ANCELLATIONS, postponements, and reconfigurations have become normative during the COVID-19 pandemic. One bit of good news in all this is that the Church Music Association of America (CMAA), which traditionally offers a week-long Sacred Music Colloquium each summer, will proceed with a virtual substitute.
This summer was to be the 30th annual Sacred Music Colloquium, hosted at Jesuit High School in Tampa, FL. Although the virtual substitute will be somewhat reduced, a remarkable lineup of presenters and topics remains in force. All the details of this year’s colloquium are presented on the event homepage.
What will this event include, and what will it look like?
Instead of being an in-person gathering, it will be conducted via Zoom, and instead of being an all-day affair, the presentations will be limited to the evenings (from 5 PM to 10 PM EDT). The dates for the conference will be Monday through Friday, July 6-10, 2020. Some of the highlights include:
Medieval Analysis • Dr. William Mahrt
Organ Repertory/Improvisation • David J. Hughes
Vocal Pedagogy • Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam
Spanish Resources • Heitor Caballero
Rationale for Repertoire: Programming for your Choir • Dr. Timothy McDonnell
Several sessions will be especially pertinent to musical matters during Covidtide:
Congregational Singing Within Local Restrictions • Panel Discussion
Sacred Music During the Pandemic • Chat Session
Catholic Music in Time of Pandemic • Dr. Susan Treacy
One silver lining is that the CMAA, concomitant with the reduction in programming, has reduced the Colloquium registration cost to only $10 per day or $30 for all five days. There will also be several parts of the program made freely available, including 1) daily spiritual reflections from the CMAA chaplain, 2) daily Compline, and 3) two sessions presented in Spanish.
Registration for the Virtual Sacred Music Colloquium 2020 is available here.
