To help parishes enhance the sacredness of their liturgies, the diocese’s director of music has outlined initiatives that he hopes to implement in the coming year.
Dr. Richard Fitzgerald, who also serves as the director of music and as an organist at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, was appointed by Bishop Earl Fernandes last fall to take on additional duties at the diocesan level to guide and unify music directors and musicians in parishes.
Fitzgerald took the first step toward that goal with a Gold Mass for musicians on Nov. 18 at the cathedral, bringing together approximately 75 choir leaders and singers from throughout the diocese to rehearse and participate in an ensemble at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Fernandes.
“I think it’s imperative that we establish some sense of community and an outlet for all musicians within the diocese to come together and share ideas and resources, and to have a sense of camaraderie and feel a little less isolated,” Fitzgerald said.
“There’s a sense of isolation in parishes because we’re all so busy, and then COVID made us more isolated.”
Sacred music that enhances the Mass was one of the bishop’s directives to Fitzgerald and Father Paul Keller, OP, the interim director of the diocese’s Office for Divine Liturgy, when he appointed them to the diocesan positions last year.
“We’re following the bishop’s initiative on what he would like liturgical music to be,” Fitzgerald said, “which is very much in line with Church teaching on music. We’re trying to establish some parameters.”
In addition to providing musical resources, Fitzgerald plans to offer diocesan organist and vocal training programs in the future.
The organist training program, which could begin as early as this fall, will be led by Amanda Renée Mole, the cathedral’s principal organist and assistant director of music, with the help of other skilled church organists in the diocese who have received formal training on the instrument.
“She’s imminently qualified,” Fitzgerald said. “She has a great concert career and she’s an excellent pedagogue, and I think she’s the perfect person for this.”
Fitzgerald envisions candidates for the program to be anyone with some piano background who has interest in playing the organ. In particular, he would like to encourage “teenagers who have had piano training that maybe want to get a foot in the door.”
Finding qualified organists can be a struggle for parishes. Oftentimes, organists are self-taught and have never received formal instruction. The program would be open to them as well.
“The lessons would be sponsored by the parish and sponsored in part by the diocese,” Fitzgerald said. “And it would include not just the teaching but materials.”
“We want to make it as convenient as possible for the students, and so I would imagine that most of the training would happen in the parishes. That being said, we’d also love to expose them to the organ at the cathedral, which is a great instrument to teach on.
“The goal is to promulgate the organ as the primary instrument of the Mass and to train people to become good church organists, not necessarily concert organists.”
A similar vocal training program would be geared toward choir members and cantors who would like to improve their singing but haven’t had formal training.
Fitzgerald has asked Dawn Beckman, a professional singer and member of the cathedral’s schola and a cantor there, to be the primary instructor for voice.
One of the differences between the vocal and organ programs would be the possibility of group settings with voice training.
“Possibly five to 10 people working on the same thing at the same time with each other,” Fitzgerald said.
His hope is to get the voice and cantor training off the ground by this fall “with the same idea of creating a network of teachers, with the teaching going on mostly in the parishes.”
“I imagine there are many choir members who have never had formal training in music reading and/or vocal technique, and my hope is that a vocalist training program would give them some outlet to learn and to improve their ministry.”
In addition to the voice classes, Fitzgerald plans to continue to offer what he calls a one-day crash course in liturgical chant at the cathedral in late summer that’s open to anyone.
“Last year is the first time we did it, and we got a good response,” he said. “There were people from the community who participated.”
Also in the planning stages is an annual one-day retreat for church musicians and priests that likely will take place in the summer at the cathedral.
The agenda would include a keynote talk possibly given by Bishop Fernandes, workshops on techniques and other topics, repertoire, singing through various pieces, liturgical planning, sacred music and a closing Mass or Vespers service.
“People coming together to share different experiences is of great value.” Fitzgerald said. “It’s opportunities such as these that help us to learn the bishop’s desires in relation to sacred music for the Mass.”