The hymn revisions of Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)

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