Our Christmas gift to you is one of the most special interviews we've yet had the opportunity to present on this podcast. Naji Hakim joins us to discuss the impact of the sounds of his youth on his musical imagination, his training as a young musician, his study with Jean Langlais, succeeding to Olivier Messiaen's post at La Trinité, and his own work as an improviser and composer.  Learn more about Mr. Hakim here: https://www.najihakim.com/ And be sure to tune in to his excellent YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/uyiai Keep in touch with Dr. Donelson-Nowicka here: https://jenniferdonelson.com https://www.stpsu.edu/

When listing the most stressful jobs one can think, church musician doesn't immediately come to mind. Even so, there are a huge number of stressors that lead to frequent burnout and high turnover rates, impacting parish communities, and even the spiritual lives of musicians. Join Dr. Kensley Behel, an expert in musicians' health, as we discuss the roots of these problems and what musicians and pastors can do to avoid burnout.  Learn more about Dr. Behel here: https://www.kensleybehel.com/ Keep in touch with Dr. Donelson-Nowicka here: https://jenniferdonelson.com https://www.stpsu.edu/

Have you ever wondered where and how Western musical notation originated and developed? How did it affect the learning and teaching of music? What are the limitations and contributions of notation to how the music sounds? Join Dr. Thomas Forrest Kelly, the Morton B. Knafel Research Professor of Music at Harvard University and author of Capturing Music: The Story of Notation, for a fascinating interview. Buy Dr. Kelly's book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/Capturing-Music/  Learn more about Dr. Kelly here: https://medieval.fas.harvard.edu/people/thomas-forrest-kelly Keep in touch with Dr. Donelson-Nowicka here: https://jenniferdonelson.com https://www.stpsu.edu/

Looking for inspiration about how to improve lackluster liturgies in your Catholic school? Fr. Christopher Smith presents myriad ideas which instill the faith in families and children, give a strong structure to the school schedule and curriculum, and bring people into your Catholic community. Fr. Christopher Smith is pastor of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Taylors, South Carolina. Check out what’s happening at Prince of Peace here: https://princeofpeacetaylors.org/ https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2022/08/liturgical-arts-flourishing-at-prince.html https://www.facebook.com/princeofpeacetaylors Keep in touch with Dr. Donelson-Nowicka here: https://jenniferdonelson.com https://www.stpsu.edu/

How did the Franciscan missionaries of California engage the people they were evangelizing through music? How did their training in music enable their missionary work? What were the forms of music the missionaries used? What were the artistic cultures of the California missions like? Join us as we discuss these questions with Dr. Craig H. Russell, author of From Serra to Sancho: Music and Pageantry in the California Missions (Oxford Univ. Press). Check out Dr. Russell's book here: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195343274.001.0001/acprof-9780195343274?rskey=yAse1t&result=1 Listen to Chanticleer sing mission music in their collaborative album with Dr. Russell, Mission Road: https://music.apple.com/us/album/mission-road-our-journey-back/288152035 

A leading expert in the work and approach to singing chant of Dom Eugène Cardine, Dr. Edward Schaefer (Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum) joins us to discuss the basics of semiology, the older styles of neumes, and how reading from these neumes can inform our singing of Gregorian chant. To learn more about Dr. Schaefer, please visit: https://www.edwardschaefer.net Check out Dr. Schaefer's online introduction to semiology here: https://gregoriansemiology.com Discover the Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum here: https://www.the-collegium.org Sign up for the CMAA's Sacred Music Colloquium, to be held at the Collegium in Hagerstown, MD here: http://musicasacra.com/colloquium Learn more about Dr. Schaefer's summer class at St. Joseph's Seminary here: http://dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes 

What are the limits of music in conveying meaning? Can one "do theology" musically? Join Dr. Robert Sholl (Royal Academy of Music) as we discuss Olivier Messiaen's search for a musical language which could convey the truths of the Catholic faith. Learn more about Dr. Sholl here: https://www.ram.ac.uk/people/robert-sholl Check out Dr. Sholl's work on Messiaen here: https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/music/twentieth-century-and-contemporary-music/messiaen-studies?format=HB&isbn=9780521839815 or here: https://www.routledge.com/Messiaen-the-Theologian/Shenton/p/book/9781138248014 To find out more about or register for summer classes at St. Joseph's Seminary, please visit: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

Focusing firstly on the Psalms of Sunday vespers, Dr. Mahrt takes us through a tour of the Psalms and their antiphon pairings and how this helps us to understand the typological fulfillment of the Psalms in Christ, as well as the feasts of the liturgical year. We discuss the four senses of scripture and how singing the Divine Office opens up the meaning of the scriptures. To learn how to sing Gregorian chant, check out the Principles of Chant course this summer at St. Joseph's Seminary: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

What can a parish music director take away from historical research in terms of performance practice? Join Prof. Charles Weaver (Juilliard, CUNY) as we discuss phrasing, rhythm, vibrato, pitch, tuning, and other issues which inform the performance of Renaissance polyphony.  To learn more about Prof. Weaver's work, please visit: https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/weaver-charles To download the app Prof. Weaver mentions, click here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pitch-trainer-harmonize/id965614965 To find out more about Prof. Weaver's summer class at St. Joseph's Seminary, please go to: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

We can learn so much from listening to the experiences of others, and this is particularly true when it comes to starting a new job, or just getting started in a professional field. Join us for this episode as we discuss training and formative experiences that help church musicians start off on the right foot in a new job or in the field more generally. Samuel Rowe is here to discuss his journey to Catholicism, things he learned in college and grad school that were important in his development, and how he has been working to invest his time and talents as the director of music at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore.  To learn more about Sam's work, please visit: https://www.americasfirstcathedral.org/music/ To find out more about summer sacred music study at St. Joseph's Seminary, check out: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes