About the Schola
An Introduction to
THE SCHOLA CANTORUM OF THE PACIFIC®
The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific®, is an adult choir now entering its fiftieth year with a cantoral and concert repertoire of modern and traditional Liturgical and Concert Music – “From Gregorian to Gospel.” The Schola fosters the goal of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council in their hallmark, Sacrosanctum Concilium, that the Church’s musical “treasure of inestimable worth” continue to inspire. The Catholic Church has cultivated over centuries this magnum opus of prayerful music. Catholic Music Ministry today builds upon this musical testimony of the Ages of Faith. Our Schola has three ensembles. Our adult cantorale, The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific®, always includes in its concerts, music accessible to parish choirs and cantoral groups, of practical interest to church musicians in attendance. Our second ensemble is the Schola Americana, our younger adults who perform classics of world music. The group has presented Jazz, Popular and Folk at such diverse locations as a major hotel in Las Vegas, a summer resort in Minnesota, and two state legislatures in session. The Schola Americana regards these genres of music as Fine Art and culture of lasting value. Our third ensemble activity is Music Education of the highest calibre to inner city children. Our Children of the Schola, the Escolanía Pacifica, are the Student body, concert choir and Instrumentalists of Immaculate Conception Parochial School in Downtown Los Angeles, California.
Our programme at Immaculate Conception is unique, in that the entire student body is the choir. They sing in parts, a cappella as well as accompanied, Gregorian Chant, Renaissance polyphony and contemporary hymnody. Students K through 8, sing from memory such classics as Johann Sebastian Bach’s, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring;” the Dios Te Salve (Spanish Hail Mary) of the California Missions; Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, and such varied as, “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” “Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All,” and the Taizé Laudate. Their touring concert choir is also the cantoral group at Mass, for Grail Psalmody and Communion meditation music such as “Jesu Rex Admirabilis” by Palestrina, and “If Ye Love Me, ” by Tallis. The students intermix English, Spanish and Latin, all texts carefully explained. The ICS Staff considers Music essential in the school culture. ICS students may play musical instruments during lunch. A young trumpeter plays at the raising and lowering of the flags. Though it has a choir school Music curriculum, Immaculate Conception is a regular high quality downtown parochial school. Most European choir schools begin students around age nine; ICS students begin in kindergarten at age five when Music is mainly “fun” – at Immaculate Conception School, fun with great music. Music encompasses Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Catholic Liturgical and Sacred Music bespeaks to the world, the wisdom, the wonderment, the breadth and the beauty, of the worldwide Catholic Family of Faith.
The name, The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific, is an American registered trademark.
Fr. Ted Ley, SM
Marianist Center Cupertino, California
4 August 2025
The Schola in Our 49th Year
The Schola has entered its 49th year with a flourishing adult cantorale, and the successful founding or our long-hoped-for Choir School programme, which is the Music curriculum of Immaculate Conception Parochial School in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Included in our curriculum is the children’s concert choir of the School and Schola, the Escolanía Pacífica. [The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific is a registered trade name, and Escolanía Pacífica a certified service mark.]
Our adult cantorale came successfully out of the pandemic by the resumption of our biennial tours with a concert entitled, “From Gregorian to Gospel, the Art of the Schola Cantorum of the Pacific,” at historic St. Mary’s Church, Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Schola continues as the English Liturgical Choir of Assumption Parish, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles; and the Schola often concertizes along with the Escolanía children of Immaculate Conception School. The most recent combined concert, reported in this website, was the programme, “Villancicos y Cantos Navideños,” presented in the Queen of Angels parish church at the historic downtown Plaza of Los Angeles, La Placita.
Under the able tutelage of our choirmaster, Vicente Bastidas, the Escolanía children have excellent treble tone and are advancing in music sight-reading. Our programme is unusual in that it begins at the kindergarten level. As a result the children’s ear training, vocal tone and music reading ability advance more rapidly and deeply. The children's repertoire includes such Sacted concert music as J.S. Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Decosiring;" the Spanish Ave Maria of the California Missions by Padre Narciso Durán; the César Franck "Panis Angelicus;" the Dona Nobis canon smes attributed to W.A. Mozart; patriotic music including the California's State Song; the popular classic, "Solamente una Vez (You Belong to My Heart)," a wide variety of hymnody, and classic popular songs in English and Spanish. Schola members provide lessons in Violin, Mandolin, Classical Guitar, contemporary Rhythm Guitar, Folk Harp, Guitarron and various winds and percussion instruments as needed.
Our student program is named after the world's oldest choir school, the Escolanía of Monserrat, Spain. Our children also tour with their families, presenting such programs as, "Music of the Children of Early California," and "The Art of the Chid Chorister." Our pedagogy is based on tried and proven techniques of child vocal and musical training, including exercises from Medieval and Renaissance eras of Music Education, through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Twentieth Century epochs. Our Educational Philosophy is that this seamless sense of Music as a Wisdom uniting Faith and Culture in the choral art will motivate toward a variety of edifying and gratifying life's vocations in the choir children, just as it unites our Schola adults as a musical family.
We are profoundly grateful to our benefactors who have enabled us to advance so promisingly. It is clear that our up-and-coming Golden Anniversary will see the Schola as making a valuable contribution to the standards of Liturgical and Parochial Music Education in the United States and even possibly worldwide. May our goal, the best possible Music Education for inner city parochial school chidren, be emulated and expanded by others, while our adult Schola continues in the Marianist Family Spirit, a Christian Community fostering the Church’s “treasure of inestimable worth,” historic and contemporary Music of the Ages of Faith.
The motto of the Schola is, “Celebrent Te Populi Deus,” from Psalm 67, which we translate as, “May the Peoples praise you, O Lord, may all the Peoples praise you.” The Schola sings a wide variety of music - "From Gregorian to Gospel." This we now hope to teach to the next generation, through the Escolanía Pacífica, in a needy Los Angeles district where world class Music Education in an already excellent parochial school is relevant and appreciated.
May the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all –places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Fr. Ted Ley, SM, ChM, DMus (Marianist) Founder-Director
Example of a Schola Concert
This concert was presented at Old Mission San Fernando Rey, Mission Hills, California, Sunday, April 29th, 2007. The Concert traced the history of Christian Church Music for small ensemble.