St. Andrew Apostle
The Music Ministry:
Proclaiming God's Word in Psalm and Song
St. Andrew Apostle
Come let us sing joyfully to the Lord; cry out to the rock of our
salvation
Let us greet him with a song of praise, joyfully sing out
our psalms.
Psalm 95:1,2
Music ministry is a fun, spiritually uplifting ministry which requires more of a time commitment and in some cases a strong competency. The purpose of music ministry is to bring the song of the assembled community to life, and to assist the people so that their song may be prayers, from the heart as well as the head. This can be accomplished through communal song and in some instances anthems and pieces sung by choir or soloist alone. The Director of the Music Ministry is Mrs. Barbara Girolami.
At the present time we have three choirs which function individually as well as a combined ministry. Each choir performs a variety of music but focuses on the following styles.
The 10:00 Choir assists with music at the 10:00 Sunday liturgy. The repertoire is primarily traditional, encompassing well known congregational pieces, as well as anthems from Mozart, Bach, Stainer, Handel and music from the St. Gregory Hymnal.
The 11:30 Choir assists with music at the 11:30 Sunday liturgy. The repertoire incorporates a greater number of current liturgical offerings from composers such as Haas, Haugen, Conry, Schutte, O'Connor, St. Louis Jesuits. In addition to SATB choir, we have guitar and keyboard, and would welcome other instruments, particularly violin and flute.
The Children's Choir is open to parishioners in grades 3 through 5, and the Jr. High Choir is open to parishioners in grades 6-8. These youth choirs sing at monthly liturgies as well as additional events throughout the year. Children's Choir rehearsals include an opportunity to have snack and drink between the end of school and beginning of rehearsal.
In addition to our choir masses, we do have a need for Cantors to lead song at the Saturday night vigil mass.
The current Cantor schedule, previous Cantor schedule (last updated May 25, 2010) and Music Ministry schedule (last updated January 22, 2009) are published every few months.
The 10:00, 11:30 Choirs and Cantor Ministry accept parishioners who have graduated from 8th grade and above. The Youth Choirs accept parishioners from grades K-8, as defined above.
*Cantors must audition for their ministry. They must feel comfortable singing in front of people, and encouraging people to sing. We do not rehearse weekly but do meet occasionally throughout the year. They are asked to arrive 20-30 minutes before mass to practice with the accompanist.
There are materials in our parish library which can assist you in honing liturgical music knowledge and cantoring skills. In addition, the Archdiocese offers workshops for cantors and for choir members.
The 10:00 Choir rehearses on Wednesdays, from 7-8:30 PM in the church.
The 11:30 Choir rehearses on Thursdays, from 7:30-8:30 PM in the church.
The Jr. High Choir rehearses on Tuesdays, from 12:20-1:00 PM.
The Children's Choir rehearses on Tuesdays, from 2:45-3:30 PM. The first 15 minutes is snack time.
Those interested in joining the 10:00 or 11:30 choir, please contact Barbara Girolami at 301 649-0700.
Those interested in joining the Children's or Jr. High choirs or interested in being a cantor, please contact Barbara Girolami.
If you are an instrumentalist who would like to share your talents with our community, please contact Barbara Girolami.