Master classes for those interested in singing and directing Gregorian chant will be offered in central Illinois on March 2, 3 and 4. Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Divine Worship, the workshops will be given by Dr. Jennifer Donelson.

Assistant professor of music at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dr. Donelson also serves on the faculty of the annual Sacred Music Colloquium of the Church Music Association. In addition, she will be hosting the first Musica Sacra Florida conference in March.

The master class on Monday, March 2, is designed specifically for those who are interested in learning how to direct Gregorian chant, according to Angela Manney, a pontifical cantor at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria and one of the leaders of the Cathedral Chant School. It will be held from 7:15 to 9:15 p.m. in the conference center of the Community of St. John in Princeville.

Manney asked that people who are more interested in singing than directing come to the workshop that is planned for Wednesday, March 4, at the Cathedral Music Office. Open to both beginning and more experienced chanters, it will take place from 7 to 9 p.m.

The March 4 workshop will conclude with a brief lecture by Dr. Donelson on the role of Gregorian chant in the liturgy and an opportunity to ask questions.

Dr. Donelson will also present a workshop for beginning and experienced chanters on Tuesday, March 3, at Corpus Christi Church, 273 S. Prairie St., Galesburg. Planned for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., this session will begin with a discussion of the history and spirituality of chant that leads to a practicum for participants during the second hour.

All of the chant workshops are free, but reservations are requested by Feb. 27. To reserve a place in the master classes in Princeville on March 2 or Peoria on March 4, contact Dr. Sherry Seckler, director of sacred music for the Diocese of Peoria, by phone at (309) 672-6447 or by e-mail at sseckler@cdop.org. For the session in Galesburg on March 3, contact Tom Weber, pontifical cantor, by phone at (309) 299-2509 or by e-mail at thomas@usagranda.com.

The Cathedral Chant School started last November and continues to meet on the first and third Saturdays of the month in the Cathedral Music Office, which is located in the building directly behind St. Mary’s Cathedral, 607 N.E. Madison Ave. Ten people from about as many parishes have been attending the classes led by Manney and Adam Ways, another pontifical cantor.

This month a small group from the chant school started to sing for the cathedral’s Latin Mass, which is celebrated on Saturday at 4 p.m. Manney said the goal is to include them in the music ministry on the first Saturday of the month in the future.

“It’s really exciting to implement what we talked about last semester,” she told The Catholic Post. “To put it where it belongs — in the liturgy, at the service of the Word and the church — it’s exciting.”