Sacred Music Institute
Sacred Music Institute
The Sacred Music Institute (SMI) at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology (MTSM) provides a center for both public musical performance and educational outreach in the realm of Catholic sacred music. The Institute serves parishes, priests and musicians in Catholic dioceses across the region by providing events and resources to those interested in and passionate about sacred music.
The Institute sponsors the Music & Liturgy performance series at MTSM, an annual summer conference – which will celebrate its fifth year in July 2025 – and courses and lectures focusing on important topics in sacred music.
At the center of the SMI will stand Pasi Opus 29, our new organ which was installed in Summer 2023 and blessed and dedicated on October 8, 2023. This instrument will support and accompany the liturgies and performances at MTSM.
Join us for our sung liturgies and choral concerts in our musical home: The Chapel of St. Gregory the Great. Our performances will feature both the Athenaeum Chorale and Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola, as well as some of the finest instrumentalists in Cincinnati. Come take in the beauty of the space and the glorious sounds we are offering this season.
Sunday, October 6, 2024 • 7 p.m.
Solemn Vespers and Choral Concert of Sacred Music
Athenaeum Chorale
Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola
Featuring works by Franck, Dalby, Mawby and Grieg
Sunday, November 10, 2024 • 7 p.m.
Organ Recital
Amanda Mole
Program featuring works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Pachelbel, Weckmann, Gringy and Bach.
Sunday, December 8, 2024 • 7:30 p.m.
Solemn Vespers on the Eve of the Immaculate Conception
Athenaeum Chorale
Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola
Sunday, February 16, 2025 • 7 p.m.
Solemn Vespers & Organ Recital
Dr. Nicole Simental, guest organist
Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola
Sunday, April 6, 2025 • 7 p.m.
Solemn Passiontide Vespers
Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola
Sunday, April 27, 2025 • 7 p.m.
Eastertide Choral Mass
Athenaeum Chorale
Mount St. Mary’s Latin Schola
For her contributions to Cincinnati’s Catholic art, thought and culture communities, Dr. Mary Catherine Levri will be the recipient of the 2025 Fra Angelico Award, presented by The Angelico Project.
Dr. Levri, MTSM’s Director of Music and Associate Professor of Music and Pastoral Studies, will be formally honored at The Angelico Project’s Spring Gala ‘An Evening of Catholic Culture’ on Thursday, June 12 at The Cincinnati Club.
In addition to Dr. Levri’s award, the evening’s Keynote Speaker will be The Most Rev. Earl K. Fernandes, the Bishop of Columbus and a 2002 MTSM graduate.
Dr. Levri arrived at MTSM in 2016 and joined the faculty as Assistant Professor in 2017 after completing her Doctorate of Musical Arts in organ performance. In February 2024, she was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. At MTSM, she runs the Sacred Music Institute, which puts on the annual Music & Liturgy Series, featuring performances from the Athenaeum Chorale and Mount ST. Mary’s Seminary Latin Schola, along with the annual SMI Conference held at MTSM over the summer. She was also the lead of MTSM installing a new organ in the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great, Pasi Opus 29, which was officially installed and dedicated in the Fall of 2023.
Outside of her work at the Seminary, Dr. Levri just completed her term serving as the President of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and is involved with the local chapter and national organization for the American Guild of Organists.
2025 Sacred Music Institute Conference
Save the dates for the 2025 Sacred Music Institute Conference, July 23-25, 2025. The theme for 2025 will be ‘Beautifying the World: The Vocation of the Liturgical Musician’.
The SMI will offer its fifth annual conference for priests and church musicians. The conference features keynote lectures, breakout sessions, choir rehearsals and sung liturgies in which all attendees will participate. This conference has become a popular event for those interested in renewing their parish music programs and is already bearing great fruit in the Cincinnati area and beyond.
More information will be announced at a later date.
Blessing and Dedication of Pasi Opus 29
On October 8, 2023, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology (MTSM) welcomed a capacity audience into the Chapel of St. Gregory the Great for the blessing and dedication of its new pipe organ, Pasi Opus 29. The evening, with MTSM President/Rector The Very Rev. Anthony R. Brausch as presider, featured performances by The Athenaeum Chorale, The Athenaeum Chorale Chamber Orchestra and The Mount St. Mary’s Seminary Latin Schola. In addition, MTSM welcomed Dr. Michael Unger from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music as the Guest Organist.
See more on the evening below!
Athenaeum Magazine | Pasi Opus 29: A New Era of Sacred Music Begins
MTSM Welcomes Pasi Opus 29 at Organ Blessing and Dedication
