Friday, September 03, 2010

Music Ministry Staff
Vince Zaprzal has served as Music Coordinator since December of 2004. Vince also directs the Adult Choir and is the Accompanist for Children's Cherub Choir.

Sister Christine Baker, SSSF joined the Music Ministry in May of 2006 as Adult Choir Accompanist & Music Substitute.

Julia Bray joined the Music Ministry in December of 2004. Julia serves as the Children's Cherub Choir Director & Weekend Cantor.

Cathy Gunther has cantored on and off for many years at St. Catherine's. Cathy joined the Music Ministry as Cantor in December of 2004.

Julie Ratschan is the 11am Ensemble Coordinator. The group leads music at the 11am Liturgy from September through May.

Adult Choir Update (7/18/10)
News from the Music Corner...

A special thank you goes out to all of the Choir members who participated in Fr. Al Salera's Appreciation Mass as well as Sister Mary Helen's 70th Anniversary Mass! Even after the Choir season ended in May, the committed members of the choir come back for these special celebrations during the summer! THANK YOU for all that you do!

A summer note...Over the next several weeks, Julia and/or myself will be taking some time off. On Saturday, August 7, I will be getting married! My fiance Sarah and I are very excited! From August 6 - August 18, Sister Chris will be on call for all Masses including funerals. I thank you for your continued prayers. Please know that you are in mine as well.

News from the Music Corner (Sunday 4/18/10 Bulletin)
A special thank you goes out to all of the choir members and musicians who made our Holy Week so special here at SCL. It is through their hard work and dedication that we continue to sound better all the time. New members are welcome to join anytime. Please contact me for more information.

DID YOU HEAR WHAT I HEARD?... Throughout Lent, we used the chant setting to the Lord's Prayer. It sounded great to have such a full church singing that prayer Sunday after Sunday. Imagine how uplifting it would be if every hymn and song sounded like that! Please do not be afraid to sing out--everyone sounds great! Please feel free to participate in our song by opening up your green Gather hymnal. Even if you do not know how to read music, you can at least listen and follow along with the words until you feel comfortable to join in. As St. Augustine said, "Those who sing pray twice."

Church Sound System Article
Over the past several weeks, Father Maina and I have met with a few sound engineers to give us an evaluation of our current sound system. Some of them have even tweaked our system to what you have been hearing in the last couple of weeks. As I sit at the piano, it is hard for me to hear what other people are hearing or are not hearing so at times you will see me walking around the back of church during the homily to hear what those hear in the back of the Church.

The two white speakers at the back doors of the Church are currently turned off. The big speakers above the Altar have the ability to reach the back of the church. However, when this happens there is nothing in the back of the church to absorb the sound, so the sound bounces back off of the windows and brick. When the two white speakers were on, they were adding a second sound to what you were hearing because they were set to a delay, therefore giving those who sit in the back of the church a rather interesting assortment of sound and speech that was unable to be understandable.

The microphone at the Ambo (the reader) has been turned up since Holy Week and seems to be making a big difference. The Lector however needs to remember to speak into the microphone closely and slowly.

All of the Priests have been asked to wear the wireless microphone so they can be heard better, especially whenever at the Altar.

The one thing however that we cannot control are hearing aids. Every now and then you may hear a ringing sound. Most of the time it is NOT our sound system, but someone's hearing-aid going off because their battery may need to be replaced. This is something that we can hear but the person wearing the hearing-aid can not.

Is the system perfect, NO! Is it better, YES! Please also understand that I have dated a few of the parts older than me! Please feel free to let Fr. Maina or myself know what you are hearing (or not hearing). We will keep everyone posted as to future improvements.

Music Schedule for September 2010


9/4: 5pm: Vince & Cathy
9/5: 8am: Vince & Laura Matthews
9:30am: Vince & Laura Matthews
11am: Vince & Laura Matthews

9/11: 5pm: Vince & Julia
9/12: 8am: Vince & Julia
9:30am: Vince & Julia
11am: Vince & Julia

9/18: 5pm: Vince & Julia (Cherub Children's Choir)
9/19: 8am: Vince & Julia
9:30am: Vince & Julia
11am: TBA

9/25: 5pm: Vince & TBA
9/26: 8am: Vince & Julia
9:30am: Vince & Adult Choir
11am: TBA