The library of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary is assembling a collection of music and papers from Eastern Catholic cantors and choir directors since the founding of our church in the United States. These collections are being indexed and preserved so that that they can be used for research by scholars as well as preserving our history and for fostering church singing in the future.
Donations of materials from family and friends of our cantors who have reposed is of particular interest to Deacon Jeff Mierzejewski, a software engineer with IBM, currently residing in Texas. Deacon Jeff, in addition to his role as director of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute, also volunteers his time to the Seminary library, serving as its music specialist. Says Deacon Jeff, “This collection of cantorial and choir music will also serve as a permanent memorial to their labors.”
If your parish or a retired cantor you know has music, memorabilia, or recordings (in any format) which might have a place in this collection, please contact Deacon Jeffrey Mierzejewski (412-735-1676, mci@archpitt.org) or library director Sandra Collins (scollins@bcs.edu; 412-321-8383).