You are invited to join others interested in sacred Renaissance polyphony for a weekend to prepare and perform Messa da cappella by Claudio Monteverdi. The occasion is the 20th annual Renaissance Polyphony Weekend at the University of Dallas, led by The occasion is the 20th anniversary year for the Dallas-Fort Worth area Renaissance Polyphony Weekend at the University of Dallas. The singers' retreat will again be led by Dr. William Mahrt of Stanford University. It will conclude with a Latin Mass, and since this is the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, participants will sing the composer's Messa da capella. We will also sing some motets and Gregorian chant as part of the Mass.

To find your way around the University of Dallas campus, visit www.udallas.edu, the campus Web site (or see a printable map). Campus address is 1845 Northgate Drive, Irving TX 75062.

Retreat check-in (with coffee) is at 6:30pm Friday, February 18, in Gorman Hall on the UD campus; the first rehearsal starts at 7:30pm. Rehearsals continue Saturday (February 19), concluding with wine and cheese at about 4pm.

It is possible not to attend all of the sessions and still sing the Mass on Sunday afternoon, February 20. There will be a morning rehearsal, but participants with church music commitments need not attend it. After an early Sunday afternoon rehearsal, we will sing the Mass in the mid-afternoon. Details will be provided in a welcome letter to participants.

Polyphony Weekend rehearsals will be combined with informal lecture and discussion. All music will be rehearsed and performed a cappella. Participants need not be professional singers, but should be proficient readers with a good sense of pitch. The weekend retreat is sponsored by the University of Dallas Music Department and the Renaissance Polyphony Project.

Download a copy of the brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to open) for this year's Polyphony Weekend. The brochure includes a registration form, if you prefer to print out and mail in a form along with your deposit check. You may register online, but we must receive your deposit check by postal mail to complete your registration.

Mail your deposit check for $95.00 (and registration form) to: