|
An apostolic model of music
ministry
By
Kevin Vogt
Founding Director of the Saint Cecilia Schola
Cantorum
Saint Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska
Since its beginning, the Church has prayed
"in choir," sharing among
its members the duty and delight of offering ceaseless prayer and
praise to
God. This eternal sacrifice of praise and constant intercession on
behalf of
the whole creation is none other than the prayer of the Risen Christ.
When
the members of his Body pray and sing, Christ is revealed to the whole
world. The Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy of the Second Vatican
Council affirms that Christ is always present in the Church: in his
minister who
is head of the worshiping body, in his Body and Blood under the forms
of
bread and wine, in the Sacraments, in the Word proclaimed, and in the
assembly of the baptized when it prays and
sings.
Choral singing is, then, the normative modality
of the Church's
liturgical prayer. When we sing together, we experience the
"unity of the
Holy Spirit" in our simultaneous, shared breath and in the
musical inflection of
holy words. We express our collective desire for the beauty and glory
of
God when we listen together for the beauty of our own choral sound.
The
discipline of rhythm transforms the chronological marking of time in
our
everyday lives into the "Kingdom-time" of kairos,
wherein we glimpse eternal
life. The submission of our private feelings to musical and poetic
affections
forms is in the deeper, shared emotions of thanksgiving and
lamentation,
praise and penitence, joy and compassion. The pursuit of excellence
acquaints us with goodness, truth, integrity and justice. Finally, the
making of
art unleashes into the world the Word of God, the very creative energy
that
calls all things into being, that holds all things together in
harmony, and that
dwells richly in each of us.
It follows that singing praise to God is the
privilege and duty of all
who have been baptized in Christ Jesus, whether their singing is
artful or
simple, bold or timid, in-tune or out-of-tune. The ministry of music
is
therefore not a ministry of musicians to
the Church, but a ministry of the
Church to the world. While music
serves humanity in many ways, it is
transformed by the cross of Christ and conformed to his own eternal
sacrifice
of praise. The goal of all music ministry then, is not the comfort and
entertainment of church goers, nor the decoration of rituals for
aesthetes, but
the praise of God and the sanctification of all humanity, making it
fit for the
choir of heaven.
The implications of these realities are
profound. First, our music
ministry must focus on the formation of a widening circle of our
members not
only in the appreciation of music but in the skills required to make
music for
the Lord. Second, the musical formation of the People of God must be
led
and modeled by our own musical discipleship, nurtured in a community
of
teachers and learners. These are the goals of the Saint Cecilia Schola
Cantorum, an innovative institute for liturgical music nested within
the
Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, and its Mother Church, Saint Cecilia
Cathedral (the only North American cathedral dedicated to Cecilia, the
patron saint of music and musicians.)
The term "schola
cantorum" literally means "school of singing,"
and
has traditionally referred to institutions dedicated to training
singers in liturgical
music. Such schools have been associated with cathedral churches for
well
over 1,000 years, originating with the Roman Schola Cantorum
established
by Pope Gregory the Great. Roman Catholic choir schools continue to
thrive
in many parts of the world, including such North American cities as
Boston,
Massachusetts; Toronto, Ontario; Salt Lake City, Utah; Montreal,
Quebec;
and Trois Rivieres, Quebec. Numerous choir programs rooted in this
tradition unpretentiously go about their business in parishes such as
St. Paul
the Apostle in Los Angeles, and the Church of the Holy Childhood in
St.
Paul, Minnesota. Several cathedral churches in the United States are
entertaining visions of creative models of music ministry inspired by
this great
tradition. Among these is Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska.
Rather than replicating an historical model or
imitating the structure of
traditional choir schools, the Saint Cecilia Schola Cantorum is
envisioned in
broader terms to encompass and articulate the musical mission of the
Church.
This mission is the formation of children and adults for life-long
worship in the
Church, the promotion of musical liturgy throughout the diocese, and
the
proclamation of Christ through its collaboration with artists and
institutions in
the civic community.
Independently
incorporated under the Archdiocese of Omaha, the
Schola Cantorum is funded through institutional contributions from
Saint
Cecilia Cathedral, the Archdiocese of Omaha, Duchesne Academy of the
Sacred Heart, and substantial gifts from private donors. A full-time
staff
coordinates and directs twelve musical ensembles serving these
participating
institutions. The staff is supported by part-time employees
and volunteers.
On the parochial level, the Schola Cantorum
engages over 100
cathedral children and adults in an average of 4-5 hours per week of
active
liturgical ministry and preparation. A rigorous, extra-curricular
children's
choir school loosely follows the Royal School of Church Music
chorister
training program. In addition to weekly celebration of the Eucharist,
all of the
choirs sing some form of the Liturgy of the Hours whenever they
gather.
Immersion in sung liturgical prayer supports the faith formation of
adults and
children as well as supporting the liturgical prayer and sacramental
life of the
greater Church.
On the diocesan plane, the Schola Cantorum is
the heart of a new
diocesan association of pastoral musicians. Organized in deaneries,
parish
musicians gather regularly for prayer, formation and support. Some 60
musicians throughout the diocese lead the musical worship of the local
Church whenever it gathers to pray with its bishop. The Schola
Cantorum
staff regularly consults with parish pastors and musicians about the
development of parish music ministries and professional positions in
the
diocese, and will coordinate continuing education programs in
liturgical music
in collaboration with area universities. Fr. Ron Noecker, a priest of
the
Archdiocese of Omaha (and himself an accomplished pianist and
composer)
laid the groundwork for the diocesan aspects of the program during his
tenure
as Archdiocesan Music Director. He now serves the Schola Cantorum as
chaplain and coordinator of development efforts.
Locally, the Schola Cantorum is working closely
with Duchesne
Academy of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic college preparatory school for
girls, to develop an exemplary model of campus music ministry for
Catholic
high schools, as well as an academic music program appropriate to a
college
preparatory curriculum. Collaborations with the University of Nebraska
have
yielded a preschool music program at Duchesne Academy and an Organ
Scholar program at the Cathedral. Children from the choir school have
performed in professional symphony and opera productions, including
Puccini's Tosca, Menotti's Amahl
and the Night Visitors, Orff's Carmina
Burana, Leoncavallo's Paggliacci,
Verdi's Falstaff, Humperdinck's
Hansel und Gretel and Opera Omaha's
upcoming production of Bizet's
Carmen.
Finally, the Schola Cantorum has helped to
provide a conceptual
framework for advancing the cause of choir schools on a national and
international level. With the support of the Liturgical Institute of
the
Archdiocese of Chicago, representatives of Roman Catholic Choir
Schools in
the United States and Canada gathered in May of 2002 to share
information
and ideas, and to brainstorm about forming the next generation of
leaders in
Catholic liturgical music. This meeting culminated in the formation of
the
North American Schola Cantorum Network, a continental association of
Roman Catholic Choir Schools and programs of similar intensity, like
the
Saint Cecilia Schola Cantorum. This network hopes to promote among the
bishops of the United States and Canada the institutionalization of
the choir
school concept in every diocese toward the formation of the next
generation
of lay leaders in liturgy and music, and the provision of an exemplary
model
of liturgical catechesis for Catholic schools.
While the incarnation of the Saint Cecilia
Schola Cantorum is unique
to its ecclesial and cultural context, the idea of the Schola
Cantorum is
deeply rooted in the Church's history and richly expressive of its
theology of
music. It is an idea that could be developed by other churches in new
and
exciting ways. It is an invitation to musical discipleship, a call to
boldly invest
in the legacy we have been called to leave the next generation of
believers: a
musically literate Church, steeped in the creative arts, imaginative
enough to
see and build the Kingdom of God on earth, and fit for the choir of
heaven,
wherein we will join our patroness Cecilia, and all the saints in
light.
|
