The Church Music Association of America presents the second Winter Sacred Music Workshop for Chant and Polyphony, January 2–6, 2017, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham, Alabama. This five-day workshop offers participants the opportunity to study chant and polyphony with directors Scott Turkington and Nick Botkins.
The schedule includes liturgies of Memorial of St. John Neumann (January 5) and Epiphany (January 6), as well as Morning and Night Prayer, training in chant and polyphony, and shared meals with fellow musicians on the cathedral grounds.
Participants choose a chant choir for participation during the week. Many returning attendees to the CMAA events find themselves advancing from a fundamentals/refresher choir to the advanced. Some attendees may choose to attend a fundamentals/refresher course in order to learn teaching techniques for beginners from the conductors, even though their level of chant singing is on a higher level than most attending a fundamentals/refresher course.
Each participant should choose one of the chant courses:
Fundamentals and Refresher Course for Men and Women (Director, Nick Botkins)—intended for chant beginners or for those with some background in chant, but without the opportunity to sing it on a regular basis. Participants will learn how to read the four line staff, the names of the neumes, and how to navigate the intervals with solfege. Rhythm will be introduced. This group will sing the Mass ordinaries, as well as some of the less difficult Mass propers for the liturgies.
Intermediate to Advanced Course for Men and Women (Director, Scott Turkington) is intended for intermediate or advanced singers who sing chant regularly. The bulk of the more difficult Chanted Mass Propers for the liturgies will be sung by this choir, as well as the chanted Mass ordinaries.
Polyphony Courses
Each participant should choose one of the polyphony courses:
Beginner/Intermediate Motets (Director, Scott Turkington) is designed to introduce and improve on the vocal and musical techniques necessary for singing polyphonic music. Singers will learn how to carry a part on their own, independent of other sections, and without accompaniment. Members of this choir will learn rhythm, pitch, and vocal production. The choir is designed for novice to intermediate.
Intermediate/Advanced Polyphony (Director, Nick Botkins), recommended for intermediate to advanced choral singers with more experience in singing unaccompanied pieces.
Breakout Sessions
Dr. William Mahrt (Board President of the CMAA and Associate Professor at Stanford University) will speak during three breakout sessions: Tuesday, January 3, 2017: “The Differences in Style Between Kinds of Gregorian Chant”; Wednesday, January 4, 2017: “The natural and supernatural ordering of the liturgical year”; Thursday, January 5, 2017: “The Beauty of the Liturgy and Why It Matters.”
Winter Sacred Music will begin at 12:00 pm on Monday, January 2nd, and will conclude on Friday, January 6th, with the closing Mass at 1:00 pm in the Cathedral of St. Paul. For information: http://musicasacra.com/winter-2017/
Nick Botkins is Director of Sacred Music / Master of the Choirs of the St. Francis de Sales Oratory in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Scott Turkington is Organist and Choirmaster of Holy Family Church and Holy Family Academy in Minneapolis, MN.
William Mahrt is Associate Professor and Director of Early Music Singers at the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Stanford University, President of the Church Music Association of America, and editor of Sacred Music.
Rev. Fr. Bryan W. Jerabek, J.C.L. will serve as celebrant for the liturgies for the event. He was named rector for the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham, AL effective July 1, 2016.
Bruce Ludwick, Jr. will serve on the faculty as the organist for the Winter Sacred Music course. He is Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Birmingham, Alabama.
