Views from the Choir Loft

Incredible Opportunity In Kansas City

Lucas Tappan · February 12, 2020

WOULD like to share information about an incredible sacred music position in Kansas City, Kansas, recently created by a good friend of mine, Fr. Nick Blaha, at Christ the King Catholic Church and School. Fr. Blaha, a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in California, as well as a veteran FOCUS missionary, was made pastor of CTK last year and already is transitioning the parish’s school to begin providing a classical education beginning the fall of this year (2020), and music, especially sacred music, will play a central role in the school’s (and parish’s) daily life.

He is specifically looking for someone who understands “that a musically literate culture is foundational for the cultivation of beauty and the worship of God… Educators who seek to shape students in both wisdom and virtue, and who share the belief that music and aesthetics play an integral part in the content of a Catholic liberal arts education should apply.”

Whomever he hires will have reign over music both in the school and at the parish and I cannot stress enough what an immense blessing it would be to work for Fr. Blaha.

Full details about the position can be viewed here.

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

About 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).

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski