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Venue: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (UNL Newman Center) Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as the music coordinator and one of the vocalists. I met with couple to discuss all their music choices, which instruments would play on which song, and offer my insight on various parts of the Mass. I then got in touch with the other four musicians, which were all friends/family of the couple, and made sure they had all the music they needed, sent them practice videos, and made sure they knew when and where rehearsal would be before the ceremony. My "Save-the-Day" Moment: Due to the Coronavirus, things didn't go quite as planned... originally Mark and Morgan were supposed to get married on April 18th and have a choir of four people with an organist, pianist, and guitarist, but because of the 10-person limit on gatherings all that changed, and with only three days notice I was able to attend as their 10th person without even an accompanist, and so I provide all the vocal music a cappella, and used recordings for the instrumental music. I arrived at the ceremony an hour and a half early to do a sound check with the venue's live-streaming equipment and met with the priest before the ceremony to discuss any last minute changes. Because their wedding was now taking place during Lent, the main things I had to change (with 30 minutes until the ceremony) was changing the Celtic Alleluia to the Lenten "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ..." and rewriting the the acclamation verse to fit this setting, and I also had to get creative with the offertory hymn since it had an "alleluia" in the refrain.
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Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Women's Retreat My Role: I was one of vocalists part of the Praise and Worship Team. We led the women in praise and worship songs during the retreat and during adoration. They always comment at the end of the day how much they love the music and that they wish there was more opportunity in the day's schedule for more music. This year I also played a greater role in actually helping set up and making sure that the musicians had all the equipment they needed set up prior to the event. Venue: St. Antoninus Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as music coordinator and soloist. I met with the couple to offer song suggestions and then helped them choose the perfect songs from their first, second, and third choices. I also suggested a collaboration for the offertory hymn with another vocalist who I knew was invited and it turned out beautifully.
Professional photography by John Klare Photography, Cincinnati, Ohio
Location: St. Gerald Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as one of two vocalists and was able to work collaboratively with the pianist to offer song suggestions to the couple. We had a lot of fun working out the music together!
Location: St. James Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as music coordinator and choir director. The couple already knew most of the songs they wanted and I helped make that a reality. They had an SATB choir with 8 singers (including myself) and an organist/pianist. This was a very traditional Mass in terms of music, complete with Gregorian chant Mass parts, traditional polyphonic pieces, as well as the typical hymns. I acquired the sheet music for the musicians and sent out practice videos, in addition to coordinating our rehearsal before the ceremony. This was a hefty line-up, and I made sure that every song fit and was properly featured.
Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as the soloist; the pianist/music coordinator was already hired so all I had to do was show up and sing :)
Location: Sacred Heart Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as music coordinator and choir director. The couple already knew most of the songs they wanted and I helped make that a reality. They had an SATB quartet and organist/pianist. I was able to help them fill the tenor position; the other musicians were friends of the couple. We sang several traditional polyphonic pieces as well as the typical hymns. My "Save-the-Day" Moment: The couple requested that the Kyrie be sung, which is not typical for a wedding, but the priest allowed it. It was supposed to be accompanied, fitting with the Mass parts, but the pianist, not being used to this, missed the cue. Once I realized this I jumped in with the chant before there was an awkward silence and the congregation followed right along without missing a beat.
Location: St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church
Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as the soloist and music coordinator with only three months until the wedding. I worked remotely with the mother of the bride to plan all the music as they were all from Illinois. My "Save-the-Day" Moment: Originally they wanted a family member to play the piano which was fine with me. Two weeks before the wedding, the mother I was working with told me that the family member had not practiced sufficiently and they desperately needed help finding a new pianist. Within 24 hours I was able to secure a pianist from my network who was willing to play the standard Mass parts and typical hymns. It just so happens that I knew how to play the instrumental piece they wanted for the offertory, so I played that piece, and for the prelude pieces they wanted, I found instrumental recordings and played them through the sound system since the church didn't allow "karaoke singing" with recordings.
Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Type of Event: Women's Healing Retreat My Role: I was one of vocalists as part of the Praise and Worship Team. We led the women in praise and worship songs during the retreat and during adoration. They always comment at the end of the day how much they love the music and that they wish there was more opportunity in the day's schedule for more music.
Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Type of Event: Christmas Eve Midnight Mass My Role: I directed the choir for Midnight Mass. I was responsible for choosing the music, creating practice videos for the choir, sending out all music to the choir, and running rehearsals. We sang three prelude hymns in addition to the music for the actual liturgy. Location: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (Newman Center) Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as a vocalist to join the already existing choir. A particularly exciting moment was singing O God Beyond All Praising with the full SATB choir, organ, and cymbals during the recessional! Location: St. John's Parish, Creighton University Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as the music coordinator and solo vocalist. I met with the couple to plan out their music and was able to get music for a few special arrangement requests. I also helped them find a pianist from my network of musicians. My "Save-the-Day" Moment: A month before the wedding, the pianist reached out to me to let me know that she wasn't comfortable with the amount of music she had to learn for a Catholic Mass. I was able to secure a new pianist at the last minute without putting any stress on the couple. Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Catholic Ceremony within a Mass My Role: I was hired as the solo vocalist. The parish pianist/music coordinator was already hired, so all I had to do was show up and sing :)
Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Easter Sunday Mass My Role: I was the cantor for the 7:30am Mass (after singing with the choir at the vigil, mind you). My main responsibility was leading the congregation in singing the hymns, psalms, sequence, and Mass parts. Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Easter Vigil Mass My Role: I was a cantor and section leader for the choir. The Easter Vigil Mass is probably one of, if not the, longest liturgy in the Novus Ordo (modern rite) lasting approximately 2.5-3 hours. There is a lot of singing from the Exultet, hymns, at least three or four psalms, acclamations, Mass parts, and the special rites of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation which have their own songs. It is truly a beautiful liturgy to experience. Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Type of Event: Women's Healing Retreat My Role: I was one of vocalists as part of the Praise and Worship Team. We led the women in praise and worship songs during the retreat and during adoration. They always comment how much they love the music and that they wish there was more opportunity in the day's schedule for more music. Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Type of Event: Confirmation Retreat My Role: I was one of the vocalists for the Praise and Worship Team. We led songs throughout the retreat and during Adoration for the 8th graders preparing for Confirmation. Venue: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (UNL Newman Center) Type of Event: Easter Morning Mass My Role: I was the director for the Easter Morning Choir. I was responsible for working closely with the priest to choose all the music, preparing the music for the choir, and running rehearsal. Venue: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (UNL Newman Center) Type of Event: Carol Fest: A Concert Benefit for Gianna Women's Homes My Role: I was the director for the Christmas Concert Choir. This concert included performances from several different parishes benefitting the Gianna Women's Homes. Our choir sang a variety of music including hymns, motets, and Christmas choral music. I was responsible for choosing the music our choir would sing, sending out music and rehearsal videos, running rehearsals, and coordinating with the director of the event.  Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/HuskerCatholic
Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Type of Event: Easter Vigil Mass My Role: I was a co-director and cantor for the Easter Vigil Choir. The Easter Vigil Mass is probably one of, if not the, longest liturgy in the Novus Ordo (modern rite) lasting approximately 2.5-3 hours. There is a lot of singing from the Exultet, hymns, at least three or four psalms, acclamations, Mass parts, and the special rites of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation which have their own songs. It is truly a beautiful liturgy to experience. Photos: Facebook.com/huskercatholic
Venue: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (UNL) Newman Center
Type of Event: Newman Center Christmas Concert My Role: I was the co-director for the Christmas Concert Choir. I helped to choose the music the choir would perform, helped coordinate small groups that would be performing, helped run rehearsals, made programs, and coordinated with the person in charge of the Newman Center events. The choir sang a variety of music including traditional and non-traditional hymns, and we tried our hand at Vuelie from Frozen which turned out very well. |
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