Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 10, 2018

This Saturday is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks for the great music last week! Everything flowed pretty well, and we had a larger-than-usual crowd due to the Superbowl. As Father pointed out, the harmony on several songs was quite nice :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 3, 2018

This Saturday is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks for another solid Mass last week! It was great to be nearly at full staff again. I would say that Blest Are They (here) was our standout piece for the evening.

Father hasn't been feeling well, so he really wanted to keep things moving along. After cutting the Gloria/Creed and doing a short Homily, we finished Mass in a record 45 minutes (even with a larger crowd).

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 27, 2018

This Saturday is the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks for another successful Mass last Saturday! I especially liked how well the Psalm (here) and Closing song (here) turned out. For the latter, the change in tempo during verse three was a fun addition and seemed to work well.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 20, 2018

This Saturday is the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks for another solid Mass last week! We were down a few people, but didn't really run into any issues. As always, I appreciate everyone's willingness to step up and fill in the gaps. I'm also glad the weather decided to cooperate -- having to come up with a contingency plan would have made things a bit...interesting.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 13, 2018

This Saturday is the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks for another solid Mass last week! I especially liked how Lord, Every Nation (here) turned out. We've had trouble integrating piano in the past, but everything seemed to blend together well this go around. Here I Am, Lord (here) also had some great harmony -- we'll be revisiting this song later in the month.

With Epiphany behind us, the Christmas Season has officially come to an end (I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!). This week, we return to Ordinary Time until the start of Lent in mid-February.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 6, 2018

This Saturday is the Feast of the Epiphany.

Thanks for another great year of music! We've had our fair share of challenges and changes over the past 12 months, but I think we're steadily moving in the right direction. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2018 holds. Again, if you have any thoughts on things you'd like to see us do, please let me know.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 30, 2017

This Saturday is the Feast of the Holy Family.

We did it! Christmas Eve Mass was a huge success! Once again, thanks to all who were able to sing, play and/or lend your technical skills. Despite some last-minute changes (new Parish Hall setup and Children's Program, anyone?), Mass flowed exceptionally well. The music was fun, energetic and beautiful, and I hope you all enjoyed making it! If you'd like to see how any of our songs turned out, check out a shared folder HERE with all the recordings.

I also wanted to pass along compliments from the 11 AM instrumentalists regarding Saturday Mass on 12/23. We had quite a few Sunday morning folks in attendance due to the Christmas Mass schedule. Nice job :-)

Songs & Updates for December 23 & 24, 2017

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALL!

As you know, this weekend, we're covering Masses for the 4th Sunday of Advent (12/23) and Christmas Eve. Apologies for the long, messy post, but just want to make sure we're all on the same page. Please read carefully and let me know if any questions.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 16, 2017

This Saturday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

Thanks for bearing with my concert schedule last week! It was a fun performance, and coming to Mass in tux-like attire is always interesting :-)

We were light on musicians and rehearsal was a bit rushed (apologies for not quite having it together), but there weren't any major issues.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 9, 2017

This Saturday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

Thanks to everyone who was able to be at Mass last week! Even with a small group and everything that was going on, we didn't run into any issues. Special thanks to Denise (11 AM Choir) for agreeing to play on short-notice -- she and I ended up tag-teaming it, mainly due to differences in how music is lead/managed at our two Masses.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 2, 2017

This Saturday is the 1st Sunday of Advent.

Thanks for a very solid piano Mass last week! We ended up having a couple more instrumentalists out than anticipated. Things balanced out well, though, with a large group of singers and several people on the choir/guitar mics. We may also have a new person interested in singing with us.

Bev, Ginny, Lisa and I stuck around after Mass for a bite to eat and to run some Advent music. We touched on several of the new/less-familiar pieces, as well as one song for Christmas. I wouldn't mind scheduling an additional practice on 12/09 to work out a few more details.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 21, 2015

This Saturday is the Solemnity of Christ the King.

We where a bit short on instrumentalists last week, but Mass went pretty well. Thanks as always to everyone who was able to be there!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 14, 2015

This Saturday is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I was out last week due to a concert, so I don't have too many updates. Jim had a change in plans and reports that "[Saturday] night went very well. Jon, Maggie, Joe and I were there with a bunch of singers".

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 7, 2015

This Saturday is the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We where nearly at full staff last Saturday and Mass went very smoothly. Thanks to everyone who was able to be there!

Tom and I met at 4 PM to review Mass Parts and the music for the liturgy, something we may end up doing somewhat regularly for a while. Feel free to come early and join us if there's something specific you'd like to look at before rehearsal.

On Sunday, Jonathan and I, as well as folks from the 11 AM choir and religious education classes, performed in what turned out to be a pretty successful talent show as part of Father's Stewardship Kickoff event. It was also hinted at that the talent show may become an annual event, so just something to keep an eye out for if you're interested in performing.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 31, 2015

This Saturday is the Solemnity of All Saints.

We where pretty thin on musicians last week, with many of our key players and singers out. Thanks once again to Tom and Joe for taking point on most of the songs, and for all the singers who where able to make it!

We also had the chance to work with singer/songwriter and inspirational speaker Jesse Manibusan, who was at Good Shepherd to to run both a morning retreat and evening presentation/concert. Jesse ended up leading us in singing our Offertory song, 'Open My Eyes', and also performed a post-Communion meditation piece, 'Sacred Silence'. It was a true pleasure to have him with us for the evening!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 24, 2015

This Saturday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Most of our regular instrumentalists where out last week -- huge thanks to Jonathan for coming back to cover guitar, and Joe for taking several intros on soprano sax!

Mass overall went pretty smoothly -- the only notable issue was Ginny and I both had trouble with the beginning of the third verse of the psalm, but Jonathan and Father where able to help us out.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 17, 2015

This Saturday is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We where missing a couple of instrumentalists last week, but ended up having a full section of singers. Thanks as always to everyone who was able to make it, and especially to Tom for covering guitar solo!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 10, 2015

This Saturday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Mass last week went pretty well. Thanks as always to everyone who was able to be there!

Tom, Lisa K. and I stick around after Mass to look at the songs for this week. The songs for October are still pending approval, but what I picked for this week is below. I'll let you know if there are any changes.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 3, 2015

This Saturday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Mass last week went pretty well. The only real issue we had was some confusion over how to end the Offertory song, 'I Will Choose Christ'. It doesn't seem to work particularly well for Offertory (the key changes make it difficult to end the piece early), so I'll try to refrain from using it for that in the future.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, September 26, 2015

This Saturday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Mass went pretty well last week -- thanks as always to everyone who was able to be there!