The Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America voted on June 5, 2018, to unite the Departments of Drama and Art, previously in the School of Arts and Sciences, with the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music to create the new Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art. This new school includes the Department of Music Performance; the Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition; the Department of Drama; and the Department of Art.
The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art unites programs that are by nature creative and collaborative to inaugurate an exciting new dynamic focus on the visual and performing arts at Catholic University.
Faculty and staff gathered to welcome the Class of 2023 to Catholic University at Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Many Catholic University students expanded their educational experience through outstanding summer internships in places like Paris, Cape Town, Dublin, Fairbanks, and New York.
All first-year students admitted to the Studio Art and Art History majors are eligible to compete for the $20,000 Karen Laub-Novak Art and Faith Scholarship.
Already Oscar buzz is building for a new Hollywood feature film with a major connection to
Catholic University.
An alumnus of our music program recently unveiled portraits he completed of former deans of the music school.
Many of our students find the freedom and support to take diverse paths simultaneously.
Best of both worlds — individual musical instruction, and freedom to explore diverse academic subjects
Our students are involved in numerous on and off-campus productions. With approximately 100 student organizations, students have the chance to explore all their interests.
Our location in Washington, D.C., enables our students to use the city as their classroom.
Leo Nestor, D.M.A., K.S.G.It is with a heavy heart that the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art announces the news that Professor Emeritus Leo Cornelius Nestor, conductor, composer, and teacher, died in the early morning hours on Sunday, September 22. Dr. Nestor was Professor Emeritus of Choral and Sacred Music at Catholic University. He officially came to Catholic University in 2001 and retired in 2016 after having been the Justine Bayard Ward Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music, member of the conducting faculty, and co-operating member of the composition faculty. His relationship with the University started in 1984 when Dr. Nestor began serving as the Music Director at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Upon being hired at the Basilica, he was commissioned by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music to compose the cantata for chorus, soloists, and orchestra, In the Fullness of Time, which was premiered by the Choir of the Basilica and choirs and orchestra from the School of Music during the Christmas season of 1984. That same year Dr. Nestor initiated the tradition of commissioning a carol from a CUA graduate student or faculty composer to be premiered at the Annual Christmas Concert for Charity. After accompanying the CUA Choir and Orchestra on a pilgrimage to Rome as guest conductor and conducting the student musicians in the Verdi Te Deum at the Kennedy Center, both in 1987, the combined Christmas tradition between the Basilica and the University began in 1988. He recounted his affection for this collaboration throughout the time he served as Music Director at the Basilica and Professor at the University in this interview from 2015.
In addition to his work at the Basilica and CUA he composed music for four papal visits to the U.S., and he was on the drafting committee for the U.S. bishops’ 2007 document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship. Dr. Nestor was a founding member of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, and he served the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as musical advisor to the Secretariat for Divine Worship. In recognition of his lifetime of musical service to the Catholic Church, he was named a papal knight by Pope Francis. The honor was bestowed upon him in 2016 when he was inducted as a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great. Dr. Nestor’s complete bio is available here: Leo Nestor
Leo’s works are performed frequently throughout the United States and Europe. Highlights include the fortieth anniversary Kennedy Center celebration of The Washington Chorus; Strengthen for Service (2007) for the installation of Rev. William Byrne, St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, Leo’s own parish; and This Is The Hour of Banquet and of Song (chorus and orchestra, 2010), premiered at the Mass of installation of CUA president John Garvey, among many other commissions for notable occasions across the nation.
Leo always worked his students to their fullest potential, and was loved by them all. In recent days, social media has been abound with stories and quotes of Leo’s by former students memorializing the truly wonderful impact he had on generations of choral singers. He will be truly missed by all who were lucky enough to learn from and work with him.
Please pray for the repose of Leo’s soul and for his family and loved ones. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.