The Schola Cantorum of St. Gregory the Great for the traditional Roman Mass is here!  And we are looking for your voice!

Thanks to those that came to our first rehearsal September 4.  I know others were planning on coming but could not  due to other scheduling conflicts and just life. Mark your calendars for our next rehearsals and we hope to see you then! The rehearsals will be on the first Friday of the month at Little Flower following the first Friday mass at 6:00 p.m.  Those dates are:
  • December 4

Rehearsal will be in the choir loft, and we will prepare music for the entire month. Everyone from age 7 and up is welcomed, no musical experience is required!

This monthly rehearsal serves to mitigate risk from COVID virus exposure, and to ease the burden on those who drive long distances to the church. We will utilize lots of emailing, Google Drive, and practice tracks to help us make up for the preparation we would normally have with a weekly rehearsal. In accordance with the Bishop and with scientific recommendations for choral singing, the loft at Little Flower features spaced-apart chairs, a UV Air purifier, and plenty of hand sanitizer. I am asking that everyone wear a facial covering at all times while participating in Masses or rehearsals.

Hope to see you there, and please pass this information along to anyone you may think is interested and please  otherwise help to get the word out!

Emma Nwobilor
Choir Director

If you have any questions please email me at emma.nwobilor@stlfchurch.cdom.org.
What is a Schola Cantorum?
A Schola Cantorum literally is a place for the teaching and practice of ecclesiastical chant, or a body of singers banded together for the purpose of rendering the music in a church. Pope Hilary (d. 438) is often credited with having inaugurated the first schola cantorum, though St. Gregory the Great established the school on a firm basis and endowed it.
We are a choral ensemble dedicated to the performance of Gregorian plainchant and sacred polyphony in the sung traditional Roman Mass.  What does that mean?  Mainly, we sing:
  • Some of the "Propers" of the Mass (the prayers for that particular day) according to the liturgical season: Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory antiphon, and Communion antiphon 
  • The Kryiale (the chants for the "Ordinary,” what occurs at every Mass): Asperges/Vidi aquam, Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Deo gratias following the Ite, missa est 

Looking to learn? Come join us!  In the meantime, check out the Square Note app.  It has the chant notations for the Propers and the Kyriale.  It also allows you to hear the melodies of the chants and adjust your speed and pitch in order to learn how the chants are sung. You will be up in the choir loft with the Schola Cantorum in no time!

Mass of St. Gregory the Great