Corpus Christi Watershed

A monthly subscription fee of $4.95 gives access to the entire website (beginning on 8 May 2026). Thank you for supporting our efforts!

Views from the Choir Loft

Jeff Ostrowski • Article Archive

A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He completed studies in Education and Musicology at the graduate level. Having worked as a church musician in Los Angeles for ten years, in 2024 he accepted a position as choirmaster for Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Michigan, where he resides with his wife and children. —Read full biography (with photographs).

·

(2022, Revised) • Saint Vitus Choir Page

6 May 2022 Morales Alleluia = #78969 THIS IS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY 78969 • Alleluia for OF & EF (Morales Magnificat) Page 697 from The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal …rehearsal videos are at #697 and also #868 THIS IS YOUR SECOND PRIORITY “Christ the Lord is risen today” TUNE: “Paschal Lamb” • 77 77 […]

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription, Yearly Subscription, One Year Membership or One Month Membership.

·

“Daily I sat in the temple, close to you…”

Fulton J. Sheen always said the “very best translation” of Sacred Scripture was the version by Monsignor Ronald Knox, and here’s what Knox had for the Passion read today (Pre-1955 Palm Sunday): “And Jesus said to the multitude at that hour, You have come out to my arrest with swords and clubs, as if I […]

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription, Yearly Subscription, One Year Membership or One Month Membership.

·

Sacred Music Symposium • “What We Avoid”

I wish we had to time to discuss artwork at the Sacred Music Symposium, but there’s just not enough time. At this year’s conference in June, we will sing an absolutely incredible Magnificat setting by Father Francisco Guerrero (d. 1599). If you examine the part books, you will notice a marvelous aesthetic desire to avoid […]

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription, Yearly Subscription, One Year Membership or One Month Membership.

·

“Abraham” • Guerrero Imitates His Teacher

Father Francisco Guerrero (d. 1599) studied music with Father Cristóbal de Morales circa 1545. He taught himself the organ. On 3 April 1542 he was engaged as a contralto by Seville Cathedral at an annual salary of 12,000 maravedís. He remained there until 1546, when, at the age of only 17, he was invited—on the […]

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription, Yearly Subscription, One Year Membership or One Month Membership.

·

Too much music!

Choosing music for the Sacred Music Symposium requires careful consideration.  We make sure (always) to have great variety. Because the schedule is so full, there’s never sufficient time to discuss the music fully—indeed, we could easily do a month-long seminar on each piece!  For example, last year Dr. Calabrese conducted a setting of the Magnificat […]

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription, Yearly Subscription, One Year Membership or One Month Membership.

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized by the state of Texas on 19 October 2006. Our statement of purpose notes that we “employ the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.”