The Singing Dancing Catholic

St. Louis violinist Adrian Walker shares how encounters with master musicians and idols -- including film score legend John Williams -- influence one's decision to pursue excellence in music.

St. Patrick's Day Special: Florissant native, founder of the St. Drostan Whiskey Club, and father of seven, Patrick Daub shares how Irish music invokes strength and resilience for his sons and daughters in a world of coddling and soft parenting while still communicating deeply with the emotions and soul.

This is not your typical high school choir. VoxUna (Latin for "one voice") unites students from excellence-driven, single-gender high schools in St. Louis. Founder and director Addie Akin shares how this youth chorale became artist-in-residence to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis while forging inroads between parochial schools.

So much more than dance lessons, "Waltzing Wednesdays" is Oratorio's newest ongoing social event for adult men and women in St. Louis. Participants receive a multi-session course in vintage ballroom dancing while also connecting with others across a wide range of interests and backgrounds. In this episode, listen to the course instructor, dance caller, and published author, Anna Kalinowska describe the course offerings and how you can participate.

Is it just shrewd commercialism that has elevated full-length feature film to the dignity of a shared cultural experience, or is there something inherent in the medium, that is, the art of filmmaking, that not only puts “butts in seats,” but resonates emotions, stimulates imagination, and even competes for souls with liturgy and worship?     

St. Louis architect, culinary enthusiast, and socialite Scott Varian shares how community flourishes from localized customs through the collaborative revival of Three Flags Day, a forgotten holiday peculiar to St. Louis.

Has hyper-globalization caused people to miss villages and towns? St. Louis dramatist Nicholas Rao, acting director of the Benton Dramatical Club, shows how reviving an old-world theatrical club in Fox Park, St. Louis has drawn people out of streaming, YouTube, and death scrolling.

St. Louis local producer and actor Owen Brown has discovered that virtuous art draws more than just religious enthusiasts. From starting a ⁠theater company⁠ in 2025 devoted to promoting the good, beautiful, and true to collaborating with ⁠Oratorio⁠ on a Performance Exhibition at St. Francis de Sales Oratory in Fox Park, Brown shares how his theater-entrepreneurship provides a way forward for writers, actors, and musicians seeking an alternative to morally bankrupt entertainment jobs.