Oct 3, 20245 min read

The Neum October 2024

Updated: Oct 4, 2024

Lucas Oil Stadium: on stage at the NEC, singing for Eucharistic Adoration.

Greetings, Floriani faithful!

It has been a truly pivotal few months. Things are really kicking into high gear for Floriani, and we are thrilled to have your support on this wild ride.

First, it seems like ages ago already, and most of you are aware of it by now, but Floriani had a breakout moment at a major Catholic event. Around 60,000 people travelled to Indianapolis to celebrate the Eucharistic revival for an event that hasn’t taken place in over 80 years—the National Eucharistic Congress.

Floriani was invited to sing for a Holy Hour and a Mass over the course of the week’s proceedings. Easy enough! However, it wasn’t until the week prior that we found out the Holy Hour would take place on the main stage, i.e. in Lucas Oil Stadium in front of the 50-60K people in attendance, (not to mention the untold numbers following the live broadcast on EWTN). We were to follow up Fr. Mike Schmitz’s keynote talk by providing the musical accompaniment to a period of adoration.

Congress attendees share the profound impact Floriani had on them.

The honor was immense, and what an experience it was to lead so many people in worshipping our Lord in the Eucharist and in drawing people deeper into prayer and contemplation with our music. All lights were focused on the monstrance, drawing attention away from us, which made our ‘performance’ all the more solemn. When the Eucharist recessed out of the stadium, the lights turned back to the stage, and we lead that massive congregation in singing the Salve Regina. It was an unforgettable moment, one that gives me chills to dwell on.

From that point on, there was a buzz about the Congress; we had made an unforgettable impression on thousands of people. It felt like a watershed moment for our ministry, and since then we have received a significant increase in inquiries and greater ease in filling our calendar. A special thank you to Joel Stepanek who helped us land this amazing opportunity!

MASTER COURSE RELEASE

SUCCESS

After many months of preparation, Floriani finally launched its Gregorian Chant Academy. Master Course on the new platform. Chris Jasper, the mastermind behind the course, worked tirelessly over the past 6 months to improve the production quality of his teaching videos, reworking the Beta-version of the course to a truly world class learning experience.

The launch was a massive success, with about 100 new students enrolling for the all-encompassing online academy. Students hailed from the US, Canada, English, Australia, Sweden, and a dozen other countries. The course has already received high praise from the students, as the following testimonial attests:

Dear Christopher,

I just wanted to let you know how phenomenal your Master Course is! Deacon Ward and I are blown away by your excellent instruction and we are learning so much. The resources and exercises are really helpful.

We want to thank you for all your hard work and well thought out manner of instruction that you are sharing with us. May God continue to bless this most worthy endeavor and gift to us all. May God be glorified!

Also, Chris was featured in the latest edition of the publication Catholic Family News. Read the article below!

If you missed the enrollment period, but are still interested in the course, fear not. We will be reopening enrollment in the near future. Stay posted!

JOE'S EXPERIENCE WITH

THE VOCES8 U.S. SCHOLARS

Back in March, Joe was accepted into a program run by the VOCES8 Foundation that involves three weeks of intense musical training between September and February.

"Plano was a few degrees cooler than Phoenix, but my week working with the VOCES8 US Scholars was an intensely musical crucible."

"In the first week last month, I got to work with eleven absolutely brilliant singers from around the country while singing everything from 8-part renaissance polyphony to 20th Century jazz standards. We drilled our repertoire for the first few days, then helped the Foundation to run workshops at several schools around the DFW area on the back half. The week concluded singing for a Sunday service and a concert collab with the incomparable upper-voices group, Lyyra.

"The program will continue in the last week of October in the Twin Cities, where the Scholars will be traveling to record at MPR Studios. I very much look forward to it, and am grateful to Paul, Erik, and Anthony from the Foundation for the opportunity, and to all the other Scholars for their diligence, humor, and musical generosity.

"In the meantime, I return to Floriani creatively refreshed and excited for our work in Atlanta, Phoenix, and Nashville this month!"

CALIFORNIA TOUR

Floriani spent the last two weeks of September touring the southern coast of California performing in schools and parishes, leading workshops, and singing for Masses.

Friday and Saturday, September 20th and 21st, were spent with the congregation of St. Anne Catholic Church in San Diego. Friday we held our teen choral workshop, which culminated in a beautiful evening High Mass. The teens joined Floriani in singing the pieces they had worked hard to learn during the day. Saturday was for the adult choral workshop, beginning in the morning with Mass, and finishing in the evening with a Sacred Music Concert. The participants joined them during the concert to showcase one of their challenging pieces learned that day, Ave Maria, Virgo Serena.

Floriani was on the move immediately following the concert, heading to Long Beach to sing for two Masses and a concert on Sunday, September 22nd, at Holy Innocents Parish.

On Monday the 23rd Floriani work with students at Holy Innocents School for a single-day workshop, culminating in a sung Mass for the whole school.

Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Wilmington was their next stop, for a two-day school mission, (September 24-25th). Floriani worked with the choir, presented for the whole school, then went classroom to classroom to answer questions. On the final day, the choir students and Floriani sung for a Solemn High Mass celebrated by Father Jacob of the Norbertines, and a couple of his brothers.

On the move again, the guys drove to St. Lawrence of Brindisi School in Compton, for another student workshop, (September 27th).

Finally, their California Tour ended that same Friday evening with a concert at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, in Costa Mesa.

We are so grateful to each of these parishes and schools

for inviting us to come share our music and mission, and a special thank you to all those involved in helping us organize these wonderful events!