Music ministry helps parishioners nurture a love and devotion to their Catholic faith and identity through music. The music ministry at St. Mary Magdalen Church forms an integral part of all our liturgies, and uses many different musical flavors to express different liturgical styles.
Choirs lead two of the four weekend Masses: the 9:30 a.m. Mass and the 11:00 a.m. Mass. The musical styles of these two Masses complement each other. The 9:30 a.m. Mass choir sings an eclectic array of styles, including contemporary Catholic, pop, gospel, classical, folk, Irish, country, spirituals and more. The 11:00 a.m. Mass is the setting for Gregorian Chant, Renaissance Polyphony, and Baroque Music, as well as music from the Classical and Romantic periods and traditional and contemporary hymns. The 5:30 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass and the 8:00 a.m. Sunday Mass contain blended worship styles, mixing both traditional and contemporary music. These Masses are led by a Cantor and a musician playing either piano or organ.
Our music ministry is robust because many people share their musical gifts as both singers and instrumentalists. The ministry is always accepting new members who meet the qualifications to participate in one or more of the various groups:
The Family Mass Choir sings at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and uses both singers and instruments, including flute, alto sax, guitar, bass, percussion, banjo, and mandolin, making for a very colorful musical ensemble. Every fourth Sunday during the academic school year, the Family Mass Choir is joined by the choirs from the School of the Madeleine, forming one intergenerational choir. To join this choir, you must be able to sing in tune and to learn your part. Being able to read music is not necessary, although it is very helpful. The intergenerational choir also performs a Christmas concert every year in December. The Family Mass Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Singing at the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, the Schola Magdalen is a semi-professional chamber choir that engages Gregorian chant, Renaissance Polyphony, and Baroque Music, as well as traditional hymns and music from the Classical and Romantic periods. The Schola Magdalen also performs two or three concerts a year, in addition to singing at the 11:00 a.m. Mass. These concerts are usually collaborations with instrumentalists from our vibrant Early Music community. To participate in this choir, it is necessary not only to be able to sing in tune and to read music, but to have had vocal training and previous choir singing experience. This choir rehearses on Thursday nights between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Cantors lead the music from the microphone at both the 5:30 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass and the 8:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. The ability to sing on pitch clearly and with musical expression appropriate to the music is necessary, as well as an initiative to learn the music scheduled for the respective Masses through online resources or through music reading.
If you are interested in joining any branch of our music ministry, please contact the Music Director, Andy Canepa, acanepa@marymagdalen.org
