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Views from the Choir Loft

“Register Today!” • Sacred Music Symposium 2025

Jeff Ostrowski · February 12, 2025

S OF A FEW MINUTES AGO, enrollment has opened for the 2025 Sacred Music Symposium. If you visit the official website you can download the SCHEDULE OF EVENTS for 2025. We couldn’t be more excited about this year’s conference. The repertoire is peerless; the best of the best. Here are three things that distinguish our conference: (a) The bulk of it is dedicated to interactive rehearsals, in which participants are shown how to run a rehearsal properly; (b) All our presenters have established (in the real world) acclaimed music programs at the parish level; (c) The church we’re singing in has incomparable acoustics, even nicer than SAINT VICTOR in West Hollywood (where we held the first symposium) which had splendid acoustics.

You can download the official 2025 poster:

*  PDF Download • 2025 POSTER (High Resolution)

News! News! News! • A generous benefactor has agreed to cover 50% of the tuition for those who register before 5 May 2025 (Feast of Pope Saint Pius V). This offer is outstanding, and you can learn all about it by visiting the official website for Sacred Music Symposium 2025.

(1 of 3) Giving Back • I grew up with a ton of brothers (but just one sister). They were obsessed with playing certain computer games where you control your character in a make-believe world. They had to choose which NPC faction they wanted to fight with: the “Alliance” or the “Horde.” One day I asked: “So, how come neither side ever wins the game?” My brothers explained the game will never end—the ALLIANCE will be fighting the HORDE eternally.

(2 of 3) Giving Back • That computer game reminds me of the battle for authentic sacred music. It seems extremely unlikely we’ll ever succeed in eradicating all undignified music from every single Catholic Church. But as the great Monsignor Robert Alex Skeris reminded us: “Say not the struggle nought availeth.” Ours is a fight worth fighting—no matter the outcome!

(3 of 3) Giving Back • Having founded the annual Sacred Music Symposium ten years ago, I must admit it requires a lot more work than I’d imagined. But it’s kind of like parents who—out of a super-abundance of love—choose to adopt orphans. My colleagues and I have been given so much, this conference is an opportunity for us to “give something back.”

The rare photograph below was taken at the very first Sacred Music Symposium:

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Sacred Music Symposium, Sacred Music Symposium 2025 Last Updated: May 1, 2025

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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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Franz Liszt was an eminent keyboard virtuoso but a dangerous example for the young. … As a composer he was terrible.”

— Clara Schumann

Recent Posts

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  • (Rehearsal Clips) • Sacred Music Symposium 2025
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  • PDF Download • Soprano Descant — “Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above”

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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.

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