REETINGS! My name is Jeff Ostrowski, and I am the director and founder of the POPE BENEDICT SINGERS. The best way to learn about me is to visit: PERSONAL. However, a brief sketch is provided below. The various projects mentioned are detailed HERE. My love is music, and has been music for as long as I can remember. At age seven, I started private studio lessons. From this time on, I spent much time studying such masters as Chopin, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Mozart (in other words, "mainstream" classical music). My special interest during this time was the "golden age" of historical pianism: Hofmann, Godowski, Friedman, Rachmaninoff, etc.

I entered the University of Kansas in 2000 on scholarship as a piano major. However, in 2002, I injured my shoulder, due to an excessive amount of daily practice (about 6-7 hours). Since that time, I have not played a single virtuoso work of piano music.

I switched my major to Music Theory, and was therefore able to pursue another field: the ANCIENT SACRED MUSIC of the Catholic church. I had already been singing Gregorian chant each week for years, and in addition to studying chant, I began to learn about the A CAPELLA POLYPHONY of the Renaissance. In addition to my private studies of renaissance music (which included transcribing hundreds of pages of polyphonic scores), I sang in the University of Kansas Collegium Musicum for three years, which was a select ensemble dedicated to the performance of Renaissance and Baroque music.

During four my years of undergraduate and one year of graduate studies, I always made time for various musical projects. For example, I produced and directed three CD's, which involved many professional musicians as well as amateurs. Making these CD's gave me valuable experience not only in singing and conducting, but also in the realms of digital mastering and post-production. My CD's have sold and continue to sell all over the world (including Belgium, the UK, Italy, and Sweden).