“Psalmody — bringing about choral singing, a bond as it were, toward unity, and joining people into a harmonious union of one choir — produces also the greatest of blessings: love. ”

— Saint Basil the Great

Happy Wednesday!

Check out the first of a series of podcasts kicking off this year's virtual SingCon!

Sheptytsky Institute True Light podcast host Landon Coleman interviews Presbytera Melita Mudri-Zubacz, a musicologist and cantor who has been in

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#SingCon #SingCon2020

Joe Roll was the lecturer for church music at St. Basil’s Seminary for many years. Check out his lecture from #SingCon2019

www.ugccmusic.com

A tour of St. Basil’s Seminary at #SingCon2019

St. Basil’s Seminary was home to many bishops and priests of our Church, including Patriarch Lubomyr Husar, Bishop Basil Losten, Bishop Bohdan Danylo, Fr. John Squiller, Fr. Martin Canavan,

Photo taken after Divine Liturgy at #SingCon2019 before the departure of SingCon attendees!
#TBTSingCon

A LETTER FROM THE ORGANIZERS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S SINGCON
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After a difficult few months throughout the world, we were really looking forward to seeing you at SingCon 2020 in October in Philadelphia. We thought

SingCon 2024 Calgary

The fourth annual SingCon was held in Calgary, Alberta, from 19 to 22 September 2024, hosted by Fr. Roman Planchak and the gracious parishioners of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. Over 100 participants, both from Western Canada and elsewhere in North America, gathered to pray and learn more about their church singing tradition.

The daily schedule included a selection of liturgical worship services, such as Vespers, Matins, the Hours, Divine Liturgy, and Parastas, as well as rehearsals and workshops. The first evening concluded with the now traditional Town Hall Discussion, moderated by Deacon Cyril Kennedy. On the second evening, Dobrodijka Melita Mudri-Zubacz, Director of Music at Fresno Pacific University in California, gave the keynote Public Lecture, entitled “Aural Icons: Unlocking the Transformative Power of Liturgical Music.” The talk elaborated upon some of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s proposals in his pastoral letter “Regarding Church Singing” from the Lviv Archeparchial Council of 25 April 1941 and which stimulated significant discussion afterwards about the ways of participation in worship. On Saturday evening, the day concluded with a beautiful Vigil service. The culmination of the conference was the Sunday Divine Liturgy, at which Hieromonk Herman presided and preached. Before departing home, Larisa Galadza, former Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine, gave the participants a word of encouragement for the future. It was noted that the SingCon gatherings aimed at preserving, promoting, and praying the church singing tradition were appreciated far beyond just those who attended the annual gatherings.

This year Bishop Bohdan of Parma and Reader Ilya Galadza were unable to attend SingCon because of their duties in leading the funeral of the newly-reposed Bishop Basil (Losten) in the Eparchy of Stamford, but their absence was supplemented by the presence of numerous priests from the Archeparchy of Winnipeg and the Eparchies of Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Toronto, who presided and preached at the daily services.

Thanks to the sponsorship of various benefactors and generous donations from the Edmonton Eparchy, the Ukraine Millenium Society, Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada (Edmonton Eparchy), Doug and Lynn Faulder, the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation, Telerose Printing, and Huggabowl, which were secured by local SingCon OrgCom members Namisha Greening and Damein Zakordonski, the participants’ registration fees and the conference costs could be subsidized and reduced. Draft books and resources were printed for the use of participants and bags were printed with the new SingCon logo designed by Oleksiy Chekal.

The fifth annual SingCon is being planned for early autumn 2025 at a location yet to be officially announced.

For videos, pictures, and audio recordings from this year’s gathering, and more information about future events and current resources, visit the SingCon website (https://ugccmusic.com/) and its social media presence on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ugccmusic), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ugccmusic/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@singconugccmusic), and SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/ugcc-music).

SingCon 2023 Welland

Name That Tone Online Webinar

Name That Tone Special Edition Webinar with talks by Fr. Joseph and Reader Ilya

Mini SingCon 2021 Brampton

Lecture by Fr. Peter Galadza on the theological meaning of church singing in our spiritual life

Great Vespers on Saturday evening (Tone 3 and Synaxis of the Unmercenary Healers)

Sunday Morning Matins (Tone 3 and Synaxis of the Unmercenary Healers, Matins Gospel 10)

Sunday Divine Liturgy (Tone 3, 21st Sunday after Pentecost, Synaxis of the Unmercenary Healers)

Vigil (Great Vespers, but wihtout Litia to give people a bit of a break, Matins, and First Hour) for the Feast of the holy Archangel Michael and the Synaxis of the Incorporeal Powers

Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the holy Archangel Michael and the Synaxis of the Bodiless Powers

All services livestreamed on YouTube

Texts and propers for some of the services this weekend can be downloaded here

LECTURE
Mindful Praise: A Church Singer’s “Philokalia” by Fr. Peter Galadza

Saturday, November 6, 3:30 pm (New York/Toronto) livestreamed on YouTube

NAME THAT TONE Special Edition

8:00 pm EST, Thursday, November 4, 2021

NAME THAT TONE Weekly Zoom Webinar

SingCon 2020 was supposed to start today in sunny Philadelphia, PA, hosted by Metropolitan Borys (Gudziak) and the UGCC Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Although...