Would you like to learn how to teach chant in your own parish? The Church Music Society of America is sponsoring a workshop. Here are the details:

Gregorian Chant has been called the most beautiful music this side of Heaven. But as Pope Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council have emphasized, it is also integral to Catholic liturgical life and should be heard and experienced with wide participation in every parish.

The Church Music Association of America is working to bring about this ideal with its Summer Music Colloquium, June 20-25, 2006, held at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

The Colloquium features instruction in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant and polyphonic choirs, nightly lectures and performances, along with daily celebrations of liturgies in both English and Latin at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Attendance is open to anyone interested in improving the quality of music in Catholic worship. Professional musicians will appreciate the rigor, while enthusiastic volunteer singers will enjoy the opportunity to study under an expert faculty.

Attendees also benefit from camaraderie with like-minded musicians who share their love of the liturgy of the Church.

It is the CMAA’s 16th annual colloquium. Growing awareness and appreciation of chant and its solemnity has generated particular excitement about the conference this year.

(By the way, here is the CMA’s blog)

(And I’m quite sure that if you would like to use the graphic above to advertise the CMA workshop on your own site -they’d be thrilled. Get the word out!)

If you can’t go – well, even if you can! – check out Ian of Aquinas and More’s blog for suggestions of chant resources – music books, recordings, etc. And then go to his post in which he analyzes the chant offerings of the two largest Catholic music publishers. There was a bit of frisson last year when the word spread, for example, that OCP (Oregon Catholic Press) seemed to be pushing a bit of chant. Eh, not so much, Ian discovers.