Reverend Anthony D. Sorgie, Ed.D.
Director of Music, 1986 to 2000

Fr. Anthony Sorgie was a member of the Faculty and Administration of St. Joseph's Seminary from 1986 to 2000. Ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York in 1982, Fr. Sorgie earned his Masters degree in Music (1986) and Doctorate in Education (1989) from Columbia University. During his tenure at Dunwoodie, Fr. Sorgie was the Vice Rector and Academic Dean of St. Joseph's Seminary and its Institute of Religious Studies.  He taught  courses in Sacred Music and Art,  Liturgical Music Planning and the M.A. Thesis Seminar. As Director of Music Fr. Sorgie led the Seminary Choir and supervised the preparation and performance of music for the seminary's daily liturgies.

Fr. Sorgie has twice led the Seminary Choir in performances for the Holy Father, John Paul II. Once in Rome, 1990, and at Dunwoodie in October 1995, when the Pope prayed Evening Prayer with the seminary community.  Fr. Sorgie continues to serve on the Liturgical and Music Commissions for the archdiocese - as well as numerous other archdiocesan organizations. He is a popular lecturer on Gregorian Chant, both nationally and internationally.

Fr. Sorgie's invitation to neighboring choirs to join the Seminary Choir for the First Advent Christmas Concert 15 years ago led to what has become a major annual event on the seminary's calendar.  Mr. Brian Zuar will take over as director of this annual Advent tradition for hundreds of people across the archdiocese which led to the production of the seminary's first CD recording:  Concert for Advent and Christmas, directed by Fr. Sorgie, followed by A Treasury of Sacred Music and A Treasury of Sacred Music Vol. II which includes recordings directed by Dunwoodie's Music Director Emeritus, Rev. Msgr. Richard B. Curtin.

Msgr. Richard B. Curtin was Professor of Church Music at St. Joseph's from 1946 - 1966, and again during the academic year of 1967-8.  He was also on the faculty of the Pius X School of Liturgical Music, and taught the Sisters of Mercy at their Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.   A member of Dunwoodie's "Grand Class of '42", he was ordained for the Archdiocese of New York in 1942. His studies were at the Juilliard School of Music, New York University Graduate School, and L'Abbaye de Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, France.

In 1965, for the Mass of Pope Paul VI in Yankee Stadium on the occasion of his visit to the United Nations, Msgr. Curtin organized and directed the choir of 225 men from the major seminaries in the metropolitan area.  He conducted the singing of the congregation at Pope John Paul II's Mass in the Stadium in 1979.  He was a member of the first Liturgical Commission of the Archdiocese, and headed the Church Music Commission from 1957 to 1970.  Msgr. Curtin was encouraged to produce Dunwoodie's first music recordings by Music Man Sam Goody. (See Fr. Challman below for details). These included Music for Lent and Passiontide, Music for Holy Week, Sacred Music Around the Year, and Music for Advent and Christmas.

Msgr. Curtin now lives in semi-retirement in Ulster County, New York.

He first conducted the St. Joseph's Seminary Festival Choir in May, 1998,  for the Ordination Ceremony of nine new priests at St. Patrick's Cathedral. In 1999 he was co-director of   the Program of Music for the 13th Annual Advent Christmas Concert with Fr. Sorgie. He will be principle director of  the Seminarian and Festival Choirs for the 14th Annual Advent Christmas Concert at Dunwoodie.

Mr. Zuar came to Archdiocesan Music Ministry after ten years as Diocesan Music Director for the neighboring Diocese of Brooklyn, NY, where he conducted the Diocesan Schola Cantorum which sung at major diocesan liturgies and concerts in the greater metropolitan area as well as nationally (Washington, D.C.) and internationally (Italy).   During Mr. Zuar's tenure, the Schola twice sang for the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.  Once in Rome, in June, 1991 and again, at a Mass at Aqueduct Racetrack, during the Pope's 1995 U.S.visit.

Mr. Zuar earned a Masters Degree in Music Education at Queens College, NY and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Columbia University's Teachers College.

Prior to his ordination to the priesthood in 1996, Fr. Challman spent 14 years as a production manager and technical director for recording artists Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston and Amy Grant.  He also worked on many live televison productions including the Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award telecasts and for clients ranging from Muppet and Sesame Street creator Jim Hensen to the Museum of Radio and Television.

While studying at Dunwoodie Fr. Challman took on the task of restoring the mastertapes of chants and hymns recorded by seminarians under the direction of Msgr. Curtin, from as far back as 50 years ago.The original recordings had been done on a completely amateur basis, with a microphone set up in the chapel and cables run across the outdoor cloister to the library's audiovisual room.  The impetus for this recording came from the popular music man, Sam Goody, who played the tape over the store's sound system to the delight of his customers.  He encouraged Msgr. Curtin to make and sell albums. The original tapes were in amazing shape.   Fr. Challman headed a trio of technicians who re-mastered and digitized the recordings.  The results of his efforts are heard on Part I of A Treasury of Sacred Music.  Part II features new recordings by a unique choir comprised of priest alumni and seminarians brought together by Fr. Sorgie in order to create something beautiful for Dunwoodie's Centennial Celebration in 1996.  This time the recording session was handled by music industry professionals who packed a trailer full of technical equipment and spent  four days on the seminary grounds, running their cables into the chapel where the choir performed.  A Treasury of Sacred Music captures the tradition of sacred music at St. Joseph's Seminary:  an audio snapshot of the pre-Vatican Council II era, and the sound of the Catholic Church on the threshold of the millennium.  Its companion, A Treasury of Sacred Music Vol. II is the new release (October 1999). These recordings are available as a set - A Jubilee of Sacred Music - an extraordinary testimony to the successful collaboration between  artistry, technology and spirituality.

Fr. Challman is currently parochial vicar at Holy Rosary R.C. Church on Staten Island.  But he believes that he will always be a production manager.  He takes the Second Vatican Council's words on social communication seriously and will continue to do what he can to produce works that will "convey religious truths" and "invite listeners and viewers to share in the life of the Church."