Greg Merritt, Musical Director
394-4171 ext. 120   433-4228(h)

The Music Ministry provides music for many parish services and functions, such as weekend masses and holiday services. We have seven basic groups of music ministers:

1. Cantors
2. Organists/pianists/instrumentalists
3. Contemporary Choir
4. Festival Choir
5. Choristers
6. SANYO Choir
7. Non-musician supporters

CANTORS

Our cantors provide an invaluable service by leading the congregation in song at the weekend liturgies. Cantors must have the confidence and the ability to sing solo with minimal accompaniment.

Cantor schedules are extremely flexible. Whether you can serve at only one liturgy per month or more, our ministry could use a few new fine voices to lead the way. If you would like to volunteer as a cantor, please contact our Music Director, Greg Merritt at 394-4171 ext. 120 for an informal audition and training session.

ORGANISTS, PIANISTS, INSTRUMENTALISTS

We are blessed with so many talented musicians who give their talents back to the Lord each weekend. We thank all the brass, woodwind, guitar, mandolin, piano, bass, organ, harp, and percussion players who always say “Yes” when asked to add to the service.

If you or someone you know has the talent and desire to help out with providing instrumental music at our liturgies, even on a sporadic basis, please let us know you’re out there and how you can help.

CONTEMPORARY CHOIR

This wonderful group of fine friends is the backbone of our choral music ministry. The choir has been around since about 1990, and sings at most 9:30 a.m. liturgies. Also known as the “9:30 Choir” and “S.A.S.S.Y.” (St. Andrew’s Singers Stay Young), the choir has expanded its repertoire to include not only the most recent releases, but also some oldies but goodies dating back to the days when we really were young.

What keeps us going is our friendship, our love for liturgical music, the talent and dedication of our members, and the relaxed atmosphere in our practices. We rehearse in the Activity Center immediately after each 9:30 a.m. service until we feel comfortable with whatever’s next on the agenda, but we rarely rehearse all the way until our scheduled cutoff at noon. Then, we get together in the Activity Center a half hour before the actual service the next Sunday to review what is scheduled for that particular service. Attendance records are strictly forbidden. Although we would like to have every member at every mass and every rehearsal, we understand that’s not possible. Come as often as you can.

Babysitting services are available, thanks to the generosity of SANYO. Many of our children have grown up together in the weekly playgroup while mom and/or dad rehearse(s) next door. It’s a great ministry for both spouses to serve in together.

There are no auditions for this group. If you would like to try singing or playing an instrument with us, please contact our Music Director, Greg Merritt at 394-4171 ext. 120, or you can simply show up at one of our Sunday rehearsals.

FESTIVAL CHOIR

Our Festival Choir is a seasonal group that provides music at the major services, such as Christmas Eve and the various Holy Week services (Palm Sunday through Easter Vigil). We begin rehearsing about 8 weeks before each, and practice in the church from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The repertoire is a bit more challenging than anything else that we do, and the rehearsals are just a little bit more intense; but after singing one or two seasons with us, you’ll notice that the material becomes fairly familiar. The repertoire is quite varied, as we’ve sung music ranging form Ave Verum Corpus and the Halleluia Chorus to Amy Grant’s Emmanuel and Breath of Heaven, not to mention Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.

No auditions are necessary, and you do not need to read music to join. Look for the announcements that rehearsals for Holy week will begin shortly after Ash Wednesday. Rehearsals fro Christmas begin shortly after Halloween.

CHORISTERS

Our youngest and perhaps most enthusiastic group of music ministers is the Choristers, a parish-wide group of children in the third to fifth grades. We rehearse from 3:10-4:00 p.m. in the Tower every Tuesday during the school year and lead the singing at the last 9:30 a.m. Sunday liturgy of each month from September through May. The Choristers also sing at Celebration in the Oaks at City Park, Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday and First Communion. We usually have a concert in the church at the end of each school year.

We also have pianists, guitarists and percussionists among our members to provide the accompaniment for our services. The guitar group rehearses for an extra half-hour each Tuesday after regular practice.

SANYO (TEEN) CHOIR

All members of SANYO and Junior SANYO (and people interested in becoming members of SANYO and Junior SANYO) are invited to give this group a try. We play many of the most contemporary releases out there, many of which are currently getting plenty of air time on Christian music radio stations. We also do our best to include many songs and hymns that the congregation will know, so that we don’t alienate the parishioners whom we serve.

The Sanyo choir serves at the 5:30 p.m. mass on the second Sunday of each month, which happens to be the same night as SANYO’s monthly meeting (following mass). We get together at about 4:00 p.m. that day in the Activity Center to put it all together. We have a good core of members, but we could use lots of new singers, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, percussionists, etc. Please give this ministry a try. It’s a great way to meet other teens and to have fun singing and praising!

NON-MUSICAL SUPPORT

For people who wish to help out with the music ministry in non-musical ways, the following types of assistance are appreciated:
1. Changing numbers on the song boards
2. Physical setup and tear down of the choir area
3. Copy work, library support
4. Babysitting (when SANYO is not available)

Please call Greg Merritt at 394-4171 ext. 120 if you can help in these areas on a regular or as-needed basis.