Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

SE06 EP08 - The Sacramentality of Sound: Bells and Their Place in Catholic Life - with Fr. Christopher Gray and Carl Zimmerman

Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

Show Notes

Join us as we dive into the role that bells have played throughout the history of Christianity in warding off evil and storms, signaling significant temporal and spiritual moments, and the consecration of bells in the Pontificale Romanum. Learn about the manufacturing process and the engineering behind getting bells to sound beautiful, and discover how you might support the casting and hanging of new bells in your own church tower. Our guests are Fr. Christopher Gray of St. Mary of the Assumption in Park City, Utah, and Carl Scott Zimmerman, a campanologist and author at the extremely helpful website towerbells.org. Learn more about the Church's teachings on sacred music, and how to put them into practice, through the offerings of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. Sign up for an email list to stay up-to-date on our website: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

More from Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

Jun 29, 2026

Fr. Augustine Wilmeth, OSB, Prior and Choirmaster of the Abbey of San Benedetto in Monte in Norcia, Italy, joins us to discuss the rootedness of monastic life in the daily ebb and flow of sunrise and sunset, and how that changes throughout different seasons of the solar and liturgical year. We talk about the effect of singing Gregorian chant on the soul and interior life, and the beer that the monks brew. For more information about the Abbey, visit: https://en.nursia.org/ To buy Birra Nursia in the U.S., visit: https://birranursia.com/ To learn more about the graduate program at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/events/

Jun 22, 2026

Burn-out, conflicts, and lots of responsibilities often afflict the church musician. Counselor Angela Rosson joins us to talk about strategies for setting up personal boundaries, positively resolving conflicts with superiors and those under our charge, and how to tell if one is getting burned out (and what to do about it). Connect with Angela Rosson here: https://mycatholicdoctor.com/resources/doctors/angela-rossonmycatholicdoctor-com/ Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's summer-based graduate program here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/

Jun 15, 2026

Join us for a deep dive on the life and work of the most magisterial of composers, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Thomas Neal narrates a biography of Palestrina, touching on the composers who influenced him, how he learned music, his various posts at the heart of the Church in Rome, his connection with St. Philip Neri, and his successful career. Purchase Neal's newest book on "Sacred Music in Early Modern Italy" here: https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503621852-1 Learn more about Neal's work here: https://www.newcollegeschool.org/page/?pid=19&staff=157 Learn more about the graduate program, Choral Institute, and McInnes Fellowship of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/ensembles/mcinnes-fellowship/

Jun 12, 2026

A board certified physician in family medicine and in functional, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, Dr. Lizbeth Alter joins us to discuss some of the basics church musicians, often short on time and money, can consider in caring for their health through food, nutrition, and navigation of the immune system. Check out Dr. Alter on social media: https://www.instagram.com/lizbeth_alter_md https://www.facebook.com/DrAlterCompleteWellness https://www.youtube.com/@DrAltersCompleteWellness Or on her websites: https://lizbethaltermd.wixsite.com/completewellness https://xyngeniumnx.com/ Learn more about the graduate program at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/

Jun 4, 2026

Fr. Mark Bachmann, OSB, of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma joins us to describe the origins of his Abbey, its rich chant history, and a monastic approach to learning and praying Gregorian chant. To learn more about Clear Creek Abbey, visit: https://clearcreekmonks.org/ To learn more about Laus in Ecclesia, visit: https://www.lausinecclesia.com/ To learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/

See all episodes →