Fine Arts Department

Sacred Music

Developing your individual gifts

Music gives glory to God. It also expresses the glory of man. At its best, music gives voice to the beauty, power, and wonder of the human experience. That’s why transmitting it from age to age is both a sacred task and serious calling. It requires rigorous work and a close partnership between artists and their students.Schola Cantorum Franciscana

As a sacred music major at Franciscan University, you will enter into that partnership with your professors to receive the training you need to prepare for a career as a classically trained professional musician, either in voice or organ. Along with the traditional courses of private study, theory and history, your studies will also focus intensively on the Church’s rich musical tradition, including Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony, and the great works of all ages.

Designed specifically for those wishing to pursue a career as a church musician, performer, or for those who want to continue on to graduate study, Franciscan’s Sacred Music Program offers you the opportunity to study a wide range of traditional sacred and secular music and numerous opportunities to perform. The Schola Cantorum Franciscana and Franciscan University Chorale regularly collaborate with the Franciscan Chamber Orchestra for large-scale works, while students and faculty offer recitals on and off campus. During your time in the program, you will also take part in Choral Vespers and Compline and lead music at University liturgies.

Many opportunities to perform

Importantly, thanks to an excellent student-to-teacher ratio, you will have frequent opportunities for performance and collaboration with faculty and professional guest artists. Recent guests include the Grammy Award-winning men’s choir, Chanticleer; the George London award-winner, tenor Corey Bix; internationally acclaimed vocal group, the Rose Ensemble; and national organ improvisation competition winner, Jason Roberts.

In order to enroll at Franciscan as a sacred music major you must complete an audition and submit the supplementary music form and the music teacher’s report (available on the program’s Webpage) in addition to the normal admissions materials. Admission to the University will be offered separately from admission to the program in sacred music due to the limited number of spots available.

Once you’ve applied to the program, you will be evaluated on the basis of both musical and academic qualifications, as well as potential for development, before being offered a place in the incoming class. All applicants for the Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music should follow the regular University application and financial aid procedures and pursue the audition process simultaneously. Notification of admission to Franciscan University will be given prior to notification concerning admission to the Sacred Music Program.

In order to graduate with your Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music you will need to complete 21 course hours in either voice or organ, two semesters of a secondary instrument, four semesters of music theory and analysis, two semesters of music history, two semesters of conducting, two semesters of Gregorian chant, plus two semesters of a foreign language at the intermediate level. You also are required to participate in the Schola Cantorum Franciscana for three of your four years in the program.

By the time you complete your studies, you will have a thorough understanding of the history and tradition of sacred music, as well as the performance background to pursue a career as a performer, church musician, or continue on to graduate studies. Recent graduates have been accepted to nationally respected graduate programs in both voice and organ at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, Catholic University of America, Cleveland State University, Westminster Choir College and others. Recent graduates have also gone on to take up full-time positions in parishes, have won places in prestigious summer performance programs and taken first prizes in nationally sponsored organ competitions.

Meet the Faculty

• Dr. Alanna Keenan
  director of the program in voice
• Dr. Paul Weber
  director of the program in organ
• Prof. Chris Warwick
• Prof. Ronald DuBois
• Prof. L. George Melhorn