Dear friends of Angelico Sacred Music, As our young ministry prepares to be the only sacred music sponsor present at FOCUS’s SEEK Conference in just 2 months, I’m excited to unveil our new logo! Since Angelico’s founding in 2024, the ministry’s charism has continued to grow, flourish, and mature. During this thoughtful and prayerful process, I always wanted us to have a logo that was special. I’ve longed for a visual representation of Angelico–for a logo–that couldn’t possibl

One of my favorite stories or parables about sacred art is set in medieval France, in the early 1200s. The story goes that a young farmer was exiting his small but booming little town after buying some things for his family at the market, when he saw a construction site 30 yards ahead. Approaching the area more closely, he saw a man bent over beside a large stack of bricks, mortar, and construction tools. With curiosity he said, “Excuse me sir, what are you doing here.” The

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made Angelicofest 2026 such a special and beautiful evening! I am so grateful for your presence on Saturday, and our team looks forward to sharing more photos and media from the gala soon. One highlight from Saturday was the announcement of Angelico’s American Cathedral in Sound: a patrimony of 76 polyphonic compositions to be created by multiple American composers over the course of two to three decades as a beautiful monument and gift t

Patron Sponsor Organization Angelicofest 2026 is almost here! This will be our second annual gala, an evening of dinner, musical art, and spiritual reflection, celebrating what we have built together and looking ahead to what is still to come. A special thank you to John Even for his generous sponsorship to help make this evening possible. We wanted to give you a look ahead, so you know just what to expect on September 19. Evening Schedule 5:30 PM Gala Room Opens 6:15 PM Form

Patron Sponsor Organization Dear friends of Angelico Sacred Music, ASM’s mission is to unite American Catholics in creating a patrimony of sacred musical art that expresses the beautiful faith found in 21st-century America. Each year, we advance that mission through several distinct projects, premieres, and events. But above all, the most important of these is our Angelicofest Gala on September 19th! Christianity’s incarnational nature reminds us that the fullness of our fait

As Angelico’s mission continues rising to new heights, I’m very grateful share that we will be traveling to FOCUS’s SEEK Conference this January! SEEK is the largest annual Catholic conference in America, and FOCUS estimates that 15,000 people attend this year’s events in San Antonio, Texas. Angelico will be a table sponsor throughout the week, sharing our mission and programs with SEEK’s Gen-Z audience to help us renew the future of sacred music in the life of the Church. An

As we continue through the summer, things are heating up for ASM as our ministry continues growing! Today I'm especially excited to announce two crucial additions to our team. WELCOME TO THE TEAM Ryan Ayala - Comms & Media Director Arizona native Ryan Ayala has officially joined Angelico as our Comms & Media Director! Ryan currently serves as the Director of Campus Ministry at the Arizona State University Newman Center, and he has over a decade of unique experiences working i

Tickets and table sponsorships for Angelicofest 2026 are now available! This formal gala will include a five-course dinner, musical art, and spiritual reflections — a beautiful evening to celebrate all our ministry has done, and to build what is left to come as we announce Angelico’s biggest project: The Cathedral in Sound. Will you join us for this historic moment? We would be honored to have you present with us. Seats and group packages are limited, so we encourage you to

It’s hard to believe we are just three months away from our AngelicoFest Gala! As we prepare to launch ticket sales soon, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at our ministry’s most special event of the year. Ruth Stricklin joins us as a panelist I’m so excited to share that Arizona’s own nationally renowned artist, Ruth Stricklin, will be joining us as a panelist at AngelicoFest. As some of you know, Ruth is the founder of New Jerusalem Studios, and she was selected to create t

Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of the architect of Sagrada Família Basilica: Venerable Antoni Gaudí. Like Blessed Fra Angelico, Gaudí stands out among sacred artists as a man renowned not only for his creativity, but also for his holiness of life. Catholic Exchange has kindly published a short article I wrote on Gaudí to celebrate this anniversary, noting some highlights of his career and why the Church may canonize him as a saint. The Church’s litany of saints,

Today, I am so grateful to share with you a development I have long hoped for! This fall, I will fly to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to lead a Musicians Retreat Day for St. Damascus Gild, a local sacred arts non-profit. When speaking at this event, entitled “Renewal of Sacred Music,” my presentations will integrate elements of prayer, music theory, and theology to propose a vision for how musicians can best blend creativity and tradition to serve Holy Mother Church in the 21st century.

Jacob Viola after winning our inaugural St. Cecilia Scholarship Angelico Sacred music exists because there is a quiet yearning among American Catholics for sacred music born from our own culture. History shows us that the Church's greatest sacred art always reflects the culture of its birth. The Sistine Chapel silently shouts the Italian Renaissance. Notre Dame Cathedral silently shouts Medieval France. So what musical art beautifully represents the faith of 21st-century Amer

A cathedral is not built from one stone. It is built from countless, each one shaped with intention, placed with care, and designed to work together so that when you step inside, you are not looking at individual pieces. You are standing inside something unified, something that lifts the eye and the heart toward heaven. That is exactly what sacred musical art can do. On Saturday, May 30 at 6:15 PM, you are invited to Cathedral in Sound, a prayerful journey through five compos

On the evening of Saturday, September 19, we will gather at Culinary Dropout Tempe for an evening of fine dining, beautiful music, and insightful thoughts from special speakers and panelists. As our ministry continues growing, we plan for this year’s gala to be even more beautiful than last year’s, and we dearly hope you can attend. Please save the date now, and keep an eye out for more updates coming soon!

We’re excited to share that Ryan’s recent interview on The Bishop’s Hour was aired on Relevant Radio last Saturday! Relevant Radio is one of the leading Catholic radio stations in America, and we are so grateful to our friends at The Diocese of Phoenix for helping us share Angelico with listeners across the country. You can listen to Ryan’s segment of the show by fast-forwarding to 32:34 either of the links below: In this interview, Ryan discusses his musical roots growing up

We’re excited to share that in two weeks, Ryan will be interviewed on The Bishop’s Hour ! During this special podcast episode, Ryan will share details on the founding of Angelico Sacred Music, and how the Lord has integrated his classical music training into his seminary life to serve Holy Mother Church through Angelico’s ministry. ASM will share the episode shortly after its recording. Our ministry is very grateful for this opportunity, as we continue sharing Angelico’s musi

I am supposed to share with you some words about my special weekend with Cappella for the premiere of Glory Be . As I attempt to do so, I am reminded that one of my favorite facets of beautiful art is its ability to capture our emotions when words will never suffice. No words can share the joy of our shared time together, or the feeling of standing before my dear friends in the choir on Sunday night. It would have been hard to fit more smiles (and more joyful tears) into a fe

Dear friends of Angelico Sacred Music, Today we rejoice for the gift of our newest piece of American Neo-Renaissance Polyphony, Glory Be, which you can now listen to on our website!! As we praise the Lord in joyful celebration, we especially extend our gratitude to our dear friends, Cappella at the University of Mary, and to videographer Chris Oscilowski, who captured photos and video throughout these special days of preparation. We will have more updates, photos, and a perso

Dear friends of Angelico Sacred Music, I’m currently at Denver International Airport, flying to Bismarck, ND for the premiere of Glory Be in just 4 days! Our dear friends in Cappella at University of Mary have been hard at work for this collaboration, and I’m so excited to bring this piece of musical art to life with them. We will be performing the piece at the University of Mary’s 8pm Mass in Annunciation Chapel, and a recording will be sent to you the following day! For me,

Mary Schmitz (pictured above) is a junior who sings Alto II in Cappella at University of Mary. Mary is also Angelico’s newest Cardinal Newman Fellow, working every week to help advance ASM’s mission as a valued member of our Angelico Team. Today, as we approach the premiere of Glory Be at UMary on Feb. 15, she shares some reflections with us on Cappella, ASM, and the power of sacred music. I was recently listening to a production put out by EWTN on “seeking beauty” and it mad