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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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. 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. |
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