Summer Courses 2023
June 26 – 30, 2023 | Ann Arbor
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The Church Music Association of America is pleased to announce our 2023 Summer Courses, the Chant Intensive and the Vocal Intensive. These 5-day courses in the beautiful St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan will immerse beginner to advanced singers, chant conductors, and clergy in the beauty of Sacred Chant or Vocal Production for singers, conductors, cantors, or teachers.
The CMAA Summer Chant and Vocal Intensives are intended for beginning and continuing students and all who love and appreciate the central role that sacred music plays as the prayerful song of the Roman Rite – not only at cathedrals and basilicas but in any parish.
Vocal Intensive Course
This multi-day course will be taught by Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam.
The workshop is for singers, teachers of singing, and choral directors. The course will cover an overview of the basic knowledge of the human voice as an instrument and provide practical training to learn and improve vocal and singing skills.
The topics will include body alignment, breathing, tone quality, resonance, artistry, voice care, and healthy voice and mind connection.
Each session will include a lecture/presentation and practical exercises to enhance skills related to the chosen topics.
Participants are encouraged to demonstrate individual interests and pose questions during the Q & A session toward the end of each class or leave the instructor a written inquiry.
In addition, everyone will sing various musical examples to apply learned concepts and ideas.
Musical examples can include motets, psalms, solo songs, and hymns. Participants may also bring the music of their interest.
Students are encouraged (not required) to bring tablets or other electronic devices for use during this course.
For details about topics covered and schedule of sessions, please view this document.
Chant Intensive Course
This course will be taught by David Hughes.
The Chant Intensive lives up to its name: though no previous experience with chant is required, beginners and intermediate chanters should be prepared for full immersion from the start.
You will learn or review how to read and fully navigate all aspects of traditional Gregorian notation (square notes), as well as an introduction to chironomy (directing chant) with a masterful teacher.
The course will also address correct Latin pronunciation, the sound and mystery of the eight Church modes, Psalm tones and their applications, questions concerning the rhythm of plainsong, and more. Compline or Vespers will be sung to allow participants to experience the beauty of a portion of the sung Divine Office.
Gregorian repertoire will be used for Divine Office and Mass.
The CMAA Summer Chant Intensive is intended for beginning and continuing students and all who love and appreciate the central role that chant plays as the prayerful song of the Roman Rite–not only at cathedrals and basilicas but in any parish.
The conference will inspire and prepare you to continue the renaissance of sacred music in our time, in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass. Join the hundreds of students who have benefited from this in-depth course in Gregorian chant In the years since the first CMAA Chant Intensive course was taught in 2008. Topics and schedule.
Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam
Soprano, Professor of Voice at Eastern Michigan University
Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam, known for her musical versatility, sensitivity and genuine interpretation (Denver Post), she has had a rich performance experience as a soloist in recitals, oratorios, sacred music, chamber and orchestral concerts, and stage works throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, and South Korea.
She has toured the U. S. and Europe with special recital programs of Sacred Music for Voice and Organ in the past 15 years. She has performed and premiered music written for her, and participated in many artistic collaborations with current composers in their works.
In addition to her position as Professor of Voice at Eastern Michigan University, she has been on the faculty of the Church Music Association of America and at the Vianden International Summer Festival and School in Luxembourg. She has also been Guest Artist and Clinician at numerous institutions such as the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, the Seoul National University of Education, University of Colorado in Boulder, and University of Tennessee in Knoxville, among many others.
She has published a critical edition of Gouvy’s songs in two volumes with EC Schirmer in 2018. These two volumes are a unique and exclusive publication, and a valuable contribution to song literature. They are the result of her extensive scholarship and research in France, Germany, and the United States.
David Hughes
Organist & Choirmaster at St. Patrick’s Parish and Oratory in Waterbury, Connecticut
David Hughes is a composer, conductor, and organist who is in international demand as a recitalist and an instructor of Gregorian chant.
He served for thirteen years as Organist & Choirmaster at St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he developed a program of seven choirs, including the professional St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum, the volunteer St. Mary’s Choir, and the St. Mary’s Student Schola, a comprehensive program of musical education for children. He directs Viri Galilæi, an ensemble of men from the tristate New York area who gather weekly to sing Vespers and medieval polyphony from facsimiles of original manuscripts. Hughes is Director of Music at St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut, and serves as a consultant to several parishes in Connecticut looking to expand their musical programs.
Hughes’ composition teachers have included Ruth Schonthal and John Halle, and he has studied organ with Paul Jacobs and Daniel Sullivan. He is a graduate of Yale College.
Join CMAA Today
Members receive special discounts on all CMAA events, including the Sacred Music Colloquium.
As a member, you’ll be part of a vibrant community of musicians, clergy, and supporters in pursuit of high musical ideals in Catholic liturgy. Additionally, members of the Church Music Association of America enjoy:
- Exclusive discounted pricing for events
- Quarterly issues of Sacred Music, the acclaimed members-only journal
- The first to preview and purchase new publications
- Specially curated content right to your inbox
Who should join?
If you are interested in sacred music, you’re invited.
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2023 Summer Courses Schedule
Monday, June 26
Tuesday, June 27
Wednesday, June 28
Thursday, June 29
Friday, June 30
Additional Information
Registration: ONLINE REGISTRATION
Registration Form (for mail-in registration) forthcoming
Registration and full payment must be postmarked on or before 3/31 (early) or 5/1 (regular).
Registrations must be received at the CMAA Office (by mail or online) by the close of business on June 11. After June 11, registration is only available by telephone by calling our office at on a space-available basis. Full registration payment must be made by the respective deadlines.
Cancellation: Requests received by email or in writing at the CMAA Office postmarked on or before June 11th will receive a refund less the non-refundable $75 deposit. After that date, partial refunds are given only in the form of a credit toward registration for a future event. Refunds may be processed after the Colloquium.
All requests for credit must be received in the CMAA Office by email (gm@musicasacra.com) by June 25th in order to be considered for Credit. Requests after June 11th may only receive partial credit, depending on charges to the CMAA for meals and materials expenses.
Please note: In cases of last-minute emergencies, it is imperative that immediate notice to the CMAA be given in order for partial refunds to be given. If this notice occurs after the beginning of the Summer Courses (Monday, June 26, 2023), unfortunately, no refunds can be made.
Likewise, if a person decides not to complete the entire week after registration (for whatever reason), no refund can be made for days not attended.
All participants are required to sign a Waiver of Liability Relating to Coronavirus / COVID-19.
The Church Music Association of America (CMAA) and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church and School cannot prevent you from becoming exposed to, contracting or spreading COVID-19 while attending CMAA events at St. Thomas the Apostle premises. Therefore, if you choose to participate in CMAA programs and/or enter the premises, you may be exposing yourself to and/or increasing your risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19.
NOTE: If, at any time during the summer courses, you develop symptoms that could be Covid-19, or any type of communicable illness, we ask that you refrain from attending any sessions, to protect your fellow participants.
With a current CMAA membership, the members’ rate is available to you; it is not transferable to another person (except for spouses or children living in the home). If your parish has a CMAA parish membership, please note the name of your parish on your registration form.
Not yet a member? JOIN NOW and receive the benefits of membership for a full year for nearly the same price as a non-member registration. Once your membership payment is received, you’ll receive an email with information about the member discount code. Email us at gm@musicasacra.com for any questions.
Registrants must be at least eighteen (18) years or older as of June 26, 2023, unless accompanied by a fully-registered parent attending.
Check-in location is: TBD
Lunches at St. Thomas Aquinas will be provided Tuesday – Friday and are included in the registration fee.
Photographs and Recordings: You are welcome to take photos and videos, but please do not use flash, especially during sacred liturgies. Please note that some cellphone cameras use a spotlight-type light that may not be used during filming/photographs during a liturgy. It is very disruptive to liturgies.
Please be considerate when taking photos or videos. Be unobtrusive when filming so as not to disrupt singers, musicians, or conductors (please don’t get so near as to make them uncomfortable).
We welcome volunteer recordings of the liturgies during our courses. In fact, amateur recordings are kept in a collection online and are available for free access in the resources section of our website. If you do record a session or liturgy, please consider sharing your files with the CMAA so that others may hear them. Please consider bringing a recorder and/or video camera and assisting with this.
Note: Please do not film during teaching or rehearsal sessions without permission of the instructor.
Contact us a gm@musicasacra.com for more information.
The CMAA has not negotiated a particular room block with local hotels, but there are many options in the near area and many other hotels within easy driving distance.
Hotel suggestions:
Graduate Ann Arbor (6 minute walk)
Bell Tower Hotel (10 minute walk)
Ann Arbor Bed and Breakfast Inn (11 minute walk)