Did you love singing Victoria's “O Magnum Mysterium” in high school? Do madrigals make you happy? Maybe it’s Renaissance rounds you love? Early music is the BEST to sing, so we’re bringing back this popular event from the old Cincinnati Early Music Festival! Come and spend a Saturday morning singing rounds, madrigals, motets, and more with special guest conductors David Castillo Gocher, Mary Catherine Levri, Stephanie Nash, and Kevin Seal.
We’ll have music available as both hard copies and digital versions. Please register below so we know how much music (and coffee) we’ll need. No experience required! You can also just sit and listen, if you’d like.
Don't just listen to early music this month. Be a part of it!
Tickets are not required for this event, but please register so we know how much music and coffee we’ll need!
Mexican conductor and organist DAVID CASTILLO GOCHER began his musical studies at the Mexican National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA). He holds a master’s degree in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting from Boston University and Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting from Northwestern University. David currently serves as the Music Director at St. Catharine of Siena, conducting its choir and instrumental ensemble, overseeing the Siena Music Series, and providing organ music for services and recitals. In Cincinnati, David founded Ensemble con Fuoco (Ensemble with Fire), a professional vocal group dedicated to chamber choral music of all periods and musical styles currently in residence at St. Catharine of Siena. Recent seasons of Ensemble con Fuoco included performances of Brahms' Requiem Handel’s Dixit Dominus, MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados, and a concert featuring contemporary and early choral works. A passionate supporter of Cincinnati non-profit organizations, David serves as a board member of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, an Advisory Council member of the Cincinnati Boychoir, and a board member of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. He has served as a grant reviewer for Cincinnati Artswave on several occasions.
MARY CATHERINE LEVRI is the director of music at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary at the Athenaeum of Ohio for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. She received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in organ performance from the University of Notre Dame in 2017, where she was a student of Dr. Craig Cramer. She served as the Assistant Director of the Liturgical Choir, Director of the Community Choir, and Assistant Organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2015. At Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Mary Catherine teaches a developed music curriculum and directs the Sacred Music Institute, which sponsors an annual Music and Liturgy performance series and a summer conference. Outside of the Seminary, she has worked with well-respected musical groups in the Cincinnati area, including the Cincinnati May Festival, Camerata, and Collegium Cincinnati. Mary Catherine currently serves as the President of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and has given lectures on church music for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, and the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy.
STEPHANIE NASH brings her passion for choral music to every ensemble she conducts. Working in church music for the past 35 years, she has been the Director of Music at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Lakeside Park, KY since 2006, where she oversees the music program, concert series and conducts three choirs. Stephanie also works with other choirs in the greater Cincinnati area. She is the Artistic Director of the Northern Kentucky Community Chorus and Conductor of Kol Rinah at Isaac M. Wise Temple. As a music educator, Stephanie has taught in the public schools in Florida and Ohio as well as conducted choirs and taught music education courses at the University of Florida, University of Cincinnati and Miami University.
DR. KEVIN M. SEAL is a versatile musician, with an extensive performing resume as a conductor, keyboardist, and singer. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he has built a reputation as a dynamic and talented musician and strong collaborator. Kevin maintains a busy schedule as a conductor and keyboardist, playing solo recitals as well as collaborating with orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and chamber musicians. As a conductor, he has championed lesser-known Baroque works such as Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Te Deum and Christoph Graupner’s cantatas, as well as premiering new music such as Doug McConnell’s Songs of Celebration. Kevin has a passion for the intersection of professional and community-based music-making, and that has led to involvement with community choruses in Minnesota, Arizona, and Ohio, and the development of programming such as Good Shepherd Lutheran Church’s annual Handel’s Messiah sing-along. He has sung in many professional ensembles throughout his career, including the award-winning early music ensemble Cantores in Ecclesia, the Saint Olaf Choir, and most recently with the Grammy nominated ensemble True Concord Voices and Orchestra, also serving as interim assistant director. He has also performed with a wide variety of community and professional ensembles, including the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Chorale. Most recently, Kevin has worked to build a traditional music program as Director of Worship and Music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has founded and curated the acclaimed Music in Kenwood concert series. Kevin has earned degrees from St. Olaf College, the University of Minnesota, and a Doctor of Music Arts degree from the University of Arizona. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two dogs. He enjoys a wide variety of hobbies, including backpacking, mountain biking, amateur astronomy, and cooking.