Views from the Choir Loft

Summer Sacred Music Workshop 2017

Andrew Leung · June 29, 2017

ET EXCITED!!! The third annual Southeastern Summer Sacred Music Workshop is coming up! This year, the 2-day workshop will make its return to the Atlanta area. This is a great opportunity for singers, organists and clergy from the Southeastern United States to experience the traditional music of the Catholic Church.

The Workshop 2017 will be hosted by St. Brigid Catholic Church in beautiful Johns Creek, Georgia, on Friday, July 21, and Saturday, July 22. Johns Creek is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta and it ranked third on the USA TODAY list of “50 best cities to live in”. St. Brigid Parish is the spiritual home of more than 4,000 families and it is also the home of the 37-rank Casavant Frères Opus 3832 organ.

The Southeastern Sacred Music is a chapter of the Church Music Association of America. It serves as a platform for church musicians in the Southeastern region to share resources, thoughts and ideas, and to make connections with each other. The group has also been organizing annual workshops since 2015. Bridget Scott, a founding member of Southeastern Sacred Music, says that she is very excited for the upcoming workshop: “We have folks coming back year after year. I was excited to see names on the registry that also attended the very first workshop.”

As usual, there will be chant groups and polyphony ensembles, in different levels, which the participants may choose to join. There will also be breakout courses on a variety of topics of interest. One of the very special courses this year is the session on Spanish chant offered by Janet Gorbitz. Another interesting session is a presentation on organ improvisation on chant melodies given by Dr. Albert Ahlstrom, who is joining the faculty for the first time. Organists will also have the opportunity to have private lesson with Dr. Ahlstrom, and singers may study with Maria McDaniel Willathgamuwa.

The registration is now opened through July 7. There is a $75 tuition fee which covers the costs of all the materials, dinner on Friday and the luncheon on Saturday. There is a $25 late fee for registrations after July 7. Visit Southeastern Sacred Music’s website to register and for more details and full bios of the faculty members.

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

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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