• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

New Catholic Choral School…in Detroit!

Dr. Lucas Tappan · August 31, 2018

LMT Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Detroit O SING WELL IS TO PRAY TWICE. There is such musicality in the Latin original—Qui bene cantat… St. Augustine might not have said it, but he should have. If one takes the phrase “to sing well” both in a literal sense and in a spiritual sense, it then encompasses the vocation of the Christian, to praise God in the quiet of his heart and as well as in the actions of his life. It reminds me of the blessing given to cantors by decree of the Council of Carthage (c. 398AD): 

Vide, ut quod ore cantas, corde credas, et quod corde credis, operibus comprobes

“See that what thou singest with thy lips thou dost believe in thine heart, and that what thou believest in thine heart thou dost show forth in thy works.”

To sing well is to pray twice. We have all heard the phrase bantered about by well meaning, but exasperated Christians, whether it comes from a pastor whose congregation won’t sing or a mother whose sons refuse to sway to the churchy tunes (perhaps in our secularized world most young people prefer not to pray, much less pray twice). Unfortunately the emphasis is always on the outward act of singing, with little attention given to the interior formation that must take place before the outward forms mean anything. Fortunately for the Church in America, the Archdiocese of Detroit recently announced a plan to cultivate the sweet vintage of sanctity (interior) and sacred music (exterior) via the creation of an archdiocesan choral foundation at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the tradition of the English choir school. As I understand it, this is the fruition of a long held dream of Archbishop Vigneron and I firmly believe the Church in Michigan will be better for it.

Officially named the Cathedral Choir Academy of Detroit and open to students in grades 3-9, its mission is “to provide an experience in which choristers encounter Christ through sacred music, grow in faith and musical excellence, and give witness to the Word Incarnate.  The program is clearly rooted in faith formation and in step with the New Evangelization.” It is hoped that within five years the program will be expanded to serve youth in the first and second grades (pre-chorister music training) through high school. Susan Lindquist, a veteran music teacher in the archdiocese of Detroit will lead the program, working in concert with Cathedral Rector Fr. J. J. Mech and Cathedral Music Director, Joe Balistreri. I have been privileged to know Susan for a couple of years and can testify to her orthodox faith and love for sacred music as well as her ability to teach children and communicate the choir school’s mission and vision to others. Her enthusiasm really is quite infectious and it was through her that I learned one of my favorite phrases regarding the importance of teaching children good music… “The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children” (attributed to Cheryl Lavender).

    * *  Notes on the Cathedral Choir Academy of Detroit

Susan took over the cathedral children’s choir last year, which until then had been comprised of children primarily from the cathedral parish, and grew the program to three times its size while expecting the choristers to hold their own alongside the cathedral’s fine adult choir. In its current form, the program consists of a training choir as well as a children’s choir, which sings once a month. This allows choristers to continue singing in their own parish choirs as well as at the cathedral. By partnering with children choirs across the archdiocese the Cathedral Choir Academy hopes to share its work with individual parishes, fostering Faith and music in all the youth. Balistreri (cathedral music director) also sought out and secured a partnership between the Choir Academy and the Sistine Chapel Choir, and while the particular details of that relationship are currently being hashed out, it shows the desire of Joe Balistreri, Susan Lindquist and the entire cathedral community to foster the Church’s musical heritage to a high degree, especially in the youth, and drawing them ever more closely to Christ.

Please join your prayers to mine for the success of this new venture, perhaps even offering up a Te Deum in the fullest sense of actual participation.

Qui bene cantat bis orat.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Dr. Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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
    “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

Random Quote

“We wish to express the hope that students of Gregorian Chant come back to the pure Vatican Edition, in the ancient block-note form, without the addition of any signs whatever, in order to achieve Gregorian unity.”

— Josef Gogniat (12 March 1938)

Recent Posts

  • A Practical Method of Projecting Solfege for Chant
  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

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.