PS: If you are a CMAA member, be sure to check your email and/or the Winter SM issue (coming out soon) for the discount code. If you want to register before then, contact me at programs@musicasacra.com for the code...

That is correct... it has to do with the room rates charged to us by the university.

A slight typo in Charles Coles bio:

Charles Cole will direct the Men’s Schola chant course this summer at the XXV Colloquium in Indianapolis.

Unless, of course, he doing something in Indy while we're all at Dooqueznee.

I've had a few questions about the member emails... I did send emails to our CMAA member list that should have arrived in your inbox this morning (12/8). If you didn't get the email, it could be because:

1) We don't have a good email address for you on file
2) Your email program throws our emails into spam or promotions and you don't see it
3) Your membership has lapsed
or
4) We have an error and for some crazy reason don't have you on the current member roster.

In all cases, please contact me as soon as possible so that I can help resolve it very soon... Thanks very much to all our loyal CMAA members... you make it possible for us to do all sorts of wonderful things.

Janet
gm at musicasacra dot com.

This is one thing I don't understand - it's so easy to fall off the Musica Sacra membership list because there doesn't seem to be a way of notifying people when their memberships need to be renewed. I was a member for years and then fell away without noticing it a few years ago. Nobody ever contacted me to renew, or to get back in once I had failed to renew. Of course it is the person's own duty to pay attention and do these things, but in the real world there is way too much going on for a person to easily remember all of their membership renewals, especially if one belongs to a number of organizations. Maybe things have changed since then, I don't know.

The winter issue of Sacred Music is just being printed and mailed, and those who haven't renewed contain renewal envelopes. Since we're on a year-to-year basis now, and since we've caught up with publications of the journal, things should be running more regularly. You'll see renewal envelopes in the Winter issue every year if you haven't already renewed.

It's not that easy.

The recording project every year is a volunteer effort. It depends on attendees who bring their own portable recorders to the events they attend. Those are very common devices, about the size of a phone, and easy to carry and use. They don't require you to carry around a tripod, and they don't have to be adjusted when the lecturer moves around. You can just turn the device on, leave it sitting there for an hour, and ignore it. Audio recorders don't have to deal with issues about lighting or about the legibility of projector displays. So audio recording is a rather simpler task than video recording.

Incidentally, I don't know if it's any help, but if there's not a suitable event in Eire, you might find it affordable to attend the annual conference put on by Musica Sacra Scotland.

Thanks, Richard, for answering the questions regarding membership...

We are trying to make our communications more clear and do a better job of being in touch with the membership. If you have questions or suggestions, please email me (email address below).

Also, in case you are wondering about the status of your membership:

1) As Jenny mentioned, you should be receiving the Winter edition of Sacred Music this week. If you don't receive one, your membership is expired (or we have an incorrect address...contact me in any case).

2) There will be listed the last issue of SM you'll be receiving by volume near your name on the address label. For example, if your membership expires with the current (winter) issue, that number will read 141.4, or 241.4.

141.4 denotes a member who pays year to year; 241.4 indicates an automatic renewal. Next year's issues will be x42.1 (spring 2015), x42.2 (summer 2015), x42.3 (fall 2015) and x42.4 (winter 2015).

3) you can always contact me directly, particularly if you think something is awry with your membership expiry. Just email me at gm at musicsacra dot com.

4) The majority of our memberships will be expiring with the end of the year. Please look for the renewal envelope sent along with your Sacred Music.

Thank you all for your patience and suggestions...

The dorms were quiet, but spare. I don't recall about pillows. There was no wifi in the dorms. The student union building had wifi but closed about 9 pm. Of course, it's possible that some of these details may have changed in the four years since we were last there.

Sleep is gravely important to me.
I will be in the hotel.
Also, if one has a vehicle and doesn't mind staying in an "unofficial" hotel, one could get a fine hotel room in Pittsburgh via Priceline for ~$50 a night. Or at least you could 4 years ago.

Sleep is gravely important to me.

I knew it! I knew you are Nosferatu, Matieux!
First year in Pitt, W and I did dorms, was okay, didn't have a neighbor so the bathroom thing worked out too. But Kathy was right about the lack of WiFi being a bother. Second year, hotel!

Just an FYI... there is to be a national barbershop (singers -- not haircutters) convention in Pittsburgh during the week of the Colloquium. It may be more difficult than usual to find alternate hotel accommodations. The Hilton Garden (which has a block of rooms for us) is not within walking distance, but is an easy ride on the bus system and also has some free shuttle service available. The Hilton does have a few advantages over the Marriott in that there are many more dining options nearby...

Just got definite word that there will be wifi in the dorms this time around. You'll be sent the information about password and login prior to arriving at the Colloquium. I am sure that will be good news for many...

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE:

And, by the way, because of the problem we experienced with the company who ships our Sacred Music journals, I have gone through the entire list of members and sent emails or letters to any whose memberships have just lapsed...

There may be others have been lapsed for awhile that will not have heard from me, however.

Bottom line: if you didn't receive the Winter 2014 edition of Sacred Music, we don't have you listed as a member... so please join up again! http://musicasacra.com

Duquesne has been the home of the Summer Chant Intensive for a while. I went to the last two of these and stayed in the dorms. They provided a pillow, a pair of sheets, a blanket, two towels and two washcloths. Wi-Fi was also provided. The rooms were what you would expect from a dorm room - two beds (appeared to be bunk beds that had been separtated), two desks, and two chest of drawers. No trash cans! Also, no vending machines in the dorms (or anywhere else I went on campus.) Be prepared to walk up and down hill a lot, as the dorms are at one end of campus, the music building in the middle of the campus, and the chapel on the other end of campus.

I've gone to the last two Summer Chant Intensives and have thoroughly enjoyed it. However, my Director of Music and Liturgy would like me to start either a Schola or Chant classes. I was wondering if the Colloquium would be better for me this year.

@bhcordova: You may find that you get a broader range of information at the Colloquium... more breakout sessions covering various topics, as well as the chant training. Although, with each different instructor for chant intensive, you learn something different. Just go to both!

Oh, you and your bedeviled memory, CDub! Yeah, two winters took care of that lost 50lb.