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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

EWTN Features Catholic Choirmaster & Composer

Jeff Ostrowski · September 22, 2020

RIAN J. NELSON is now in his tenth year as Director of Sacred Music at the Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, serving the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Kansas in gorgeous Lawrence, Kansas. Beginning under the tenure of Monsignor Vince Krische in the 1980s, St. Lawrence has become known for its commitment to strong, vibrant Liturgy and Music. Throughout its history, the center has benefited from the tradition of choral and organ scholars: KU students with significant talent and openness of heart who sing or play at Mass regularly. Center Director Fr. Mitchell Zimmerman has expanded the scholarship program to include all the major ministries at St. Lawrence, adding intellectual and spiritual components.

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Dr. Nelson oversees, trains, and develops twelve choral scholars, two organ scholars, four instrumentalists, a choral administrative scholar and a cantor scholar. His predecessors include Wolfgang Resinger, Lynn Trapp, Kevin Vogt, Marie Rubis Bauer, Lucas Tappan, and Michael Podrebarac. Mæstro Nelson’s settings of the Responsorial Psalm for the Ordinary Form of the Mass can be found at International Liturgy Publications, along with professional recordings:

*  Responsorial Psalms • Brian J. Nelson
—For the Ordinary Form, published by International Liturgy Publications.

You can also read Dr. Nelson’s full biography:

*  PDF Download • BIOGRAPHY

“From the Throne of Grace” • Click here to see Dr. Nelson rehearsing his choir in one of his own hymn compositions.

I was pleased to see that EWTN featured Dr. Nelson a few years back:

You can learn more at the KU Catholic website.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Brian Nelson Composer, St Lawrence Catholic Campus Center Last Updated: September 23, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(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

“Custom preserves many things in liturgy after their first reason has ceased.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (writing in 1916)

Recent Posts

  • Review • A Catholic Book of Hymns
  • 23 May 2022 • FEEDBACK
  • PDF Download • “A Canon Choirs Love!”
  • On Mistakes (Part I of II)
  • 19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

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