Catholic and Orthodox

Image description: Photograph of J. J. Wright, wearing a blue suit and tie. For an interview on the podcast Music and the Church on sarah-bereza.com

An Interview with J. J. Wright, Director of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir

This month’s episode of Music and the Church features a conversation with Dr. J. J. Wright. J. J. directs the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir, one of America’s most influential Catholic music ensembles. He is a Grammy Award winning jazz musician, composer of O Emmanuel, an album which debuted at the top of the …

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Photo of musician and scholar Dr. Mary Catherine Levri for her podcast interview on congregational participation on musicandthechurch.com

Congregational Participation at Mass, with Mary Catherine Levri, on Music and the Church Ep. 25

Church services can be incredibly distracting places, especially for leaders—you’re in the choir, you’re reading the scriptures, you’re leading prayers, you’re preaching the sermon. What does it mean for us participate with our hearts—not just our lips!—when we’re busy with mundane things like adjusting a microphone or remembering a last minute announcement? 

Image shows podcast cover with text: Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza. At sarah-bereza.com

What IS Virtuosity? Musical Skill and Guitarist Tony Melendez, with David VanderHamm, on Music and the Church Ep. 20

What is virtuosity? It isn’t just about the sound itself, but who makes the sound and how they make it. Today’s episode is the third in our series on virtuosity. In the last two episodes, Joshua Busman and I both considered whether virtuosity is or isn’t acceptable—and why—in evangelical worship music and in fundamentalist Christianity. …

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Image shows podcast cover with text: Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza. At sarah-bereza.com

Musical Training for Priests and Other Topics in Orthodox Church Music, with Harrison Russin, on Music and the Church Ep. 11

Interview: We discuss the musical training of ministerial students with Harrison Russin, Lecturer in Liturgical Music and Dean’s Fellow at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers, NY). He also shares his experience directing a choir in non-metrical chants; surveys the (many!) kinds of Orthodox music heard in churches across the U.S.; and explains why some Orthodox churches …

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Drums Are Not That Common And 6 Other Surprises from the National Congregations Study

This post is part of a series on the National Congregations Study, a sociological study of religious congregations in America. Check out my summary of the study’s main findings and specifics on worship services, the growing informality of worship services, and what the study tells us about the power of small groups and choirs. Who knew …

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