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The Choir of the Diocese of Rome, also called “the Pope’s Choir,” is celebrating its 40th anniversary in grand style in 2024. Now through June 9, choirs from all over the globe are gathering at the Vatican for an international conference on sacred music.
Zenit reports that the conference is moderated by renowned composer and founder of the Diocese Choir, Monsignor Marco Frisina. He is joined by a wide array of esteemed experts in sacred and liturgical music to discuss topics such as: musical education, the application of sacred music in papal liturgies, Gregorian chant from historical and liturgical perspectives, and more.
The three-day event is further rounded out by workshops to engage the attendees with practical musical exercises.
After a meeting with Pope Francis on Saturday, the Paul VI Hall will serve as the venue for a grand choral concert, which will join attendees with the 300-strong Choir of the Diocese of Rome, alongside 80 members of the Nova Opera Orchestra, which helped organize the conference.
The concert, conducted by Msgr. Marco Frisina, will feature iconic pieces of sacred music from both the classical and contemporary traditions. It will debut a new composition titled “Christ Is My Hope,” as well as a medley that will feature many melodies that are significant to the Pope’s Choir’s 40-year history.
The three-day conference will conclude with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, June 9, which will be presided over by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. This liturgy is expected to be particularly beautiful, as the combined voices of all the participating choirs will ring through the basilica, guided by the Pope’s Choir at the forefront.
To get an idea of what a grand sound they will create, take a listen to this recording from the Choir of the Diocese of Rome from 2016. This is just a portion of the full choir, which utilizes both mature and adolescent voices to present a broad and full sound that fills every crevice of the basilica. Now, imagine several hundred more singers supporting them, with the addition of a full orchestral accompaniment, and you’ll get a sense of just how enormous this concert will be.
