Events
The Cathedra manages several annual events specialized in sacred music within the Archdiocese of Havana.
Sacred Music Week in Havana
Every year since 2014, the Cathedra of Sacred Music has convened the Sacred Music Week, a day of concerts, workshops, conference cycles and liturgical celebrations, the objective of which is to promote the study and listening of sacred repertoires from all eras and origins. It is the result of the joint effort of the bishoprics of Regensburg and Havana, especially the foundational visions of Cardinals Gerhard Ludwig Müller (Germany) and Jaime Ortega Alamino (Cuba). Since its first edition, it has been under the academic supervision of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music and Musical Pedagogy of Regensburg (Hochschule für katholische Kirchenmusik & Musikpädagogik HfKM, Regensburg), translated into the almost permanent presence of its rector, the German organist Stefan Baier, and with the participation of prestigious European and American teachers and interpreters.
Musicanova
The very dynamics of the Sacred Music Week highlighted other realities and needs. One of them was the existence of an extensive contemporary sacred musical repertoire of local and foreign authors, works generated even under new perspectives, pieces with a different language compared to those that emerged from the post-conciliar changes of the mid-twentieth century.
International Cycle of Organs of Havana
Another space somewhat derived from the Sacred Music Week is the International Organ Cycle of Havana. With a biannual character and in alternation with MUSICANOVA, this series of concerts aims to contribute to the discovery of the sound of the organs active in the diocese of Havana, as well as to the socialization of suitable repertoires for them, according to their organological characteristics. Most of the organs in Havana have been recovered as a result of the alliances established between the capital's bishopric and cultural institutions inside and outside the island. Therefore, the Cycle constitutes the answer to various needs: that of keeping the instruments in optimal working order through constant practice of interpretation; that of making known the expertise of the new organists trained in the teaching programs of the Cathedra of Sacred Music; and to satisfy the demand of new audiences interested in the sound of the organ and its secrets.
Cultural and Liturgical Collaborations
The Cathedra of Sacred Music is regularly involved in the cultural and ritual actions that take place in the Diocese of Havana, as part of the various times of the liturgical year. In this annual itinerary there are special moments such as Holy Week, Christmas and the festivities of San Cristóbal and the Virgen de la Caridad. Likewise, in alliance with the National Center for Concert Music of the Cuban Institute of Music and the Office of the Historian of Havana, the Cathedra participates in concerts, audiovisual productions and cultural conferences in general, promoted within the ecclesial headquarters. from the city.
