John
Osterhagen

 
ailing from Saint Louis, Missouri, John Osterhagen is a graduate of Chicago's Columbia College. He focused the early portion of his musical career on vocal performance and learned composition through self-study and practical application. His family nurtured in him a deep and personal love of the music of the Church. He found a passion for singing and developed a deep affinity with sacred music, particularly Gregorian chant.

During his training with the professional choral ensemble, The Schola Cantorum of Saint Peter the Apostle, a group dedicated to the study and preservation of music of both the Roman and Eastern Churches, John developed his love of chant. A large portion of his composorial output is informed by it; either directly, or through more subtle techniques. His music has been described as "heavenly" and "intoxicated with sound."

At Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, John serves as a soloist and section leader. This parish is acknowledged to have one of the strongest choral traditions in Chicago. Its director, Paul French, continues a great tradition of choral singing begun by the late William Ferris. Mr. Osterhagen has composed a number of pieces which have been debuted by the choir, some of which have become favorites of the group, including Attende Domine.

Mr. Osterhagen is a professional tenor/counter-tenor and appears frequently with Bella Voce, a Chicago choral ensemble. Other groups with which he appears as both a member and soloist include The Chicago Choral Artists, Musicam Sacram and The William Ferris Chorale. Mr. Osterhagen is also the composer-in-residence and a founding member of the Saint Cecilia Consort, a semi-professional recorder consort and early music ensemble in Chicago.

CanticaNOVA Publications is pleased to offer John Osterhagen's music in our catalog:

• Attende Domine [SATB choir and soloist] CNP Catalog #5004