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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Choir Roster? No. It’s a Love List!

Keven Smith · May 11, 2020

LL across the U.S., rumors abound that certain dioceses will soon return to some semblance of normal parish life. Indeed, they are mostly just rumors right now—and even if they prove true, they don’t necessarily indicate that we’ll all be given the green light to resume full choral activities right away.

Meanwhile, we all continue to feel a loss of connection with our choirs. If you’re part of a very small group, you may have found ways to stay in close communication—and perhaps even get together—with your colleagues. But if you’ve been blessed with a larger program like mine, you’re probably having trouble even picturing all the faces in your soprano section.

I had an idea the other day about how to overcome this challenge. All it takes is a little time and something you already have: a choir roster.

You’ve written down the names and voice types of all your singers, right? Take that list out of your briefcase, or pull it up on screen. Scan the list. What do you see? Names? No. You see faces. You can’t help but see them. And you hear voices—singing voices, of course, due to the nature of our work. But you also hear speaking voices. The voices that tell you stories at rehearsal break or share jokes after Mass. The voices that occasionally arrive in your voicemail on Sunday morning, sounding swollen, informing you of their absence today.

Your choir roster is full of people. And they’re some of the dearest people you’ll ever meet. You’ve been advised not to spend time with these people right now. But the restrictions don’t say anything about spending time with these people in spirit.

So keep that list handy. Don’t think of it as a choir roster. Think of it as a love list.

Spend time with your love list regularly. You can decide the exact schedule. Let your eyes stop on each one of those names for a few moments. Spend that time thinking about that person. You’ll naturally consider where that person is at in his or her musical and vocal development. But be sure to think also about your relationship with that person. Recall the things you enjoy discussing, the inside jokes you’ve developed, even the misunderstandings or difficulties you’ve encountered.

Take it one step further. Print your love list or make sure it’s accessible on your phone. Go to your church (if the doors aren’t locked) and spend a holy hour in which you pray briefly for each person on the list. Ask for God’s assistance in being exactly the choir director and friend each of those people needs you to be.

Spending time with your love list can help eliminate the possibility of awkwardness when we return to full choral activities—whenever that may be. Your singers will sense that they were never far from your mind. And you’ll feel ready to keep building your relationship with them as you work together to glorify God through music.

Try it. You’ll see.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: choir director Last Updated: May 13, 2020

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

The “jolly good guy” kind of pastor can be an irritant. […] Ministers of the Gospel are not used car salesmen whose heartiness is a mile wide and an inch deep. A bemused layman told me that a bishop joked with him, but turned away like a startled deer when asked an important question…

— Fr. George Rutler (7 August 2017)

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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