REGINA PACIS CANTORUM NEWS RELEASE — This September, Regina Pacis Cantorum, Northern Nevada’s traditional a cappella Gregorian chant and polyphony choir, will be offering the public “The Living Tradition of Gregorian Chant,” a series of four Saturday classes on how—and why—to sing this timeless art form. It will conclude with the singing of a Mass on Saturday, September 28.
Effectively eliminated from most Catholic churches after Vatican II, Gregorian chant has made a comeback in recent years thanks partly to its appeal in popular music. This summer, a chant CD by a group of Benedictine nuns topped the Billboard classical charts. Also, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s 2007 encyclical Summorum Pontificum has made the celebration of traditional Latin Masses more accessible. However, chant’s popularity goes well beyond Catholicism, and participants in these classes are not required to be Catholic.
Regina Pacis is privileged to have as one of its presenters Dr. William Mahrt, Stanford University musicology professor, president of the Church Music Association of America, and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Gregorian chant. Also presenting the classes will be Father Francisco Nahoe, OFM Conv., rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno; Deacon Joe Bell, also of the Cathedral; and Kathy Reinheimer, director of Regina Pacis Cantorum.
“The Living Tradition of Gregorian Chant” classes are Saturday, September 7, 14, 21, and 28, 1:30 p.m. — 4:30 p.m. (with 5:00 p.m. Mass following the Sept. 28 class), at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral, 310 W. 2nd Street, Reno. There is a suggested $25 fee for the series. Registration is required. Those interested in doing so should contact Kathy Reinheimer at 775-345-6106, or e-mail her at [email protected]. St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral website, stacathedral.com. Regina Pacis Cantorum website, rpchoir.blogspot.org.
