office of music ministries
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Email: musicoffice@sjcct.org : Telephone: (860) 578-1433: Fax: (860) 249-5910 |
meet the team
cathedral schola cantorum
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum was founded in 1999 by Archdiocesan Music Director and Organist, Dr. Ezequiel Menéndez, and is comprised of professional singers. The choir maintains a very high standard of musical excellence; many of the choristers are accomplished vocal soloists and music educators. Choirmaster, Ms. Meredith Neumann, leads this well respected choir. Previous Choirmasters include Dr. Edward Bolkovac and Dr. Jeffrey Douma. The choir’s repertoire encompasses the full range of Roman Catholic music, including plainchant, a cappella motets from the 16th through 20th centuries, music for chorus and orchestra, as well as newly commissioned works. The Cathedral Schola Cantorum performs frequently with the Solo Dei Gloria Orchestra, founded jointly by Dr. Menéndez and Dr. Bolkovac and featuring some of the area’s finest orchestral players. The Cathedral Schola Cantorum provides music for the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Liturgy and for numerous Archdiocesan events, many of which are broadcast by EWTN, WCCT, and ORTV/WJMJ Catholic Radio Station. In addition to its liturgical function, the Cathedral Schola Cantorum plays an active role in the concert life of the Hartford area, having appeared in concert with the New Haven and Hartford Symphony Orchestras. For an audition, please call the Office of Music Ministries at (860) 578-1433 or email:musicoffice@sjcct.org.
sacred sounds concert series 2019-2020
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Next Concert
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Cathedral of Saint Joseph Concert Series
Saturday, October 5│5:00pm
Virginius Barkauskas, Organ
Republic of Lithuania
We welcome Virginius Barkauskas to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph performing music from his country as well as classical organ repertoire. Lithuanian concert organist and Director of Music at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church in Melville, NY, Mr. Barkauskas studied at the Lithuanian National Academy of Music in Vilnius and Juozo Gruodzio Conservatory. By full scholarship from the United States Bishop’s Conference, he completed a Master of Arts in Music and Liturgy with emphasis on organ at St. Joseph College in Indiana, under the tutelage of renowned organist and composer Dr. Phillip Gehring. As a talented concert organist with the support of USCCB, he has performed in many Cathedrals throughout the world as well as recital venues as Alice Tully Hall-Lincoln Center and National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, Lithuania. This recital season includes performances at the Washington National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal and a six-concert tour to Lithuania and Latvia later this year.
Sunday, November 3│10:30am
Music Meditation in Remembrance
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
Music Meditation in Remembrance will begin as a prelude before the 11:00 a.m. Mass of Remembrance. During the mass, selections from Mozart’s Requiem will be performed.
Sunday, December 8│6:00pm
Śląsk–Poland's National Song and Dance Company
A Ticketed Event
Śląsk - Poland's National Dance Company have been described as one of the grandest and most dazzling spectacles in the world! There are over 100 performers in Śląsk, and the troupe consists of choir, orchestra and dancers dressed in stunning and intricately decorated traditional costumes. In Poland there is no other group which equals Śląsk for its ability to present the folklore of Polish highlanders. The traditional tunes convey a sense of the traditions from the green pastures of Beskids Mountains and steep peaks of Tatras Mountains. Over the years, Śląsk have visited 44 countries on five continents and performed over seven thousand concerts to an audience of over 25 million. They performed for Pope John Paul II who was a patron of the troupe, and performed for him in the Vatican. The group is currently based in Koszecin, Poland and tours worldwide. The group has earned worldwide recognition and has performed in all of Europe's capitals as well as major cities throughout Africa, the United States, Australia, China and Japan.
Tuesday, December 24│9:00pm
Carols from Around the World
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
Wednesday, February 12│7:00pm
Daniel Roth, Organ
Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France
Daniel Roth is widely acclaimed as one of the leading French organ virtuosos. Renowned for his brilliant interpretations of organ literature and for his thrilling improvisations which are regularly included in his concert programs, Daniel Roth has concertized extensively throughout Europe, Great Britain, The United States, Scandinavia, Japan and Korea. At the age of twenty he made his debut at the organ of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre-Paris where he would later become their organist. In 1985 he was appointed organist at St. Sulpice, the famous Paris church where his three predecessors were themselves internationally famous musicians (Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré, and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald). From 1974-76, Daniel Roth was Artist-In-Residence at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Professor of Organ at the Catholic University in Washington, DC. He also held teaching positions in organ in Marseille, Strasbourg, and Saarbrücken. A brilliant composer and performer, Daniel has won a number of prestigious prizes and often includes his brilliant improvisations in concert programs. He is Chavalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Officier des Arts et Lettres, and Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (London).
Sunday, April 12│9:00am
Easter Sunday Concert
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
The Soli Deo Gloria Orchestra
Friday, May 1│7:00pm
100th Anniversary of the Hartt School
Dr. Edward Bolkovac, Conductor
As the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, celebrates its 100th Anniversary, from a house on Collins Street, it has grown into a three-building institution where this year about 620 undergraduate and 150 graduate students pursued degrees in music, dance, and theater.
Virginius Barkauskas, Organ
Republic of Lithuania
We welcome Virginius Barkauskas to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph performing music from his country as well as classical organ repertoire. Lithuanian concert organist and Director of Music at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church in Melville, NY, Mr. Barkauskas studied at the Lithuanian National Academy of Music in Vilnius and Juozo Gruodzio Conservatory. By full scholarship from the United States Bishop’s Conference, he completed a Master of Arts in Music and Liturgy with emphasis on organ at St. Joseph College in Indiana, under the tutelage of renowned organist and composer Dr. Phillip Gehring. As a talented concert organist with the support of USCCB, he has performed in many Cathedrals throughout the world as well as recital venues as Alice Tully Hall-Lincoln Center and National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, Lithuania. This recital season includes performances at the Washington National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal and a six-concert tour to Lithuania and Latvia later this year.
Sunday, November 3│10:30am
Music Meditation in Remembrance
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
Music Meditation in Remembrance will begin as a prelude before the 11:00 a.m. Mass of Remembrance. During the mass, selections from Mozart’s Requiem will be performed.
Sunday, December 8│6:00pm
Śląsk–Poland's National Song and Dance Company
A Ticketed Event
Śląsk - Poland's National Dance Company have been described as one of the grandest and most dazzling spectacles in the world! There are over 100 performers in Śląsk, and the troupe consists of choir, orchestra and dancers dressed in stunning and intricately decorated traditional costumes. In Poland there is no other group which equals Śląsk for its ability to present the folklore of Polish highlanders. The traditional tunes convey a sense of the traditions from the green pastures of Beskids Mountains and steep peaks of Tatras Mountains. Over the years, Śląsk have visited 44 countries on five continents and performed over seven thousand concerts to an audience of over 25 million. They performed for Pope John Paul II who was a patron of the troupe, and performed for him in the Vatican. The group is currently based in Koszecin, Poland and tours worldwide. The group has earned worldwide recognition and has performed in all of Europe's capitals as well as major cities throughout Africa, the United States, Australia, China and Japan.
Tuesday, December 24│9:00pm
Carols from Around the World
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
Wednesday, February 12│7:00pm
Daniel Roth, Organ
Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France
Daniel Roth is widely acclaimed as one of the leading French organ virtuosos. Renowned for his brilliant interpretations of organ literature and for his thrilling improvisations which are regularly included in his concert programs, Daniel Roth has concertized extensively throughout Europe, Great Britain, The United States, Scandinavia, Japan and Korea. At the age of twenty he made his debut at the organ of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre-Paris where he would later become their organist. In 1985 he was appointed organist at St. Sulpice, the famous Paris church where his three predecessors were themselves internationally famous musicians (Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré, and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald). From 1974-76, Daniel Roth was Artist-In-Residence at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Professor of Organ at the Catholic University in Washington, DC. He also held teaching positions in organ in Marseille, Strasbourg, and Saarbrücken. A brilliant composer and performer, Daniel has won a number of prestigious prizes and often includes his brilliant improvisations in concert programs. He is Chavalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Officier des Arts et Lettres, and Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (London).
Sunday, April 12│9:00am
Easter Sunday Concert
Dr. Ezequiel Menendez, Organ
Ms. Meredith Neumann, Choirmaster
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum
The Soli Deo Gloria Orchestra
Friday, May 1│7:00pm
100th Anniversary of the Hartt School
Dr. Edward Bolkovac, Conductor
As the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, celebrates its 100th Anniversary, from a house on Collins Street, it has grown into a three-building institution where this year about 620 undergraduate and 150 graduate students pursued degrees in music, dance, and theater.
The Austin Organ
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The Cathedral organ contains more than 8000 pipes and was designed by Austin Organs' Tonal Director, Richard Piper, and Frederick L. Mitchell, Vice-President. It enjoys ideal placement in its own loft high on the rear wall containing the Great, Positiv, and Pedal divisions, flanked by chambers containing the Swell, Choir, and Solo divisions. The largest case pipes (from the 32' Sub Principal) were installed in the gallery by cranes before the roof was completed! Orpha Ochse describes the instrument as "among the landmark instruments of its time" ("Austin Organs"). Its four-manual drawknob console also controls the Sanctuary Pitch division near the altar and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel Organ. This complete two-manual instrument has its own console, with a third manual controlling stop combinations on the Gallery Organ.
Click to view Organ Specifications |
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Artists in Residence
sounds of the cathedral
featuring the cathedral schola cantorum
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Messe, Op. 36
Charles-Marie Widor (Full Concert) Johann Vexo, main organ Ezequiel Menendez, choir organ |
Greetings from Notre Dame!
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Ezequiel Menendez, Notre Dame, Paris Live III January 12, 2019
CD Now Available!
CD Now Available!
French Organ Music by Ezequiel Menendez, complete 40th Anniversary Concert CD