I'm pleased to announce that the conference schedules and travel information have been posted!

“Gregorian Chant and Modern Composition for the Catholic Liturgy: Charles Tournemire’s L’Orgue Mystique as Guide.”

www.musicasacra.com/tournemire

The Church Music Association of America will hold a conference exploring Charles Tournemire’s landmark L’Orgue Mystique on February 1-3, 2012 on the campus of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and at the Church of the Epiphany in South Miami. The conference seeks to explore the aesthetic, liturgical, and compositional principles of L’Orgue Mystique, the implications of the work for modern compositions inspired by Gregorian chant, and the role of modern compositions and the organ in the Catholic liturgy.

Conference highlights include:

- Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, celebrated by His Excellency, Thomas G. Wenski, Archbishop of Miami. Musical highlights include Tournemire’s office from L’Orgue Mystique for the day (Purificatio B. Mariæ Virginis), a Missa Brevis by Zachary Wadsworth, and a commissioned motet by Dr. Paul Weber.

- Opening and Closing Recitals by Rudy de Vos (Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA) and TBA

- An entire day of recitals featuring repertoire ranging from Naji Hakim and original compositions and improvisations by conference artists to the works of Tournemire, Franck and Langlais.

- The keynote lecture entitled “The Composer as Textual Commentator: Music and Language in Tournemire‘s Symbolist Method” will be given by Dr. Stephen Schloesser, S.J. Schloesser is an Associate Professor of History at Loyola University in Chicago and the author of Jazz Age Catholicism with its noted chapter on Tournemire. He is currently working on a book about Messiaen.

- Conference sessions will explore the shape of the Catholic liturgy and of L’Orgue Mystique, harmonic, improvisation and performance practice as it relates to L’Orgue Mystique, as well as teacher and student relationships to Tournemire.

All conference events at the Church of the Epiphany are free and open to the public, though a free-will donation will be accepted at the door. However, in order to attend all of the conference events, including the events at NSU, registration is required. The deadline for conference registration and payment is Monday, January 3, 2012. The registration fee is non-refundable. Only complete registrations will be available; no 1-day or partial registrations are available. Advance registration is required; no on-site registration is available. Registration is free for NSU students, faculty and staff.

I hope you’ll be able to join us for what promises to be a wonderful conference! Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions. jd1120 (at) nova (dot) edu or (954) 262-7610