A New, Old Take on Vespers with Dr. Tyler Thress
December 21, 2023
Stepping inside, Dr. Tyler Thress was struck by the incredible silence and monastic rhythm of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. While attending graduate school, he was compelled to study Gregorian Chant, an unaccompanied form of liturgical melody that brought him to the Benedictine monastery in Spencer County, Indiana, for two weeks during every year of his doctorate program.
"Here, I have a counterpart a few hundred feet up the hill," said Dr. Thress, from his office in Bede Hall, adjacent to the Sacred Heart Monastery. He joined Mount Marty as its assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at the start of the academic year. "I get to enter into and support this community in a hands-on way that's exciting and meaningful."
According to Dr. Thress, Mount Marty's monastic rhythm comes in the form of routine. "We are so interconnected that you pass people in the hallway at the same time, every day," he said. "That's what the [Benedictine] rule is all about—structure with the intention of building a vibrant and resilient and supportive community. And that's what we have here."
But nothing is more familiar than Mount Marty's annual Vespers concert, a long-standing tradition that tells the story of the birth of Christ through scripture and song. And Dr. Thress worked to make its 41st year more traditional than ever.
You say Vespers in Yankton, South Dakota, and everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. |
"This year's program is going back to the beginning," he said. "My colleagues and I have been very conscious in crafting a program that reflects the Catholic and Benedictine inheritance of Mount Marty and Sacred Heart Monastery. We are returning to a structure more closely resembling Vespers as laid out in St. Benedict's Rule 1500 years ago."
"It's about that feeling of awe and that immediate moment you see or hear something so incredibly beautiful and striking that you have no choice but to turn and look," he said. "It's a wonderful way to welcome the larger community up to the Mount, especially in a space that doesn't belong to the university, but to the Sisters."
As Mount Marty prepares to relaunch their music degree next fall, Dr. Thress looks forward to creating new traditions and more opportunities to make music for and with the community. "One of the responsibilities of tradition is finding ways to carry it with us so that it remains meaningful."
Vespers is an annual tradition and was performed on December 9, 2023, at Bishop Marty Chapel in Yankton. You can view the performance on the South Dakota Public Broadcasting website in its entirety here. South Dakota Public Broadcasting will also televise Vespers at 10:00 p.m. CST on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023.
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About Dr. Thress
A lifelong church musician, Dr. Thress' academic interest began in sacred music as a graduate student at North Park University in Chicago. Since 2018, he has been a frequent attendee at Gregorian Chant workshops hosted by St. Meinrad Archabbey, a Benedictine community in southern Indiana. He has also attended various workshops hosted by Orthodox Christian organizations, and regularly sings and conducts in a wide variety of liturgical settings.
ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.