Christendom College has announced the addition of a major in Sacred Music for the fall semester of 2026. This new major and minor will provide students with a rigorous formation in one of the original seven liberal arts, while preparing them to serve the Church through the study and performance of sacred music—with the beauty, reverence, and excellent musicianship that should characterize the Church’s worship.
“Sacred music occupies a special place in the Catholic intellectual tradition, uniting truth, goodness, and beauty in a way that elevates both the mind and the soul to Christ,” says College President George A. Harne, Ph.D. “This new major reflects Christendom’s commitment to restoring the fullness of the liberal arts while preparing students to serve the Church with excellence. It is a natural extension of Christendom’s mission to form men and women who will restore all things in Christ.”
From Plato and Aristotle to St. Augustine, Boethius, and St. Thomas Aquinas, music has long occupied a central place in the Western intellectual tradition as both a practical and speculative art. This new major, administered through the undergraduate Department of Theology and closely integrated with the College’s thriving liturgical life, seeks to recover that tradition.
The new major combines Christendom’s liberal arts core with specialized coursework in music theory, music history, Gregorian chant, liturgical theology, conducting, and applied performance. Students will pursue emphases in either organ or voice while studying the rich musical heritage of the Catholic Church. Students will also explore such specialized topics as the writings of Pope Benedict XVI on sacred music, Marian music and art, musical thought in Church and culture, the theology of Church music, and the great choral works of our Catholic faith, among other fascinating subjects.
Beyond the classroom, students will participate in Christendom’s choirs and scholas each semester, receive individualized instruction in organ or voice, and gain practical experience through liturgical music leadership. As part of their formation, students will perform sacred repertoire ranging from Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony to major liturgical and paraliturgical works from later centuries.
The major builds upon Christendom’s longstanding commitment to beautiful liturgy and sacred music, which has included sung Masses, Vespers, Lessons and Carols during Advent, concerts, recitals, and other musical events throughout the academic year. The new major and minor will further strengthen these efforts while helping to form the next generation of Catholic musicians.
“Christendom College is one of the last bastions of higher education wholly devoted to forming students in a highly rigorous, deeply Catholic liberal arts education,” says Dr. Sara Pecknold, who teaches in the college’s Department of Sacred Music. “All of the figures we study and admire, from Plato to Pope Benedict XVI, considered music to be one of the seven liberal arts. In keeping with this tradition, our students will have the opportunity to study music—both as an academic discipline and as a performative art—in order to complete their liberal arts education. Graduates will enter the world as the next generation of Catholic musicians, scholars, and performers, who will foster beauty and reverence in sacred music, in the Mass and beyond.”
Dr. Sara Pecknold.
Graduates will be equipped to serve the Church as parish music directors, cantors, organists, Catholic educators, professional performers, and scholars pursuing careers in sacred music, music history, music theory, and related disciplines. Other graduates may carry this formation into religious life or the priesthood, bringing a deep understanding of the Church’s musical tradition to their future ministries.
The Sacred Music Major also represents a significant enhancement of Christendom’s liberal arts curriculum. By restoring the formal study of music as one of the seven liberal arts, the College continues its mission of forming students in the fullness of the Catholic intellectual tradition while fostering a deeper appreciation for beauty, truth, and goodness.
Applications for the Sacred Music Major and Minor will open for students entering Fall 2026. Students interested in the program will complete an audition and music competency assessment as part of the admission process. Students currently enrolled in the college’s Liturgical Music Track in Theology will be provided with different options for transferring into the Sacred Major and Minor.