Metropolitan Cantor Institute for 2010-2011
This year, the Metropolitan Cantor Institute program has been restructured based on feedback from cantor school students, and our experience in teaching the program:
- The five year program has been shortened to four years. A one-year course on the Divine Liturgy is offered annually; the remaining three years (offered in rotation) cover the remaining chant material in the program.
- The music theory component has been revised to reflect the material most needed by cantors, and uses movable-do solfege for instruction in all four years.
- An additional six-evening course for readers will be offered in the Fall and Spring, covering Scripture and the role and tools of the church lector or reader. This course is open to new and prospective readers and cantors. Beginning MCI students will be expected to take this course as their schedule permits, and returning students are encouraged to take it as well.
See the brochure for more information, and for a registration form. Copies of the brochure have also been sent out to all parishes of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
Short course for church readers
We will also be offering a short course this Fall for church readers / lectors. This course will provide an orientation to Scripture and the cycle of readings in the Byzantine Rite; the role of the reader; the traditional reading tones (melodies) used in our churches, and practical instruction in applying these to the readings of the Divine Liturgy.
The first course will be held on Tuesday evenings (7-9 PM) from October 5 through November 9 at Saint Gregory Byzantine Catholic Church in Upper Saint Clair, south of Pittsburgh. Pre-registration is recommended but not required. For more information, see the brochure.
Paraliturgical hymns for September
From our collection of devotional songs for the liturgical year:
- Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8)
- Exaltation of the Cross (September 14)
Byzantine Catholic Hymnal
The MCI has prepared a 55-page hymnal containing the hymns from the old Levkulic Divine Liturgies book, in English and Slavonic, along with the English and Slavonic texts of the major hymns of the Divine Liturgy. (We received several requests for Lenten hymns, and making this 2007 draft book available now seemed the simplest way to satisfy those requests.) We hope this helps parishes to add to their repertoire of spiritual songs (duchovňi pisňi ) sung before and after our liturgical services.
Looking for Local Recordings of Prostopinije!
We would like to expand our archival collection of recorded prostopinije, old and new, in order to provide a record of prostopinje use in Europe and in the New World, to prevent any further loss of melodies, and to support the process of setting texts in English to the Church's plainchant.
Parishes or individuals with recorded prostopinije who are willing to grant non-exclusive webcast rights to the Metropolitan Cantor Institute are asked to contact the webmaster, Jeff Mierzejewski, at Plainchanter@gmail.com. Along with the recordings themselves, please provide a description of where and when they were recorded, and the names of the cantor(s) if known.