Oremus (which means 'Let us Pray' in Latin) was formed in early 2004 by two brothers, Chris and Tom Reitz.

Chris and Tom have been performing music together since childhood, including singing in their parish's classical choir. Paul Schultz of GrapeVine Magazine says "the harmonic blending of Chris’ tenor and Tom’s bass-baritone [is] an effective combination". The voices are backed by Tom's keyboard and Chris' guitar and bass, on which Oremus has relied since their debut.

Oremus' first album (self-titled Oremus) was released in 2006. It featured a number of 'original compositions including “Solid State Symphony,” an ambitious 13-minute experiment in techno presented in four parts' (Paul Schultz, GrapeVine Magazine), as well as several Catholic hymns and a few Praise and Worship songs.

The Song of Benedict was released in 2007. The song begins with the Pope talking to his people: "Speaking from my window / hope someone will hear / Listen to the Truth, now, / Romans, lend me your ear." This theme of the importance of truth is continued in the second verse where Pilate asks Jesus, "Tell me what is Truth...if it costs you your head?"

Both albums are available through CD Baby and iTunes.

Oremus began when Tom and Chris wrote 'Your Face' (Oremus, 2006). 'Come Back' (Oremus, 2006) followed shortly after. At their first performance in August 2004, they were picked up by Catholic broadcaster Brian Kelly, who interviewed and publicized them on Madison's Relevant Radio, and booked several other performances for the band.

The band was formed in response to Pope John Paul II's call for a 'New Evangelization.' John Paul said "If the Church holds back from culture, the Gospel itself will fall silent." To this end, Oremus tries to renew and reclaim the image of modern music as a beautiful and creative art form, rather than as a medium for rebellion or for the culture of death.

Oremus has been featured by several Catholic bloggers, including Mark Shea, Why yes, I do believe something, actually, and Catholic Mom. They have been played on Catholic Jukebox, Sacred Heart Radio and Relevant Radio, and have been written about in the Madison Catholic Herald, Catholic Music Zine, GrapeVine Magazine, Catholic News Service and Catholic PR Wire. Oremus has fans from over 50 countries and 42 US states.

about our equipment

Chris does guitar, bass, vocals, studio engineering, and some piano. Recording is done on a custom-built Linux workstation which is described in the equipment page. Chris uses a Gibson electric guitar with Elixir Electric strings, a Godin Seagull with Elixir Acoustic strings, and am Ibanez GSR200 bass.

Chris is currently Director of Operations of KFHC 88.1FM in Sioux City, Iowa. In his spare time, he works for Reitz Internetand plays tennis, baseball, basketball and footbag.

more: Chris on Facebook email Chris Chris' website

Tom does keyboard, piano, drums and vocals. He uses a Yamaha PSR-series keyboard and a refurbished Mason and Hamlin vertical piano from the late 1800's.

Tom is a Senior at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is currently studying Computer Science. In his spare time (what is spare time?), he programs in C, Java, HTML, Javascript, PHP and MySQL. Tom is currently the webmaster for Oremus, as well as an engineering consulting firm W-ERC.

more: Tom on Facebook email Tom Tom's website