3rd. Annual California Chant Workshop
  • June Ely
    Posts: 46
    This past October 16th. and 17th., the 3rd. Annual California Central Coast Gregorian Chant Workshop was held at historic Mission San Juan Bautista. Sessions were held for both beginners and advanced students, presented by Chant instructors Kathy Reimhelder and Greg Plese. 43 Sacred music enthusiasts from as far away as Southern California, with ages ranging from teens on up, were in attendance. The Workshop culminated with a Sung Mass in the usus antiquior celebrated by Mission Chaplain Fr. Nicholas A. Milich, featuring portions of Byrd's Mass for Three Voices and Mass XI, the Gregorian propers, Bucholz's Asperges Me, and a Motet by Palestrina.
    Thank you Kathy and Greg for the excellent instruction, and thank you Leo Raab for the great pics!
    http://picasaweb.google.com/leoraab1/ChantWorkshopAtMissionSanJuanBautista?authkey=Gv1sRgCMbaiIqN8pCw1wE&feat=email#
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    LINK to http://picasaweb.google.com/leoraab1/ChantWorkshopAtMissionSanJuanBautista?authkey=Gv1sRgCMbaiIqN8pCw1wE&feat=email#
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    This looks great. THank you for posting it. I always want to do something like this, but very overwhelmed. I see a big easel board with various neums. How did you guys make them?
  • June Ely
    Posts: 46
    Thank you for the kind words, Mia - the workshop was just great. Greg had Kathy come out to teach the advanced class, and he taught the beginning class. Both of them are such talented teachers. Kathy had that large visual aid made by a friend of hers, it was really helpful. In the future (like when I have more time to help...) I would like to see us do something like this, but in a bigger forum with room for more people. A couple of miles from the Mission there is a large Franciscan Retreat Center, that rents out space for any kind of retreat or conference. They have a couple of hundred rooms on site, with a kitchen that provides all of the food, meeting rooms, and a Chapel, all out in the beautiful, quiet countryside. Someday.

    Thank you Jeff for putting in that link correctly for me, I just couldn't figure out how to do that!
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    It sounds as though it was a howling success - and I'm not surprised. Kudos to all!
  • gregpgregp
    Posts: 632
    Not too much emphasis on the "howling" part, I hope, but yes, it went very, very well. There's just something about singing even something as mundane as Credo I in a group of 40 people who are dedicated and serious. Those of us who are fortunate enough to attend the Colloquium know how this feels on steroids, but I know there are probably thousands of people throughout this country who would love to do that, and can't. Regional workshops like this can make that 'stunned' feeling available to them.

    I vividly remember the first workshop I attended in Auburn in 2006: meeting Scott, Jeffrey, and Arlene, and realizing: this is my vocation. I think many of us feel the same way.
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