The Neum March 2023

Greetings, friends of Floriani!

With the Lenten season upon us, Floriani has been at the grindstone sharing the great tradition of Catholic music and bringing beauty to liturgies in our own town and around the country.

At the end of January, Floriani member Graham was married at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church to Sarah Francis. The Mass, celebrated by St. Anne’s pastor Fr. Keith, was accompanied musically by the other members of Floriani, several friends of the bride and groom, and the St. Anne’s children’s choir. The choirs created a truly ethereal setting, drawing all present to the threshold of heaven. One non-Catholic relative remarked, “I’d never once enjoyed a Catholic service, but this—you really could feel that God was present.” It is our strong belief, that when the liturgy is celebrated in its undiminished form, the truths of our faith are made incarnate, and the wedding was a glorious expression of that. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who sang! It was truly magnificent. Footage from the choir loft forthcoming!

Singing for the 40 Days For Life kick-off Mass. Left to right: Joe Daly, Graham Crawley, Thomas Quackenbush, Giorgio Navarini.

During February, we voiced our support of the Pro Life movement, helping kick off 40 Days for Life by singing for their opening Mass at the St. Mary’s Cathedral, and for a fundraiser for First Way Pregnancy Center. We finished the month with a chant and conducting retreat with the talented Isabella Burns, chant tutor at the Choral Institute of Oxford. The three day intensive included workshops, personal lessons, and studies in Gregorian semiology.

Giorgio getting some pointers from the cathedral’s master organist, Gordon Stevenson.

Isabella Burns, who studied under the illustrious conductor James Jordan, shared her expertise with Floriani and the St. Anne’s choirs over her time in Phoenix.

Singing for the homeschool students at St. Mary's in Littleton, Colorado.

And finally, last week we embarked on a mission to Denver. Over the course of our trip, we presented to the homeschooling group at St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Littleton, lead a choral workshop with the wonderful choir of St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Highland Ridge, and sang for their Sunday Masses, followed by a concert of sacred music. We even got to see the Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble Voces8, whom we had the pleasure of meeting after their concert. Thank you to all of the parishioners of St. Mark’s who joined our mission—your support is incredibly important to us, and we are so grateful for you generosity. And a special shoutout to the beautiful Urban family for putting us up!

We have several local events coming up—including a Compline workshop TONIGHT at St. Anne’s, a lecture TOMORROW at St. Mary Magdalene on the origins of Gregorian chant, and a couple concerts (listed below)—and a mission trip to Montana planned for next week. Check out our website for more info on these upcoming events!

Post-concert with the men of Voces8: Blake Morgan, Chris Moore, and Euan Williamson.

Joe workshopping Byrd's Ave Verum with the choir of St. Mark's in Highland Ridge, CO.

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Questions? Feel free to email us anytime at florianisacredmusic@gmail.com. We are so grateful for your support! Please keep us in your prayers! - Giorgio, Graham, Joe, and Thomas