News of this excellent new initiative comes to us from the Archdiocese of New York Office of Liturgy. The courses in the Academy can be applied towards masters degrees at St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie), and they offer an excellent path for those who are looking for more education and to advance their academic credentials as they continue their work to renew the Church's liturgy, especially the Church's treasury of sacred music.
Yonkers, NY (August 21, 2014): St. Joseph’s Seminary, the center of formation for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre, together with the Archdiocese of New York's Office of Liturgy, today announced the inaugural season of the St. Cecilia Academy for Pastoral Musicians. A four-course, fully accredited program, the St. Cecilia Academy trains parish musicians in the history, theology, and pastoral principles of liturgy and sacred music.
"The St. Cecilia Academy fulfills a long-standing need to provide quality education for our dedicated parish musicians," stated Fr. Matthew Ernest, the Director of the Archdiocese of New York's Office of Liturgy. "We are excited to offer them a program of study in the history, theology, and pastoral principles of the Church's beautiful tradition of sacred music."
Musicians enrolled in the St. Cecilia Academy will participate in Masters Level Courses, including:
· Introduction to Liturgy
· Liturgical Music: History of Sacred Music, Principles of Sacred Music, Liturgical Music Planning
· Liturgical Year/Art and Environment in Worship
· Principles of Chant: Theory and Practicum
At the program’s conclusion, qualified students will receive accreditation as a pastoral musician within the Archdiocese of New York. Musical proficiency will be determined through performance adjudication and a written test, covering skills in musical theory and aural dictation.
"We at St. Joseph's Seminary are looking forward to partnering with the archdiocese's Office of Liturgy in this exciting new initiative, " said Msgr. Peter Vaccari, Rector of St. Joseph's. "The St. Cecilia Academy continues our institution's historic tradition of offering the highest quality theological education to lay, religious, and clergy in the greater New York area."
Musicians sponsored by their parishes will receive a 50 percent discount on Seminary tuition upon enrollment.
For more information, please contact Fr. Matthew Ernest at liturgy@archny.org or visit nyliturgy.org.
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About St. Joseph’s Seminary
St. Joseph’s Seminary and College, founded in 1896, is the major seminary of the Archdiocese of New York. Its primary mission is to serve the Church by forming men for the Catholic priesthood. Beginning in 2012, St. Joseph’s functions as the principal institution of priestly formation for the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. St. Joseph’s also welcomes seminarians from other archdioceses, dioceses, eparchies, and other religious congregations.
Rooted in the apostolic community gathered around Jesus Christ, St. Joseph’s Seminary seeks to form future priests who will hand on the life and tradition of the Church’s faith in the context of the new evangelization of the twenty-first century.
As a complement to its primary mission, St. Joseph’s Seminary also serves the Church by offering graduate theological and philosophical degree programs to qualified students at locations in Yonkers, Huntington, and Douglaston.
A spirit of service to the Church guides all of the programs which St. Joseph’s Seminary and College provides to seminarians, lay, religious, and clergy. This spirit is strengthened by a profound sense of ecclesial communion that is fostered and expressed through fidelity to Church teaching, a daily life of prayer, the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the ceaseless invocation of the Holy Spirit, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and all the saints.