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Christ is risen!

New hymns for Pascha!

Brother Augustine of the Byzantine Franciscan friary in Sybertsville, PA has put together a collection of Paschal hymns, and graciously allowed the Metropolitan Cantor Institute to post them online. There are hymns in both English (using the current translations of our church) and (transliterated) Slavonic.

Paschal Hymns

May they contribute to our joy in this Paschal season!

MCI Summer Cantor School

This year, the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh will hold its second annual summer music program for cantors.  The three day workshop will take place on July 25-27 at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. (more)

New Mailing List for Cantors!

We are migrating the old MCI mailing lists to single list, cantors@groups.io. This new list should be more reliable than the one we have been using, and does NOT require the creation of a Yahoo ID. It also has more options for collaboration, including a wiki and post tagging.

This list will be used for both announcements, and general (moderated) discussion. If you wish to receive email ONLY for announcements, you can set your subscription options to "Special Notices Only."

To subscribe to the list, just go to https://groups.io/g/cantors

Classes for 2018 Announced!

Beginning in January 2018:

• The classes in the Basic Course will be offered twice a year, starting in January and July.
• The classes in the Intermediate Course will be offered twice a year, starting in January and July.
• Advanced classes will be offered throughout the year.

This means that all the entire MCI cantor education program can be completed in as little as two years, and students can plan well in advance which courses they would like to take, and when. For more information and registration forms, see the Cantor Education Roadmap.

New smartphone app has daily readings, hymns

The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma (Ohio) recently released a smartphone app for Apple iOS and Android that includes:

• daily epistle and Gospel readings according to the Byzantine lectionary used in our church
• a short biography of the daily saint(s) on our calendar, together with their troparion and kontakion
• news, videos, and other resources

Quite a few cantors have asked for such a resource, and having tried it out, I highly recommend it.  To get the app:

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bf.appd580cf&hl=en

For Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eparchy-of-parma/id1247012513?mt=8

Online musicianship for cantors

In preparation for our online classes, which begin in February, the Metropolitan Cantor Institute has acquired a site license for Theta Music Trainer, a website with computer- and smartphone-based games that teach pitch matching, recognition and singing of scales and intervals, and other important skills.

Complete access to this website is available to all cantors in the Byzantine Catholic Church, as well as students in the MCI Online program. For more information, see the Theta Music Trainer page.

There is also a new section in the left-hand navigation bar, Musicianship, to which articles will be added over the next two months.

Documenting the history of our church music - how you can help

The Metropolitan Cantor Institute is working with the Byzantine Catholic Seminary Library to put together material to document the history of the liturgical music of the Byzantine Catholic Church, both plain chant and choral music. Please consider contributing to these two efforts:

• Remembering our professors
• Remembering our choirs

In early 2018, we will also be distributing images of particular pieces of music or other memorabilia we would like to find or identify.

What is the Metropolitan Cantor Institute?

The Metropolitan Cantor Institute exists to support and foster liturgical singing in the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. At the direction of our bishops, and in cooperation with our clergy and experienced cantors, the Institute trains and certifies cantors for the service of the church, prepares music and educational materials, and provides workshops and seminars in church singing.

The mission of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:

To ensure that each parish in the Byzantine Catholic Church has a cantor who can lead the liturgical singing of the parish well, to the glory of God and in support of the prayer of the faithful.

For more information, click on Cantor Institute in the left-hand navigation bar on this page.