The revival of sacred music, especially in America, that followed Pope St. Pius X’s motu proprio Tra le Sollecitudini (1903) was aided immensely by the pioneering work of Catholic convert Mrs. Justine Ward. She set about to fulfill Pius X’s dictate that “Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gregorian Chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in ancient times,” (§3) by focusing on enabling children to sing Gregorian chant. Thousands of teachers, trained by Mrs. Ward and others, especially through the Pius X School of Liturgical Music at Manhattanville College, trained countless Catholic school students in the Church’s sacred music.
This decades-long groundswell of chant-based general music education in Catholic schools sprouted not only widespread knowledge of Gregorian chant, but also a few special institutions in which the Church’s music was the centerpiece of education. One thinks, certainly, about the founding of the St. Paul’s Choir School in Harvard Square by Theodore Marier in 1963. In more recent times, there is the monumental achievement brought about at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City by Gregory Glenn, the founding director of the church’s choir school.
The 4th Season of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music’s Public Lecture and Concerts Series kicks off with a visionary lecture by Mr Glenn, who will share with us his vision for a choir school in the modern context, and answer questions about how he built the program into a pinnacle of Catholic music practice, in the style of the great cathedral schools of Europe.
We invite you to join us for this lecture!
The Choir School: Formative Agent of Future Church Music
Lecture by Gregory Glenn
Date: Thursday, October 2nd
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Pacific, followed by a reception
Location: St. Patrick’s Seminary (Menlo Park, California) and Online via Livestream
Tickets: Free, or suggested donation of $20
RSVP here.
About the Lecture
In this presentation, we will briefly explore the past contributions of choir schools to the Church’s sacred liturgy over the centuries, consider the role that choir schools play today in the worship and pastoral life of the Cathedrals or other communities they serve, and the crucial agency they enact in the formation of future conductors, composers, organists, choristers, and more. More broadly, these schools, once dubbed “the envy of the angels,” serve the community in many ways beyond the realm of sacred music as institutions that shape the lives of young people for leadership and engagement in the mission of the Catholic Church. The essential elements observed in existing schools, as well as the challenges that contribute to the fragility of such institutions, will also be considered.
In-person and live via streaming. A reception follows the in-person event.
About the Lecturer
Gregory A. Glenn is the Founder and Pastoral Administrator of The Madeleine Choir School, and the Director of Liturgy and Music at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah. Glenn completed graduate work in liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C., and undergraduate studies in organ performance at Seattle Pacific University. While at Catholic University, he served on the music staff at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Madeleine Choir School, a Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Catholic School serving over 400 students at the Cathedral, began as an after-school program for children in 1990, and opened as a full-time academic institution in 1996. At the Cathedral of the Madeleine Glenn oversees a liturgy and music program with over 150 regular volunteers and staff that serve daily and Sunday choral services, an annual Concert Series, and the Eccles Organ Festival. The choristers from the Madeleine Choir School have sung with professional arts organizations such as Utah Opera, the Utah Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and have also conducted biennial European performance tours throughout Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Austria. The Choristers were featured in the music for the Opening Ceremonies of 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Glenn has served on the Steering Committee for the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, and worked with Monsignor M. Francis Mannion in facilitating the creation of The Snowbird Statement on Catholic Liturgical Music. In 2008 Glenn received the Madeleine Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts and Humanities in Utah, and, in 2013, the Yves Congar Award for twenty-five years of service presented by the Congar Institute for Ministry Development. His article regarding the founding of the Choir School was included in Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives, a publication of Bloomsbury T & T Clark. A native of Olympia, Washington, Glenn has served the Diocese of Salt Lake City since 1988.
About the Series
The Public Lecture & Concert Series of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music welcomes the general public to St. Patrick’s Seminary to hear from preeminent scholars about topics which have a profound impact on the Church and humanity, inviting them especially to consider the Church’s wisdom on matters related to the worship of God, the spiritual life, beauty, and works of art.
We invite you to join us for these important and inspiring events.
About the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music
Founded in 2022, the mission of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music is to draw souls to Jesus Christ through the beauty of sacred music and the liturgy.
The Institute offers a substantial program of accredited, graduate-level coursework and, beginning in the summer session of 2026 pending WSCUC approval, a Masters of Sacred Music and Post-baccalaureate certificates in Gregorian Chant and Sacred Choral Music. All of the Institute’s coursework and public outreach are designed to help church musicians and clergy better to know and love the Church’s treasury of sacred music and her teachings on sacred music. Our goal is to equip students with the theological, philosophical, and historical knowledge, as well as the practical skills (singing, playing, conducting, composing, organizing, fundraising) necessary to build excellent sacred music programs in parishes and schools. We aim to help others revitalize the faith of Catholics and instill vitality in parish and school life through a vibrant sacred music program.
We are committed to a faithful and generous service of the Church. We cultivate fidelity, resiliency, a healthy sense of creativity, and selflessness within our student body and faculty as characteristics of our service as we labor together in the vineyard of the Lord to bring in a rich harvest.
