Music & The Arts

The "Catholic thing", the res catholica which the College seeks to make real for its students, implies an organically Catholic way of life which must be nurtured and protected by the community in which Catholic culture thrives and grows. In the Chapel of Christ the King, an ecclesia major or larger church outstanding by reason of its artistic and historical importance, the College celebrates the Divine Liturgy with all due splendor. Part of this effort naturally includes the cultivation of the "treasury of sacred music" whose integral parts include Gregorian chant and the sacred vocal polyphony of great Catholic masters such as Palestrina, Victoria, and Josquin des Prez. This sacred music is performed by students who sing in the Christendom Choir and Schola Gregoriana.

By his participation in masses so ornamented and elevating, the Christendom student is able to experience Catholic culture at its best, indeed, to "breathe Catholic air" when the community gathers for worship. No other Catholic college in America offers a program even remotely approaching this unique initiative.

God in His Goodness can also be found in the beauty of the arts. The BEATO FRA ANGELICO ARTS PROGRAM offers our students a further opportunity to experience directly the higher and more aesthetically praiseworthy aspects of Western civilization and our contemporary culture through live performances, lectures, art exhibitions, and other on-campus events throughout the academic year.

Though art and music are not part of the core curriculum at Christendom College, many of the history, literature, and philosophy classes incorporate some study of art, and the Theology Department offers for credit a course entitled "Theology of Worship and of Its Music."

For the many, serious student pianists on campus, a Boston 7'10" grand piano, housed in a 400 square foot specially constructed practice room, is available for practice and for informal performances.

Dramatic Productions

The Fine Arts Program occasionally sponsors dramatic productions, which in the past have included one-man performance on the lives of St. Francis of Assissi and G. K. Chesterton, as well as a student drama workshop which culminated in the presentation of several medieval mystery plays.

The Christendom Players, a student group of amateur actors and actresses, stages a production for the entertainment of the College and the wider community each year. Past productions have included Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Windermere's Fan, G.B. Shaw's St. Joan and Pygmalion, the Broadway Musical Oliver!, the suspenseful Witness for the Prosecution and amusing Here Comes Mr. Jordan.

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