Singers, both male and female, with a special interest in Gregorian Chant, are invited to consider participating in a chant schola being formed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Troy, New York (Father James McNerney, Pastor).
A wholly liturgical ensemble, the principal thrust of the Schola's program will be the portions of Holy Mass to which the Church's official body of chant is assigned, including the Minor Propers, Ordinary, and Gregorian hymnody. In preparing these chants, every effort will be made to cultivate the ancient art of chanting, as codified by Solemnes. Towards this end, chant notation will be used, as per the Liber Usualis, with instruction being available to those who are gaining familiarity with the system.
Opportunity exists for those with special interest in early sacred polyphony to prepare motets and Ordinary settings.
The principal forum for this Schola Cantorum will be the weekly Tridentine Latin Mass at St Peter's, Troy, NY, which is held each Sunday at noon, other than the first of the month, at which High Mass is sung at 12:30 by the New York Catholic Chorale. On those occasions, the Schola will be part of the general musical forces.
Regular weekly rehearsals will ordinarily be directly following the luncheon that follows Holy Mass each week.
The Schola is open to singers throughout the Capital District. Basic qualifications are an interest in stewardship of the Church's musical treasures and ability to make a regular commitment to the ensemble. Although a trained voice is not necessary, each participant should have a basic comfort level with singing as part of an ensemble, which entails good pitch-matching skills. Choral experience is helpful.
Interested singers should contact Father McNerney by email or phone 518-274-4083 or see him (and/or Schola Director Charles Olegar at the luncheon across the street from St. Peter's) following the Sunday Latin Tridentine Holy Mass.
Charles Olegar came to Troy from Atlanta this past winter. Now in his fourth decade as a professional church musician, he has served parishes in the Great Lakes and Southeast, including being the Organist and Music Director of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, Alabama, during the 1990s. A member of the Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians Association and the (Catholic) Church Music Association of America, Olegar has long maintained a dedication to stewardship of the historic music of the Church. As an organist, his activities include recital work in addition to his church duties.
