Teaching the chant of the Byzantine Catholic Church
This past July, I was honored to take part in the 2025 assembly of clergy and laity of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh, held at Saint Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Whiting, Indiana. (Here’s a video review.)
Myself, I’m still processing the event and doing follow-ups, but if you’re a cantor, I would especially encourage you to check out these three presentations, and leave your comments below!
As promised last time, I am watching each of the recorded presentations from last November’s assembly of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church in the USA and posting my comments here, in hopes of starting a robust discussion going forward.
Continue reading “Assembly Talks 1: A Theological Cosmology”
The following students have successfully completed MCI Online courses in the second half of 2020.
The Plainchant of the Byzantine Catholic Church
Mark Adinolfi
Brandon Barker
David Boney
Gregg Buczkowski
Sherrill Franklin
Christopher Gerzano
Katrina Holt
Michael Komishock
Aidan Medcalf
Sarah Medcalf
Gregory Puhak
Mark Venkov
Mark Worhatch
Millie Woryk
Introduction to Liturgy
Gregg Buczkowski
Benjamin Cafeo
Loretta Fernández
Elizabeth Freiberg
Christopher Genzano
Tiphaine Lamb
Sarah Medcalf
Natalie Popiel
Gregory Puhak
Theresa Szatkowski
Cyndee Zbylut
Introduction to Church Singing
Loretta Fernández
Elizabeth Freiberg
Mary Hendricks
Kyle Holdridge
Lidija Pašo
Reading in Church
Elizabeth Freiberg
Dennis Zitny
Introduction to the Divine Liturgy
Elizabeth Freiberg
Lidija Pašo
Introduction to the Eight Tones
Gregory Puhak
The Liturgical Year
Michelle Rubush
The Divine Liturgy
Mary Hendricks
Gregory Puhak
Olivia Whitlock
The Office of Vespers
Gregory Puhak
From Pascha to All Saints
Sherril Franklin
Services for the Living
Susan Kopko
Olivia Whitlock
Patricia Yamrick
Hierarchical Services and Reader Services
Susan Kopko
Julia Revilakova
Andrea Riley
Adrienne Terleck
Patricia Yamrick
Services for the Departed
Susan Kopko
Judith Walsh
Services of Christmas and Theophany
Susan Kopko
Judith Walsh
For more information, go to https://metropolitancantorinstitute.org/blog/classes.
The following students have successfully completed MCI Online courses in the first half of 2020.
The Plainchant of the Byzantine Catholic Church
Andrew Colvin
Carol Donlin
Thomas Donlin
Loretta Fernandez
Elizabeth Freiberg
Mary Hendricks
Lawrence Lattuca
Larry Leitzel
Denise Maslowski
Julia Revilakova
Amy Seyfried
Anthony Stoeppel
Theresa Szatkowski
Olivia Whitlock
Patricia Yamrick
Introduction to Liturgy
Joseph Anderson
Ryan Bjorgaard
Michael Booth
Michael Bracelin
Chris Cain
Fr John Congdom
Bethany Doyle
Lisa Edwards
Gail Hanscom
Katrina Holt
Aidan Medcalf
Keith Nissen
Andrew Novotny
Séamus Ó Fianghusa
Sean Pyne
Anthony Stoeppel
Millie Woryk
Dennis Zitny
Introduction to Church Singing
Lisa Edwards
Corey Knick
Michael Komishock
Gregory Puhak
Olivia Whitlock
Introduction the Typikon
Ryan Bjorgaard
Corey Knick
Anthony Stoeppel
Reading in Church
Robert Dillon
Introduction the Divine Liturgy
Corey Knick
Introduction to the Eight Tones
Sam Schroetke
The Liturgical Year
Judith Walsh
The Divine Liturgy
Judith Walsh
The Office of Vespers
Julia Revilakova
Sam Schroetke
Mastering the Eight Tones
Julia Revilakova
Sam Schroetke
Judith Walsh
The Great Fast and Holy Week
Sherill Franklin
Susan Kopko
Julia Revilakova
Patricia Yamrick
From Pascha to All Saints
Julia Revilakova
Patricia Yamrick
Services for the Living
Julia Revilakova
For more information, go to https://metropolitancantorinstitute.org/blog/classes. All classes are free of charge through July 31.
Last Saturday, February 22, 2020, from 2-4 PM at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Munhall, PA, Deacon Jeffrey Mierzejewski gave a publication presentation and workshop on our church singing, covering:
Continue reading “Pittsburgh Church Singing Presentation, February 22, 2020”
Last Saturday, February 22, 2020, a meeting was held from 9 AM-noon at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Munhall for all cantors of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
Twenty-six cantors were present, representing the following parishes:
Continue reading “Pittsburgh Cantors’ Meeting, February 22, 2020”
metropolitancantorinstitute.org is the old name for the MCI website. We moved all the content to mci.archpitt.org when the MCI web pages were shifted to the Archeparchy’s own webserver, way back in 2014.
As of January 16, 2020, we are dropping the old domain name, and metropolitancantorinstitute.org will no longer be forwarded automatically to mci.archpitt.org. Please update any bookmarks to point to the new address (the rest of the URL remains the same).
Feel free to add a comment here if you have any questions.
From 2001 to 2014, the Metropolitan Cantor Institute held Saturday chant classes in Pittsburgh, covering a different topic at each class. Over a multi-year rotation, cantors learned necessary skills, and received a certificate for finishing the full course of study. Eventually, we added an in-person “final exam” in the form of a cantored Divine Liturgy at which an MCI instructor could see, comment on, and “sign off” that a student had in fact learned the skills we tried to teach.
So it is with great happiness that I can congratulate Mary Benedict, cantor of Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church in Erie, PA. Mary is the last cantor to complete the “old” MCI program, having regularly driven to Pittsburgh to attend classes, and completing her final examination in 2019.
Here is a list of graduates of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute program. As we move from occasional classroom courses to online, year-round education for cantors, I would like to recognize all those cantors and cantor-students who traveled to the Byzantine Catholic Seminary throughout the fall, winter, and spring to learn the art of church singing and chant leadership.
2005 / 2006
Marylyn Barone
Delcine Caddy
John Glegyak
Thomas Marco
Sharon Mech
George Mihalick
Stephen Petach
Mary Caryl Planiczki
Steven Puluka
Barbara Sowko
Henry Zolyak
2007
Mary Frances Zadzilko
Nicholas J. Nagrant
Diane Ryan Oravecz
2008
Jeff Mierzejewski
Michael Oravecz
Ann Pawluszka
2011
Saundra Frankowski
Marilyn Hertenstein
2016
Tom Rodack
2019
Mary Benedict
(and if you know anyone who should be on this list but isn’t, please add their name below in the comments!)
Finally, I would like to thank J. Michael Thompson, first director of the MCI, who put together this multiyear program and saw it become a reality.
The following students have successfully completed MCI Online courses in 2019.
Introduction to Liturgy
David Boney
Sidney Cline
Lawrence Coleman
Steve Doucet
Stephen Farlow
A Gerling
Stephen Hilgendorf
Gregory Hrinda
Diane Hvasta
Michael Katalenich
Seraphima Kemner
Sophia Kemner
Corey Knick
Nicholas Mataya
Jacob Moylan
Scott Romanoski
Sam Schroetke
Naomi Sweetman
Olivia Whitlock
William Wilson
Patricia Yamrick
Introduction to Church Singing
Michael Katalenich
Sam Schroetke
Russell Ward
Introduction to the Typikon
Gregory Hrinda
Michael Katalenich
Jacob Moylan
Scott Romanoski
Olivia Whitlock
Patricia Yamrick
Reading in Church
Robert Dillon
Introduction to the Divine Liturgy
Robert Dillon
Maria McKay
Mike Schulz
Colin Ventralla
Judith Walsh
Introduction to the Eight Tones
David Hennessy
Michelle Rubush
Ron Somich
Susan Tate
Colin Ventralla
Judith Walsh
The Liturgical Year (new class)
Sherill Franklin
Susan Kopko
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Amy Seyfried
The Divine Liturgy
Sue Ann Rudolphy
The Office of Vespers
Sherill Franklin
Judith Walsh
Mastering the Eight T0nes
Sherill Franklin
The Great Fast and Holy Week (new class)
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Andrea Riley
Amy Seyfried
From Pascha to All Saints (new class)
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Andrea Riley
Amy Seyfried
Services for the Living
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Hierarchical and Reader Services
Matthew Minerd
Services for the Departed (new class)
Robert Bartz
Sherill Franklin
Mary Hendricks
Steve Petach
Milan Revilak
Julia Revilakova
Andrea Riley
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Amy Seyfried
Patricia Yamrick
Services of Christmas and Theophany (new class)
Matthew Minerd
Julia Revilakova
Andrea Riley
Sue Ann Rudolphy
Amy Seyfried
Patricia Yamrick
Congratulations to all! For more about MCI Online classes in 2020, see here.
(By the way, the classes page now includes the total number of students who have completed each class.)
It has been more than 12 years since the promulgation of our present Divine Liturgies book, and what looked like an enormous number of musical settings of the Cherubic Hymn (ten of them!) now make up the basic repertoire in many parishes.
With than in mind – and considering the enormous number of such settings in Slavonic – I would like to offer the three possibilities for new settings in English, to give us greater opportunities to expand our plain chant in English, making use of Slavonic melodies which are already well know. I hope to teach these at the eparchial workshops planned for next year, and they are also keyed to the versions of the base hymns in the Hymnal Project (which will also be covered at next year’s workshops).
Continue reading “A Christmas present: Three new Cherubic Hymn settings in English”