Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 4, 2014

Happy New Year, all!

This Saturday is The Epiphany of the Lord.

We didn't rehearse last week, so I don't have much in the way of updates.

Wednesday is the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Masses are being held Tuesday night at 5:30 PM and Wednesday morning at 9 AM. I believe Barb's group is covering the former while Anne's choir is covering the ladder (if anyone wants to join them).

Songs for Saturday, December 28, 2013

Note: not posted or emailed out until after the fact due to an Internet outage at my house.

This final Saturday of the year is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the holiday!

Thank you all for a great Christmas Eve mass on Tuesday, and for all your hard work in putting it together! Things seemed to go very smoothly despite all our concerns with the tight schedule. As some of you know, Karina and I worked the 4 PM Children's mass as well, which ended up being pretty crazy (the Church was well over capacity), but lots of fun.

Songs for Tuesday, December 24, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALL!

As you know, we're covering the 5:30 PM Christmas Eve mass. In addition, I've been helping with the planning and coordination of the 4:00 PM Children's Mass. Karina and I will be staying through for both services. I just wanted to put out a few quick notes before we get too far into the holiday week (usual weekly updates for Saturday mass will be posted later).

Since the four weeks of Advent are behind us, we'll resume singing the Gloria starting this Tuesday. Also, as per Father's memo, there will be no Psalm and we're only to do enough music to 'cover the action'. I believe, however, we're still in need of someone to cover the Alleluia - any takers? I'll cover the Alleluia since I had a chance to learn the Christmas verse at a rehearsal earlier this afternoon.

Songs for Saturday, December 21, 2013

This Saturday is the Fourth (and final) Sunday of Advent.

Since we weren't at mass, I really don't have much in the way of updates, just a few event reminders.

The folks from the 11:00 mass are covering the Community Penance Service this Tuesday, 12/17, at 7 PM. Several of their core group members are out, so feel free to join them in singing.

In addition, the Christmas Tree Decorating Party (also coordinated by the 11:00 group) is being held this Saturday (12/21) at 10 AM. This is a very informal event in which we play/sing Christmas music while the kids decorate the tree. Karina and I are planning to be there, so feel free join in the fun as well.

Songs for Saturday, December 14, 2013

This Saturday is the Third Sunday of Advent.

Nice job at mass last week -- 'Comfort, Comfort' seemed to go fairly well, as did our Communion medley. We once again forgot to sort out the Alleluia and 'Bring Forth' before mass, so we ended up scrambling to figure that out last-minute. With that being said, who would be interested in covering the Alleluia this week and the 'Bring Forth' cantor parts? Michaela has the Psalm covered.

We discussed a few changes to our Christmas Eve mass plans, as per Father's memo from a few weeks ago. Basically, the goal is to keep mass under an hour and only play enough music to 'cover the action'. Of note, we're dropping one of our preludes -- we'll be retaining 'O Holy Night', while getting rid of 'Angles We Have Heard on High'. There will be no Psalm, but we'll be keeping our two planned Communion hymns (on the assumption that there will be wall-to-wall people). Finally, the distribution of oplatki has been moved from Christmas Eve to the Forth Sunday of Advent to save time. Regardless of how we approach this, it's gonna be (very) tight, but we'll give it a shot and hope for the best.

We also reviewed 'O Come, Divine Messiah', our opening on the 22nd that will be sung in parts. We worked on Jim's version of 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' and learned parts for 'Silent Night', both of which are Communion songs for Christmas Eve.

Songs for Saturday, December 7, 2013

This Saturday is the Second Sunday of Advent.

The Church was rearranged last week so that the Choir section is now facing the congregation at a 45-degree angle, eliminating our space issue. Also, the section immediately adjacent to us (on the right side) was merged with our sections, whilst the section to the left of the Sanctuary was also angled outward. The Sanctuary itself was reconfigured with the Alter now in the center and the presider and deacon choirs on the left side, angled towards the center of the room.

Songs for Saturday, November 30, 2013

This Saturday is the 1st Sunday of Advent, and the beginning of a new Church liturgical year.

We were not at mass last week, but I do have a few updates (OK...more than just a few...).

Jonathan will be late (5:30-ish), so we're going to attempt to pull together the Communion Meditation (an arrangement of 'Each Winter as the Year Grows Older') before mass on our own (it looks like I'll be heading that). It's somewhat faster and features dedicated sax, flute, and piano (Jonathan) parts. I'd at least like to give this a shot, but if we find that it's not working, we can drop it entirely.

Songs for Saturday, November 23, 2013

This Saturday is the Feast of Christ the King.

At practice last week, we went over several songs for Advent. First, we took a quick peek at Jonathan's new arrangement of 'Each Winter as the Year Grows Older'. It's now a slow-building piece with dedicated sax, flute, and piano parts.

Songs for Saturday, November 16, 2013

This Saturday is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We had a visiting priest last Saturday in Father Charlie's absence -- he requested we play a patriotic song due to Veteran's Day, so we created a sped-up arrangement of 'America the Beautiful' as our warm-up song.

Additionally, Father Charlie unexpectedly switched us from using Eucharistic Acclamation 'When We Eat This Bread' to 'Save Us, Savior of the World'. We'll be using 'Save Us' for the remainder of Ordinary Time (this week and next) before switching to Mass of Joy & Peace in December.

Songs for Saturday, November 9, 2013

This Saturday is the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last week, we practiced after mass to review the music for November. We also crashed through Mass of Joy & Peace to re-familiarize ourselves, since we'll be using that setting throughout Advent and Christmas.

Starting this week, we're back to having regular, weekly practices, although the dinner situation is still up-in-the-air (Jim has it covered this week, though). Please stick around if you can (we've been averaging an 8:30 finish time). We'll focus on our Advent/Christmas music and Mass of Joy & Peace for the remainder of this year, before resuming several uncompleted projects in January.

Songs for Saturday, November 2, 2013

This Saturday is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We should be at full staff this week with Barry, Jonathan, and Karina all being back.

We decided to push back our usual end-of-month practice to this week -- please stick around after mass if you can. Jonathan will be bringing dinner this time, but it would be good to discuss how we want to handle future practices and meals going into winter.

Songs for Saturday, October 26, 2013

This coming Saturday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Karina should be back this week. On the other hand, Jonathan won't be available until next Saturday, 11/2. Barry is also out this week.

The music for November has been sent out. Please take a look and let me know if you have any issues or objections. If everyone's up to it, I'd like to practice after mass this week to review those tunes (please let me know if you can stay).

Songs for Saturday, October 19, 2013

This Saturday is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Both Jonathan and Karina are out again this week, but should be back next week (10/26). Also, Ginny may or may not make it due to a party; if she does, it won't be until right before mass.

This week, I'm working on putting together our music for November. I should have it ready shortly so you guys will have a chance to look it over before the end of the month.

Songs for Saturday, October 12, 2013

This Saturday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Karina is out this week and next (10/12 & 10/19) due to other commitments. Jonathan is also out the next two weeks in a brief extension of his summer music tour. They should both be back on the 26th.

Songs for Saturday, October 5, 2013

This Saturday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Ginny, Jim, Emily, Lisa K., and I practiced the music for October after mass last week. It's essentially the music we did three years ago with a few minor tweaks. Changes had to be made to this week's music since it's a Baptism, and several Psalms were switched for the rest of the month. I'll plan to cover music selection for November.

Songs for Saturday, September 28, 2013

This Saturday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Karina and I, as well as quite a few others, were not at mass last week. Sources tell me that Jonathan found some rather creative solutions for the lack of instruments, and huge thanks to Paul once more for filling in.

Also last Saturday, I got a message from Chip (I didn't see it in time due to the party we were hosting) saying that he and Kay wouldn't be attending because Kay fell and hurt her foot to the point of not being able to walk. Please keep Kay in your prayers this week.

Songs for Saturday, September 21, 2013

This Saturday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Karina and I will not be at mass this week (due to Karina's birthday party) and Barry is also out. Additionally, Karina is out the following Saturday, 9/28, due to a BEAHS event.

Jim has volunteered to cover music selection for the month of October, so we should be good-to-go there. I'd like to tentatively plan to rehearse music for October after mass on the 28th.

Speaking of that, at some point, would we like to resume weekly or bi-weekly practices now that summer is coming to a close? I think we could all benefit from the extra practice time so we're not constantly scrambling to pull things together before mass. Thoughts?

Songs for Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013

This Saturday is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It was really nice to finally be at full strength last week with both Jim and Barry back! Barry won't be with us this week, though.

Just another reminder that Karina and I won't be at mass next Saturday, Sept. 21st, due to Karina's birthday party (Yup, you heard right, Barry). Karina will also be out the following week, 9/28, due to a BEAHS event.

For anyone who missed the email, Lisa L. let us know that she won't be able to play an active role in the Choir for the next few months due to other commitments. She may be available, though, to fill-in if needed. Lisa also sends her compliments on mass last week -- nice work, all!

Also, do we have any volunteers to cover music selection for October? We're only a month out at this point, and to my knowledge, nothing's been picked yet...

Songs for Saturday, September 7, 2013

This coming Saturday is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jim was out last week, but should be back this week. Jonathan and Paul were present to cover, though (Barry, do you know when you're planning to be back?).

Once again, I don't have much in the way of news this week. First, we begin Barry's music selections for September (anyone know who's planning to pick for October?). Second, don't forget to review the harmony for verse 4 of 'Behold the Cross', which we learned from Jonathan two weeks ago (verse 3 also has harmony if anyone feels energetic :-). Third, the Psalm we're doing as a group, something we haven't done in quite a while.

Songs for Saturday, August 31, 2013

This week is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

For those of you who are unaware (I was asked to keep this need-to-know last week), Jonathan is back in town and joined us for the first time since the beginning of Summer. His schedule is in flux for the next month, though, so we'll play it by ear.

Jim was also back this week, but will be out next week. After that, he should be with us regularly for the remainder of the year. Barry should also be back starting in September.

We also rehearsed after mass to go over Barry's music for September -- I know it's a week early, but I wanted to do this while Jim and Jonathan were available. We learned written harmonies for several pieces (the recordings I sent out yesterday). We also have cantors for both the Psalms and Alleluias assigned through the end of September.

Songs for Saturday, August 24, 2013

Note: starting this week, I'll be sending these blog posts out via email as well as putting them up on the website. This way, we can reduce the number of 'update' emails that go out during the week.

This Saturday is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Michaela's piano-playing on the Alleluia went very smoothly last Saturday, a big improvement over the previous week -- keep up the good work! Also, Luke L. sends his compliments on an exceptionally good mass overall :-)

Thanks to Ginny and Lisa K. for joining us at the ground-breaking vespers service Sunday. Considering the three choirs rarely come together as one, I think we sounded quite good, and I enjoyed the opportunity to cantor for so many people (there are plenty of photos up on Facebook if you missed the event). A new chapter begins in the history of the Parish, and I'm happy we were able to be part of it. Also check out the article in today's CDT.

Songs for Saturday, August 17, 2013

This Saturday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last Saturday, Zach showed up unexpectedly and we found out it was his last night playing with us before heading off to college. Since we didn't have time to plan anything (we had talked about throwing a party or something), I ended up just saying a few words at the end of mass. Huge thanks to Zach for all his contributions to the group over the past several years, and we wish him well in his future endeavors. It's been fun and a pleasure working with him, and Zach's bass guitar playing has added a truly unique flare to our music.

Also last Saturday, Michaela played piano for us for the first time on the Alleluia. It ended up being a bit rocky, but considering it was her first time playing 'with people', it was a good start. Nice work, Michaela!

Songs for Saturday, August 10, 2013

This coming Saturday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jim is out this week and next and Barry will be gone the remainder of the month. I believe Paul is planning to help us out in their absence, though.

Our Gathering song (GC 320) this week is a new one. It's a bit traditional for us, but fairly easy to learn. Sped up, it should work fine as an opening song. Our Psalm (GC 97) is also an unfamiliar one, but Karina has volunteered to learn (and cantor) it.

Songs for Saturday, August 3, 2013

This Saturday is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We begin Ginny's music selections this week, which were slightly revised last Saturday at rehearsal. All Psalms this month have been covered, but we need cantors for the Alleluia as well four more Communion Meditations (Jim has this week covered). If you're interested in any of these, let me know.

Songs for Saturday, July 27, 2013

Sorry for the late post, folks -- VBS has been eating up all my time (huge thanks to Joe for lending us a whole bunch of Western items!). This week is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

First of all, really nice work to the folks who were at mass last week! We were definitely thin on people, but thanks to a few non-regulars who jumped in and Barry's leadership, we managed to do pretty well. Our entrances were very much improved from last week, and there weren't nearly as many mistakes. I had fun despite filling in for no less than three people, and got plenty of compliments on how we sounded. Thankfully, we should (almost) be back to full strength this Saturday with both Jim and Karina returning (Barry will be out-of-town).

Songs for Saturday, July 20, 2013

This week is the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

Jim and Karina are out this week, leaving Barry and I in charge. They both should be back next Saturday, July 27th. I'd suggest a rehearsal after mass next week to go over Ginny's music for August. No one is scheduled to pick music for September, but with Jonathan returning soon, we'll hold off until we know how he wants to handle that.

I ended up picking some less-familiar tunes for this week, so things may be a little tricky with only one instrument to carry melody (besides guitars). I may try to reach out to Mike Lannagan (violin) to see if he'd be able to come and help us out. He's worked with us in the past, but it's been quite a while since I've seen him.

Songs for Saturday, July 13, 2013

This week is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jim (and possibly Karina) will be out this week. Because of this, Barry has made another minor revision to our program, replacing 'Where Charity and Love Prevail' with 'All That We Have'. The ladder is a fairly new song for us, having only done it a few times previously.

In addition, Ginny has suggested squeezing Killoren's 'We Are the People' somewhere into mass since we'll be celebrating our parish Birthday on Sunday. It might make a good prelude/practice song before mass if Father is willing. Barry is not familiar with this particular tune, though, so I'm not sure if we'll do it or not.

Songs for Saturday, July 6, 2013

This week is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.We're starting a new cycle of music for July, and Ginny already has the songs for August selected. By that time, Jonathan should be back so he'll probably take over song selection.

Father has already made revisions (for the whole month!) and I also made some changes based on what we discussed at rehearsal last week. We have Psalm cantors for all four masses and there's one Baptism next week, July 13th. Finally, Jim will be out on the 13th and 20th due to vacation.

Songs for Saturday, June 29, 2013

This Saturday is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. I don't have much in the way of updates since I wasn't at mass last Saturday.

We'll be wrapping up Karina's music selections for June, and will begin mine next week, July 6th (the complete list has already gone out via email).

I'd suggest a rehearsal after mass this week to go over the music for July (please let me know of your availability). I've tried to select a variety of music (especially pieces we haven't done in a while) and included at least one 'fun piece' for each mass.

Finally, I've put up a considerable amount of multimedia resources (recordings, sheet music, etc.) for songs we've done recently/will be doing. They can be found in the 'Repertoire' sections above. Thanks to Barry once again for digging up some of the harder-to-find materials (especially song recordings from GC...). Make sure to check them out if you need to know what something sounds like.

Songs for Saturday, June 22, 2013

This week is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I really don't have much in the way of news this week, other than I wanted to thank Paul once again for stepping up and taking command last week -- things were a little rocky in places, but overall, not too bad.

Speaking of Paul, we talked last week and he had a few good ideas about how to improve us as a group. Most notably, he suggested posting someone in the congregation for a mass and having that person critique the group in detail.

This would 1) give us the opportunity to hear how we sound to the congregation (balance of voices & instruments, etc.) and 2) determine how well our audio equipment is working.

Songs for Saturday, June 15, 2013

This Saturday is the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last week after mass, we very briefly went over a few of the songs. Originally, we were going to swap out our closing him ('Seek First') with 'You Are the Way' (since the people and Father don't know it yet). Now, since Jim may not be at mass this week due to his house move, Barry has revised the program further (Note it has been approved by Father as of yesterday).

Songs for Saturday, June 8, 2013

Welcome back to Ordinary Time, all!

As you know, we'll be using Mass of Creation starting this Saturday until further notice. We (Jim, Ginny, Cris, & Emily) reviewed this last Saturday, so we should be in good shape. We also found out from Christina that the Acclamation will be 'When We Eat This Bread'.

For 'Lamb of God', the verses will be "Lamb of God...", "Lamb of God...", "Grant us peace...", not our usual "Lamb of God...", "Bread of Life...", "Prince of peace..." "Grant us peace..."

Songs for Saturday, June 1, 2013

UPDATE (5/30) - Father's changes to our program our marked below. The changes are pretty minor -- one song was swapped and 'We Are One Body' has once again been nixed...

This coming Saturday is the Feast of the Body & Blood of Christ. It's also the last Sunday of Easter before we switch back to Ordinary Time on June 8th.

A few notes: Chip will be covering for Zach once again on bass. Jim may be out again and Paul won't be able to make it either. My sister may also be out as well. In the case that all three of them are out, I'll be acting-director for the night.

Songs for Saturday, May 25, 2013

This weekend is Trinity Sunday. As previously mentioned, Jim will be out. Paul and Barry will be covering guitar, while Chip will be covering bass guitar in Zach's absence.

For those of you who weren't at Mass last week, Chip is our new bass guitar player. Chip and his wife left the Parish for a time, and only recently came back. Over the next month or so, he'll be filling in for Zach as needed, and after Zach heads off to college, Chip will become his long-term replacement. Make sure to introduce yourself when you get the chance!

Songs for Saturday, May 18, 2013

Remember, it's Pentecost! Wear RED!

UPDATE: (5/16): Father has made some revisions to our program (he did the same to the selections of the other Choirs). Changes are highlighted below.

The Time and Talent fair will also follow Mass - let's try to reach out and bring some new folks on-board. There is a general 'Music Ministry' paper on the table, but it would be a good idea to make an announcement outlining our specific needs at the end of Mass.

Notes for Next Two Weeks - 5/18 & 5/25

For those of you who weren't at practice this evening, here are a few notes/updates as we go into the summer. We went over materials for the next two weeks since Jim will be out 5/25 (Paul & Barry will cover guitar in his absence):

• Jonathan will be on a summer music tour through the end of August, so Jim, Karina, Emily, and Cris are the ad-hoc directors/section leaders.

• Jim has music selected for this month; Karina will be selecting for June, and Cris for July.

• We'll be limiting after-mass rehearsals to one or two times per month, due to issues with the dinner schedule (we'll order pizzas for those sessions) and because lots of people will be out anyway.

• I'd like to use at least part of those rehearsals to cover material Jonathan would like us to learn before the end of August (mainly, perfecting Mass of Joy & Peace, as well as learning parts for "We Gotta Love" and "Shout to the Lord").

• With Zach being out for the next two weeks, Jim has recruited a new guy, Chip, to cover bass guitar. He'll also be back to cover in July when Zach is out again.

Music for Saturday, May 11, 2013

I'm still figuring out the best way to do this, but for now, here's the music for this Saturday (can also be viewed on the group calendar or in Jim's email):

GSC Mass Appeal is now Online!

With Jonathan leaving tomorrow, I wanted to get this site up-and-running as soon as possible. There are several sections that aren't yet finished, but the blog is otherwise fully operational. Most notably, the repertoire sections are largely incomplete (beyond a basic template for future use) and Barry and I still need to work out the multimedia aspects.

On the other hand, the group calendar is up and running. If you'd like to be able to edit it (that is, schedule new events, edit existing ones, etc.), let me know and I'll send you a share invitation.

I'm hoping to begin posting music and/or a basic plan for next Saturday (May 11th) very soon. Even though I do have a blog of my own, this is my first time administering one for a group, so please bear with me. If it turns out that this is too much for me to handle on my own, I may ask one or two other people to become admins to help me out a bit.

Do let me know what you think so far, and feel free to email with any questions!