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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

Certificate in Sacred Music

Fr. David Friel · August 17, 2020

OUNDED in 2019 with the twin purpose of training church musicians and contributing to the renewal of music in the Roman Catholic liturgy, the Saint Gregory Institute of Sacred Music is one of many signs of hope for the Church in English-speaking territories. The institute offers instructional courses, sacred concerts, and even a certification program.

The institute’s Certificate in Sacred Music program aims to raise participants’ musical proficiency and to equip them with the knowledge needed to lead and perform Roman Catholic music at a professional level.

Courses offered by the institute are taught by members of its capable faculty and include History of Sacred Music, Liturgical Organ Playing, Conducting, Composition, Voice Lessons, and more. The schedule is broken into three periods: the St. Gregory term (September–December), the Epiphany term (January–April), and the Pentecost term (May–August). They are continuing to offer training, with precautions, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with Shrines of Pittsburgh, the activities of the institute are held in several of the city’s exquisite churches.

More information about the Certificate in Sacred Music is available on the institute’s website.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Resources for training in Church music, Simple Steps To Improve Parish Music Last Updated: August 17, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

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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

“Some of our younger parish clergy read their sermons. This should not be done except for some very special reason. The priest who is not capable of preparing and delivering a brief, clear instruction on Catholic teaching to his people is not fit to be in parish work. The people as a rule do not want to listen to a sermon reader.”

— Archbishop of Baltimore (9 July 1929)

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