Pam McInerney, Music Director of St. Catherine of Siena, has penned this week’s column for Fr. Rob. Here’s an update from Pam on the music ministry at St. Catherine’s, and her exciting summer plans!
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!
Greetings one and all from the choir loft! On behalf of our many singers and instrumentalists, thank you for your beautiful voices and hands lifted in song and sign at our liturgies! The last time I wrote an article for the bulletin, it was August of 2021, and I was letting you know that we would need to silence our voices again due to the unknown impact of the then-emerging Delta variant of Covid. How long ago that seems (thank you, Jesus)! I can’t always hear you well from behind the piano, but I absolutely feel your joyous participation during some of our favorite songs!
Which reminds me: did you know that you can request a song to be used at Mass? You can, and several people have! You can leave a message for me at the church office (624-4990) or email me (pamela.mcinerney@dor.org). Or, you can also visit our website (www.saintcath.org) and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a link that says “Weekend Music and Request a Song for Mass.” Just click on this link to fill in the form online and it’ll be sent to me! If you happen to have the Gather or Spirit & Song number, please include this as sometimes a song title will have a couple different versions. Thanks!
Speaking of technology, have you noticed how many of our choir members are now using iPads to sing and play from at Mass? At this point in time, we have nearly a dozen members who have bravely made the leap to the digital world of sheet music! You might be wondering why we have done this…well, it really comes down to making things as easy as possible for our wonderful choir members to give their musical gifts. Juggling three or four different books is stressful and can make folks focus more on the next book that is needed instead of being present to the Mass itself. We heartily thank an anonymous donor for the gift that let us buy our first five iPads for the music ministry. I am extremely thankful for this, and for the bravery of all of our members who have willingly hopped onto the wild ride that technology can be!
You might notice that I’ll be away from the piano bench for a few weekends this month and into the beginning of August. No cause for alarm, I assure you! Our family will be celebrating the marriage of our oldest daughter, and then our whole family will be gathering in Finland. “Finland?!” Yep! God has richly blessed me with the opportunity to work with some beautiful faculty at the Eastman School of the Music in conjunction with my position as music teacher at the Rochester School for the Deaf. As a result, we collaborated to do some research this past school year and we have been invited to present our findings at the International Society for Music Education conference in Helsinki. (I have to pinch myself every time I think about this!) If you have travelled to Helsinki and have any tips to share, I’d love to hear them!
Though Christmas may feel very far away, we’re beginning to plan for a possible Christmas concert as well as the Christmas Eve liturgies! I know that the fall will rush by, but I hope that we all take the time to await with joyous hope the quiet birth of our Savior, whose salvation would rock the very foundation of our world…laying so small in his parents’ loving arms. O come (together every weekend), let us adore Him, (our) Christ the Lord (in prayerful, moving, and joyous song and sign)!
See you soon in the chat box on Sundays for our livestream community, or from the piano bench on Saturdays and Sundays. Sing out, earth and skies!
Pam McInerney
Music Director at St. Catherine of Siena