Faculty

Who are our faculty?  Among them are the following, listed alphabetically.  Other distinguished thinking-doing-creating-performing musicians and scholars will be added as their biographies and photographs are received.

Mr. Gregory Glenn is the Director of Liturgy and Music at The Cathedral of the Madeleine and Director of the Madeleine Choir School; in 2005, he will celebrate fifteen years at the Madeleine. Glenn completed graduate work in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington D. C., and undergraduate studies in organ performance at Seattle Pacific University. At the cathedral Glenn oversees a liturgical music program involving choirs at daily and Sunday services, an annual concert season with four major performances, regular performance tours, recordings, and the Eccles Organ Festival series. In 1996 he oversaw the opening of the cathedral's Choir School, the only Roman Catholic Cathedral Choir School in the United States. With over 200 students, the Choir School emerged from its basement classrooms moving to its new campus 2.5 acre campus on December 1, 2002.

Dr. Marilyn Keiser is Chancellor's Professor of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she teaches courses in sacred music as well as applied organ. Prior to her appointment at Indiana University, Dr. Keiser was Organist and Director of Music at All Souls Parish in Asheville, North Carolina and Music Consultant for the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, holding both positions from 1970-1983.

A native of Springfield, Illinois, Marilyn Keiser began her organ study with Franklin Perkins, then attended Illinois Wesleyan University where she studied organ with Lillian McCord, graduating with a Bachelor of Sacred Music degree. Dr. Keiser entered the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied organ with Alec Wyton and graduated summa cum laude in 1965 with a Master of Sacred Music degree. Her Doctor of Sacred Music from Union Theological Seminary was awarded in 1977.

Upon graduation from Union Seminary, Marilyn Keiser became Assistant Organist of The Riverside Church in New York City and one year later was appointed Associate Organist/Choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a position she held from 1966-1970.

In constant demand as an organ recitalist and workshop leader, Dr. Keiser has appeared throughout the United States in concerts sponsored by churches, colleges and chapters of The American Guild of Organists. She has been a featured artist for regional conventions of the AGO as well as for national conventions in Dallas and Washington DC, where she played with orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and in Detroit, where she appeared with the Detroit Symphony. In addition, she has appeared as featured artist for the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England; in concert at the Royal Victoria Hall with the Singapore Symphony; at the American Cathedral in Paris, the Southern Cathedrals Festival in Winchester, England and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

An active member of The American Guild of Organists, Dr. Keiser has been a member of the national council, has served as national Registrar, a member of the national nominating committee and Dean of the Western North Carolina chapter. She holds her Associate, Choirmaster and Fellowship degrees from the Guild.

A virtuoso concert organist, Marilyn Keiser has performed across the United States. In addition she has given lectures and workshops in church music for all of the major denominations, specializing in music for small churches. She has been president of the Association of Anglican Musicians, a contributing editor to the hymnal, Ecumenical Praise, has served on the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Church Music and was a consultant to the Hymn Music Committee for the Episcopal Hymnal 1982. In addition, she served for five years as chairman of the Advisory Board for the Leadership Program for Musicians Serving Small Congregations. Dr. Keiser is past-Chairman of the Worship and Music Commission for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and is Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington. She is also the author of a publication in the Church Hymnal Teaching Series entitled "Teaching Music in Small Churches."

Marilyn Keiser is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Lambda Delta national honor societies. She is also a national honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota, a national professional music fraternity. Dr. Keiser is listed in Outstanding Young Women of America, the 1973 edition of Who's Who in North Carolina and the 1975 World Who's Who of Musicians. She was one of two alumni of Illinois Wesleyan University chosen for their first annual presentation of Outstanding Young Alumni Awards. In May of 1995, she was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. In April, 1997 she was presented the Unitas Citation from Union Theological Seminary and in April 1998 she was presented with a Teaching Excellence Recognition Award from the Indiana University School of Music. She was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Illinois Wesleyan University in February 2002. In April of 2002, she was named Chancellor Professor of Indiana University.

Marilyn Keiser has been heard in performance on radio broadcasts on National Public Radio stations throughout the U.S. and has recorded for Gothic (Music of Paris in the 1920's and 1930's) and Pro Organo (The People Respond-Amen, Spiritual Pairs, Studies in Relief and In Praise of the Organ: Latin Choral and Organ Music of Zoltán Kodály). Recently she recorded Seasons of Festivity at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and Centennial Flourish at St. James' Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, a native of Washington, D.C., is the founding conductor of the Washington Bach Consort and the music director of the Cathedral Choral Society. He is recognized internationally as an accomplished conductor and keyboard artist as well as a leading specialist of baroque music, particularly the music of J. S. Bach. He began his career as a member of the Washington National Cathedral Junior Boys Choir under the direction of Richard Wayne Dirksen. His earliest organ lessons were also under Dirksen's tutelage. He has either sung in or directed church choirs since the age of eight.

He received his bachelor's degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and his master's and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School. During his undergraduate years he was a first prize winner in the National Organ Playing Competition held annually in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. A Fulbright Fellowship enabled him to spend a year in Germany doing specialized study in conducting, organ and harpsichord at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt am Main. Several years later, he spent a summer in Fontainebleau, France studying with the legendary composition teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Other teachers have included Helmut Walcha, Anthony Newman, Vernon de Tar and Albert Fuller.

His first position as a church organist was at the age of 14 while a student at St. Peter's School in Peekskill, N.Y. During college, Reilly was the organist and assistant choirmaster at St. Barnabas Church in Bay Village, Ohio where he worked with both the adult and youth choirs. During graduate school, Reilly was the music director at the Church of the Holy Family in downtown Manhattan. This prestigious position involved a wide variety of worship/concert events including frequent broadcasts and functions relating to the church's official role as the "Church of the United Nations". In addition to his performing duties at Holy Family, Reilly was also responsible for the auditioning and selection of the fully-paid professional choir which he directed at all of the principle services throughout the church year. Upon returning to Washington after graduate school, he assumed the duties of organist and choirmaster at Clarendon United Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia where, in addition to leading the well-established adult choir, he developed an outstanding youth music program both chorally and instrumentally. A particularly unique feature of his ministry at Clarendon has been the semi-annual Messiah-Sing presentations during Advent and Easter featuring guest soloists accompanied by full orchestra. This is believed to be the first and longest running Messiah-Sing in the area and always draws a capacity audience.

As a keyboard artist, Reilly has been very active both at home and abroad. For six years he was the Assistant Staff Pianist with the National Symphony Orchestra. For ten years he was the harpsichordist and organist with the Handel Festival Orchestra of the Kennedy Center as well as assistant conductor and accompanist of the Choral Arts Society. He served from 1978 to 1985 as the accompanist with the Cathedral Choral Society under founding music director, Paul Callaway. Over the years, Reilly has performed with virtually all of this area's distinguished choruses and orchestras as well as in prominent chamber ensembles. In October 1998, he performed Barber's "Toccata Festiva" in the Washington National Cathedral with Leonard Slatkin at the podium and has also been the featured organ soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra at two of its recent NSO in Your Neighborhood concerts.

His performing/conducting career has included appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Handel Festival in Halle, the International Bach Festival in Leipzig, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cologne New Music Festival and the Mozart Festival in New York and Washington. During a Chinese/American Festival in Taipei's main concert hall, he played the organ and later conducted the orchestra and chorus in various 20th century works including Richard Dirksen's "Hilariter" and a world premier by the young Chinese composer, Gordon Shi-Wen Chin. In February 2001, he guest conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in a gala concert featuring Bach's Mass in B Minor.

There are currently about ten recordings on the market which Dr. Lewis has directed with either the Cathedral Choral Society or the Washington Bach Consort. He is listed in "Who's Who in Music" and was a recent recipient of the Paul Hume Award, presented by the Levine School of Music, for outstanding commitment to enriching the cultural life of Washington. In 1987, he received a "WAMMY" award from the Washington Area Music Association for Best Conductor. In the fall of 2000, a comprehensive profile of his distinguished career was featured in the Arts section of the Washington Post. In the spring of 2001, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Friday Morning Music Club for his deep commitment to education and keeping the arts accessible. His active work with children and youth includes the education and outreach programs of both the Cathedral Choral Society and the Washington Bach Consort. But his particular passion for quality music education and exposure being available to all ages regardless of means or any physical/mental limitations is evidenced by his honorary presence on the boards of the "Mighty Special Music Makers', the "Children of SCORE" and "The Thomas Circle Singers". In 1984, with the encouragement and sponsorship of the organist/choirmaster of the Washington National Cathedral, the managing director of the Washington Performing Arts Society and the chief music critic of the Washington Post, J. Reilly Lewis was elected into membership of the Cosmos Club.

In April 2004, Dr. Lewis will receive, along with Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the "Distinguished Washingtonian Award" presented by the University Club of Washington, D.C. in honor of its centennial. Other recent awardees have included Leonard Slatkin, Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Denyce Graves, international opera singer, Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre, and Douglas Wheeler, former President of the Washington Performing Arts Society.

Dr. Peter Latona is the Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., where he heads one of the foremost liturgical music programs in the world. Services and concerts are offered to hundreds of thousands each year at the Basilica and throughout the world on live broadcast television. Dr. Latona is known for his work as a performer, composer and conductor. As conductor, he recently completed the recording Carols at the Crèche featuring the Choir of the Basilica performing 20th century carols for choir and harp and a soon to be released recording featuring the Choir of the Basilica and the Orchestra of the 17th Century performing works by Gabrieli, Marenzio, Monteverdi, Victoria and others. As a recitalist, he holds numerous awards and prizes for excellence in organ performance, has appeared as a guest artist with several instrumental and choral ensembles and has performed at national conferences. He is also the featured accompanist on several compact disc recordings and has recently completed a solo recording, An Organ Pilgrimage (Raven), featuring all four of the pipe organs at the Basilica of the National Shrine. Known also for his work as a composer, Dr. Latona's recent compositions include: Ego sum ostium, for chorus, orchestra and soprano solo, composed for the Vatican's International Celebration of the Jubilee; My Hope Is Arisen, for chorus and orchestra; Fanfare-Introit and Procession on Da pacem for orchestra and chorus; and Missa Personent Hodie for chorus, double brass ensemble and percussion.

Peter Latona is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music (D.M.A.), Yale School of Music (M.M.), and Bucknell University (B.Mus.), receiving awards for outstanding performance at each institution. His teachers include McNeil Robinson, Thomas Murray (organ); Jean Langlais and Gerre Hancock (improvisation); William Duckworth, Martin Bresnick, Nils Vigeland (composition and theory).

Prior to his appointment as Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine, Dr. Latona served as the Basilica's Assistant Director of Music from 1997 through 2001 and has served on the faculty of Berea College. He is a contributing member of the American Guild of Organists and the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians. Peter Latona lives with his wife Christie and their three children in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Dr. Edward Alan Moore, a native of Girard, Ohio, is minister of music at National City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a member of the organ faculty at The Catholic University of America Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington, D.C. Previously he was director of music for Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa. He received the doctor of musical arts degree in organ performance in October 1999 from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, where he was a student of Michael Farris. Edward studied organ improvisation at Eastman with Gerre Hancock and Richard Erickson and was a research assistant for Professor Wm. A. Little. While in Rochester, he was director of music ministries at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church. Edward received the master of music degree in organ performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993, where he also studied with Michael Farris. While a student in Illinois, he was organist and handbell choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Urbana. He earned a bachelor of music degree in music and religion from Grove City College in Pennsylvania in 1991, where he studied organ with Robert Cornelison. Edward's choral conducting training has been with Fred Stoltzfus and Chester Alwes at the University of Illinois and Douglas Browne at Grove City College. During the fall semester 1998, Dr. Moore was a visiting faculty member at the University of Iowa School of Music while Professor Delbert Disselhorst was on sabbatical. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association and the Association of Disciple Musicians.

Rev. Msgr. James Patrick Moroney, a priest of the diocese of Worcester, is Executive Director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Past chairman of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, Monsignor Moroney served as a parish priest and pastor for fifteen years before beginning his work at the BCL in 1996. He has pursued theological studies at the Ponitifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Liturgy Institute at San Anselmo's and the Catholic University of America. In 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him as a consultor for the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He is the fourth American liturgist to be appointed to this post since the Second Vatican Council.

A frequent lecturer in liturgy throughout the United States, Monsignor Moroney's daily work at the Secretariat for the Liturgy encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, including the development of vernacular typical editions of liturgical books and providing support and assistance to the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, diocesan bishops, national liturgical organizations and diocesan offices for worship.

Dr. Leo Nestor (B.A., Music-Composition, California State University, Hayward; M.M., D.M.A., Choral Music, University of Southern California), Justine Bayard Ward Professor of Music; Director, Institute of Sacred Music (http://www.sacredmusic.cua.edu/); Director of Choral Activities and member of the conducting faculty, The Catholic University of America Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

Leo Nestor's works are published principally by ECS Publishing (http://www.ecspublishing.com/), a division of the E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Boston; other works appear in the catalogues of MorningStar Music (http://www.morningstarmusic.com/), Oregon Catholic Press ( http://www.ocp.org/) and Selah Publishing House (http://www.selahpub.com/). In the summer of 2004, Dr. Nestor was invited to begin a creative relationship with WLP Publications, Chicago,(http://www.wlp.jspaluch.com/wlp/) for the publication of his sacred art and ritual music.  

Dr. Nestor is founder, conductor, and artistic director of the American Repertory Singers (http://www.americanrepsingers.org/index.htm), a professional vocal ensemble specializing in the performance and recording of contemporary literatures with eight recordings on Arsis Audio (http://www.arsisaudio.com/), most recently Come to Me: Love Songs by American Composers (http://www.arsisaudio.com/cd116.html). He is among four founding members (1984) and currently serves as advisor (1996) to the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (http://www.crccm.net/).  In 2001, Dr. Nestor was appointed musical advisor to the Secretariat for Liturgy (http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Dr. Nestor has taught at Mt. St. Mary's College, Los Angeles; the University of Wisconsin, Madison; he maintains a continuing summer relationship as professor of conducting at St. John's University, Collegeville MN (http://www.csbsju.edu/music/).  He has served as artistic advisor, member of the international jury and Comitato d'Onore, conductor of the Coro Internazionale of  L'Associazione Internazionale Amici della Musica Sacra (http://www.amicimusicasacra.com/iindex.htm) in Rome from 1991-1998. Dr. Nestor was music director at Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception from January of 1984 through July of 2001.

Performances of Professor Nestor's works have been frequent throughout the United States as well as in London and Rome, including commissions for The Catholic University of America (In the Fullness of Time for chorus, soli and orchestra) and the papal visits to Los Angeles (People of God in the City of Our God) and St. Louis (Magnificat). Among recent premières and recordings: Kennedy Center-commission for The Washington Chorus, Variations on "Of the Father's Love Begotten" for divisi chorus, large brass ensemble, percussion and organ (http://www.gothicrecords.com/glorsplenchr.html); American Songs and Ballads for chorus, violin, violoncello and guitar for the Capitol Hill Chorale; Four Part Songs from the Highlands for divisi chorus and flute for California State University, Hayward; An American Triptych for divisi chorus and organ for National City Christian Church; Psalmody for the Great Vigil of Easter for solo voices and string orchestra at St. Peter's Church on Capitol Hill. Residing on Capitol Hill since his arrival in Washington, Dr. Nestor maintains an active life as conductor, composer, teacher and lecturer.

Rev. Dr. Kurt Pritzl, O.P. dean of the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America, a teacher-scholar in the field of ancient philosophy, theory of knowledge and philosophical anthropology.

Dr. Richard Proulx, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, began piano studies at age six and benefited from the unique musical training then fostered in that city's parochial and private schools, where twice-daily solfege and choral singing were emphasized. He attended MacPhail College and the University of Minnesota, with further studies at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ, St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN and the Royal School of Church Music in England.

Proulx's organ studies were with Ruth Dindorf, Arthur Jennings, Rupert Sircom, Gerald Bales and Peter Hallock; extensive choral seminars were undertaken with Donald Bryant, Robert Shaw and Roger Wagner. He studied composition with Leopold Bruenner, Bruce Larsen and Gerald Bales.

During 1980-1994, Richard Proulx was Organist-Music Director at the historic Cathedral of the Holy Name, Chicago, where he did much to strengthen that cathedral's outreach program to the city by establishing an extensive and innovative music program. As hoped by the visionary cathedral rector, Bishop Timothy J. Lyne, the consistent excellence of this broad based and varied liturgical music program became a model for cathedrals across the country. The highly acclaimed concert series Music for a Great Space involved the cathedral choirs and many of the finest instrumentalists in the Chicago area. The choirs toured the Midwest in 1982 and 1991, Europe in 1988. Proulx was also responsible for the planning and installation of two new mechanical action organs for the cathedral: Casavant (Quebec, 1981) and Flentrop (Holland, 1989).

Before coming to Chicago, Proulx served for ten years (1970-1980) at St. Thomas Church, Medina/Seattle, where he directed three choirs and chamber orchestra, established a tradition of liturgical handbell ringing, and was organist at Temple de Hirsch Sinai. Previous positions included St. Charles Parish, Tacoma; St. Stephen's Church, Seattle; fifteen years at the Church of the Holy Childhood in Saint Paul (1953-1968).

Richard Proulx is a widely published composer of more than three hundred works, including congregational music in every form, sacred and secular choral works, song cycles, two operas, as well as instrumental and organ music. He has served as a consultant for such recent hymnals at The Hymnal 1982, New Yale Hymnal, The Methodist Hymnal, Worship II and III, and has contributions in the Mennonite Hymnal and the Presbyterian Hymnal. Proulx was a member of the Standing Commission on Church Music of the Episcopal Church and was a founding member of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians in 1984. He has conducted choral festivals and workshops across America as well as in Canada, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.

Proulx was appointed composer-in-residence for 1994-1995 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, UT and was named a 1995 Visiting Fellow at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX. He has served on the summer faculties of the Montreat Conference on Music and Worship, the Evergreen Conference, St. John's University School of Theology, and serves as vice president of The Society for Catholic Liturgy. Currently a free-lance composer and conductor, he has also been an editorial consultant to GIA Publications and Augsburg Fortress Press.

In the field of commercial music, Proulx composed the 1971 theme song for Union Pacific Railroad as well as an orchestral score for the film The Golden Door. Two recent arrangements sung by The Cathedral Singers were featured in a May 1996 episode of ER on NBC and his brief organ setting of Veni Creator Spiritus is heard in the 1997 film The Devil's Own.

In 1991, Richard Proulx founded The Cathedral Singers as an independent professional recording ensemble. This group has sung a number of live concerts in the Midwest and has produced over fifteen compact disc recordings of a great variety of choral music.

Richard has received many prestigious awards. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a commission for a new opera in 1989, the same year in which he was presented the Gold Medal of the Archdiocese of Chicago by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. In 1994, he received the doctorate honoris causa from the General Theological Seminary in New York City and also the BENE Award from Modern Liturgy Magazine as "the most significant liturgical composer of the last twenty years." In 1995, he was cited by Duquesne University for outstanding work as a church musician and in recognition of the library of music given to Duquesne. The National Association of Pastoral Musicians named him 1995 Pastoral Musician of the Year. In 1998, Richard Proulx received the Pax Christi Award from St. John's University, Collegeville, MN.

A rare combination of talents as composer, conductor, music editor and organist coupled with wide experience across denominational lines have given Richard Proulx a unique perspective of both the opportunities and the challenges found in liturgical music-making in our time. He remains committed to the enriching and balancing of the role of the arts in the lives of all people.

Dr. Geraldine M. Rohling is an accomplished musicologist and liturgist. A specialist in Austrian sacred music and ritual, Ms. Rohling is known for her work as a scholar, teacher, lecturer and editor of performing editions of Viennese masters. Acknowledged by the Austrians as an authority on the musical and liturgical life of 17-18th century Vienna, and for her significant "groundbreaking research" on the musical life and pious practices of the Viennese brotherhoods, Dr. Rohling has lectured on the music and pious practices of these organizations in Vienna and at the invitation of the Austrian Government. As one who possess a unique understanding of music and ritual, particularly as applied to things Austrian, Dr. Rohling has also been a featured lecturer for the Mozart Festivals at the Kennedy Center. Summoned by fate or perhaps by musicians of long ago, the research of Dr. Rohling has led her to the treasures of the lesser known masters of 18th century Vienna. Selected works of these masters were successfully premiered by Leo Nestor (2002) and N. Thomas Pedersen (2004) in Washington, D.C. In addition to that of these musical discoveries and performing editions, Gerre recently received acclaim as a composer in her own right. In Silence I wait for the Lord, a work for strings, organ and choir, was premiered by N. Thomas Pedersen at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in the spring of 2004. Dr. Rohling is also a contributing author to Readers Guide to Music: History, Theory and Criticism.

A native of St. Louis, Ms. Rohling earned her master's degree at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri where she studied classical guitar and lute. During that time, Gerre also studied performance practice of the Renaissance andBaroque with Nicholas McGegan and Peter Holman and began her musicological studies with Curtis Price. The "Austrian side" began to focus with a vocal performance award that allowed Ms. Rohling to study and perform the Masses of Joseph Haydn in Eisenstadt. A graduate of The Catholic University of America with a Ph.D. in musicology and liturgy, Dr. Rohling lived and worked in Vienna for five years. During this time, she furthered her music studies at the University of Vienna.

The Rev. Dr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, is a monk of St. John's Abbey, and Assistant Professor of Theology and Liturgical Music at St. John's University and School of Theology*Seminary. He holds master's degrees from St. John's University and Yale University, and a doctorate from the University of Graz, Austria. He studied Gregorian Chant intensively with Franz Karl Praßl at the Music Conservatory in Graz, and he has studied organ with Kim Kasling, Thomas Murray, and Peter Planyavsky. His dissertation on the use of traditional music in the reformed Roman liturgy will be published by Liturgy Training Publications. He is founding director of the National Catholic Youth Choir, a summer camp experience at St. John's for youth from across the U.S. He does priestly ministry to the neighboring women's community, St. Benedict's Monastery, and Stearns County jail. At the abbey he is organist and directs Gregorian chant.

Dr. James Vail is Professor Emeritus of Choral and Sacred Music at the University of Southern California, where he taught from 1961 to 1999. He chaired the Choral and Church Music Department from 1976 to 1991. The USC Concert Choir, which he conducted for thirty years, appeared under his direction throughout the western and mid-western United States, Germany, Austria and Italy, and sang at a number of national and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Association. Upon his retirement, Dr. Vail was chosen by his fellow faculty members as the 1999 recipient of the coveted Ramo Music Faculty Award, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and education, to the School of Music and the University of Southern California and to mankind."

During his thirty-eight years at USC, Dr. Vail taught various courses in Choral Literature, Choral Conducting, Choral Development, and Liturgical Music. He has contributed articles to The American Organist, The Choral Journal, The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians and other periodicals, and was a longtime member of the Research and Publications Committee of the American Choral Directors Association. In 1996 he published Ein deutsches Requiem, Opus 45, by Johannes Brahms: Transcription of the Wind Parts for Organ, for Use with the Composer's Original String, Harp and Timpani Parts (Alliance Music Publications, Inc., Houston, Texas.) In July, 2004, he will present a workshop ("Conducting from the Console") at the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Los Angeles, and will give a joint lecture with Richard Proulx ("A Life of Music in the Church: Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New") at the inaugural week of the Institute of Sacred Music at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

James Vail has been Organist and Choirmaster at St. Alban's Episcopal Church since 1969. Previously he held similar posts at St. John's Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, and in churches in La Jolla, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the well-known annual series of concerts and festival services at St. Alban's during the past thirty-five years he has conducted 125 major choral works-mostly with orchestra. St. Alban's Choir toured Europe in 1988 and 1999 and has performed for the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association and the Association of Anglican Musicians.

As an organist, Dr. Vail presents frequent recitals locally-at St. Alban's, at various venues for Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and for the noonday recital series at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. He has performed often in other parts of the country-in recent years at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and for the American Guild of Organists in Fayetteville, N.C. He is a past dean of the Los Angeles Chapter of the AGO.

Dr. Vail holds the B.M. degree in organ from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the M.M. and D.M.A. in church music from the University of Southern California.