As has been previously announced, the Church Music Association of America, the parent organization of this site, and the Collegium of Hagerstown, Maryland, are proud to invite you to the 32nd Sacred Music Colloquium from June 20 to June 25. On musicasacra.com it says, “The CMAA’s Sacred Music Colloquium continues to be the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world.” To use some contemporary parlance I’d like to “unpack” this statement a bit.
First of all, the CMAA Colloquium is the largest and the original sacred music conference in the United States. I am old enough to have attended the very first one, held at Christendom College in 1990; we were a small, very disoriented group of people. It was twenty years after the implementation of the new missal, twenty years after the arrival of Sing Allelu, They will know we are Christians by our love, Come with me into the fields, If I were a butterfly, and the all-time funeral favorite, Be not Afraid. The CMAA and Sacred Music Journal was hanging on by a thread. By the grace of God, Father Skeris from Christendom, and Msgr Schuler from St Agnes in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, decided to do something about it. They launched out into the deep and put their trust in the Lord. The first few years were very tentative. No more than 50 or 60 people attended. We then moved to Washington D.C., and with the help of new leadership, the Colloquium began to grow. Since then, we have been all over the US, and here we are, ready to get going post-Covid. We have been at this for 32 glorious years, and are ready to continue into the future
Second, the Colloquium is a conference, but we strive to make it a liturgical retreat as well. Beautiful Masses are said each day, confessions are always available, and the camaraderie of many wonderful, very spiritual people is uplifting and inspirational.
Third, it is also a time to catch up with old friends and make new friends on this journey of singing proper music for the Lord. Joy, hearty laughter and good fun are always present. There can also be found an occasional libation.
Who should attend?
- Anyone interested in sacred music in Catholic worship.
- Professional musicians.
-Volunteer singers.
- Priests deacons and seminarians.
As a participant, you are an integral part of the beautiful music from the Roman Catholic tradition. Experience not only the primary music of the Roman Rite, Gregorian Chant, but also sacred polyphony, classical Masses, and new compositions written specifically for the liturgy according to the rules of Sacred Music. Masses will be in Latin, English and Spanish.
The CMAA Colloquium is a cure for Coviditis. We have been separated for two years. It is time to get together to learn, to sing, to pray, to celebrate, to rejoice and to enjoy. Sign up here: https://musicasacra.com/events/colloquium-2022-main/
