The Joy of Rehearsal: A Sacred Music Symposium
For singers of all ages!
By Kay Harkins, Chair
Metropolis of San Francisco Church Music Ministry
Reconnect, reinvigorate, and refine your musical skills with church musicians from near and far at a one-day Church Music Symposium on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Portland, OR.
Join us for a day with award winning Orthodox composer and conductor Benedict Sheehan and his gifted wife, Talia Maria, as they guide us in exploring the joy of an effective and engaging choral rehearsal.
As a Symposium Participant you will:
- Rehearse and refine 4 challenging and rewarding Orthodox hymns
- Refresh your voice with effective vocal techniques
- Learn rehearsal techniques for both adult and children’s choirs
- Receive a Rehearsal Planning Guide for use in your own parishes
Enjoy an intensive symposium experience and connect with fellow church musicians.
Bonus Symposium Exclusive: As a preview of the West Coast premiere of his acclaimed Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Cappella Romana, Benedict will lead the Symposium Choir in learning “It is Truly Meet” from the Liturgy.
Symposium participants will be offered discount tickets for Cappella Romana’s Saturday evening performance.
Morning Coffee and light Lenten Luncheon provided.
COVID protocols for In-person attendance:
- All participants for the in-person gathering at Holy Trinity Cathedral – Portland must show valid proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Participants are welcome to wear singers’ masks during the singing portions of the symposium.
Special for parish music leaders of Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco:
See your parish clergy for scholarship code to attend either in person or virtually.
VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE: NOT IN OUR TIME ZONE? HAVE OTHER OBLIGATIONS ON THE 4TH? Recording and materials will be available for registered participants until December 30!
Registration Deadline: November 26, 2021. Register today!
About Benedict Sheehan
Conductor and composer Benedict Sheehan has been called “a remarkable musician” and “one of the most important voices in American Orthodox choral music” (Choral Journal). He is Artistic Director of the Saint Tikhon Choir and the newly-founded Artefact Ensemble, as well as Director of Music at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in Pennsylvania. His work as a Chorus Master on the 2020 Naxos release of Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers earned him and his collaborators a 2021 GRAMMY® nomination, and he was recently awarded 2nd Place in the 2021 American Prize for Choral Conducting. His Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (2020), on which he conducts the Saint Tikhon Choir, has garnered critical acclaim as “simply beyond praise for excellence” (Fanfare), “radiant…superb…a masterstroke” (MusicWeb International), “fresh and vibrant…spot on…a superb effort” (Audiophile Audition), “inventive, moving, and extravagantly beautiful” (The American Organist), and “a new standard for excellence in the American choral landscape” (The Living Church Magazine).
His innovative choral “story score” was featured on Skylark Vocal Ensemble’s 2021 GRAMMY®-nominated album Once Upon A Time, and has been hailed as “evocative” (Gramophone), “quite extraordinary” (Limelight), “brilliant” (MetroWest Daily News), and “otherworldly” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). His newest story score, based on the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, was recently recorded by Skylark and will be released in November of 2021. Sheehan’s monumental new Vespers was recorded in 2021 by the Saint Tikhon Choir under the composer’s direction, and will also be released in November of 2021. Sheehan’s music is published by Oxford University Press, Artefact Publications, Musica Russica, and others. Upcoming performances of his music in the 2021-22 season will include new commissions from Conspirare and Cappella Romana, and performances by Skylark and the Houston Chamber Choir. This fall he will conduct Artefact Ensemble in the world premiere of Arvo Pärt’s O Holy Father Nicholas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
INFORMATION ALSO POSTED ONLINE:
https://sanfran.goarch.org/news/the-joy-of-rehearsal-a-sacred-music-symposium