RIAN J. NELSON is now in his tenth year as Director of Sacred Music at the Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, serving the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Kansas in gorgeous Lawrence, Kansas. Beginning under the tenure of Monsignor Vince Krische in the 1980s, St. Lawrence has become known for its commitment to strong, vibrant Liturgy and Music. Throughout its history, the center has benefited from the tradition of choral and organ scholars: KU students with significant talent and openness of heart who sing or play at Mass regularly. Center Director Fr. Mitchell Zimmerman has expanded the scholarship program to include all the major ministries at St. Lawrence, adding intellectual and spiritual components.
Dr. Nelson oversees, trains, and develops twelve choral scholars, two organ scholars, four instrumentalists, a choral administrative scholar and a cantor scholar. His predecessors include Wolfgang Resinger, Lynn Trapp, Kevin Vogt, Marie Rubis Bauer, Lucas Tappan, and Michael Podrebarac. Mæstro Nelson’s settings of the Responsorial Psalm for the Ordinary Form of the Mass can be found at International Liturgy Publications, along with professional recordings:
* Responsorial Psalms • Brian J. Nelson
—For the Ordinary Form, published by International Liturgy Publications.
You can also read Dr. Nelson’s full biography:
“From the Throne of Grace” • Click here to see Dr. Nelson rehearsing his choir in one of his own hymn compositions.
I was pleased to see that EWTN featured Dr. Nelson a few years back:
You can learn more at the KU Catholic website.
