About Us
The revitalization of sacred music in our community connects us with a rich history of children and adults singing together.
The Sacred Music Academy is the ecumenical community engagement arm of Sacred Music at Notre Dame and oversees the Notre Dame Children's Choir, the Notre Dame Organ Training Program, the Children's Community Choral Festival, summer programs for youth and adults, as well as parish-based choral and organ programs.
Mission
The Sacred Music Academy seeks to rejuvenate sacred music in the greater South Bend region by providing opportunities for children, adults, church musicians, and pastors to experience, produce, and appreciate high-quality sacred music in worship and concert environments. To sing, play, and hear sacred music is to connect to over a millennium of western music, history, and theology; it is to be in community with individuals in worship across continents, denomination, and time. The revitalization of sacred music in our community connects us with a rich history of children and adults performing and leading worship together.
The Importance of Children
Our particular emphasis is on the musical training of children to sing and play organ music in sacred settings. Historically, child choristers played central roles in the musical life of the church.
The Notre Dame Children's Choir and its satellite community choirs, Elkhart Children's Community Choir and the forthcoming West Side Children's Choir of South Bend, educate over 300 singers in music literacy, vocal training, and choral music every week. With choirs for children from birth through high school, we believe that all children have the capacity to learn to sing and read music. Our choirs perform the music of Bach, Palestrina, Mozart, Haydn, and Britten, as well as spirituals, hymns, and chant.
The children's Organ Training Program seeks to encourage young musicians to study this regal instrument and create a renewed interest in organ repertoire and its leadership role in worship throughout history.
Local Parishes
Our Partnership with Local Churches program seeks to strengthen the musical lives of local parishes.
Our staff serve as choral directors, organists, assistant directors of music, and work with children's choirs, hand-bell ensembles, and contemporary music ensembles in Catholic and Protestant churches across the greater Notre Dame community.
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