T HAS BEEN some time since last I took up the pen to encourage my fellow musicians to look to the future by raising up a new a crop of church musicians worth their salt. However, several recent events have proved the catalyst I needed to make a clarion call for all our readers to educate the youth in the Church’s sublime tradition of sacred music. A few weeks ago, I took a rare Sunday outing with my family to Holy Mass at a parish not our own. We were in a part of the country where the sacred liturgy is anything but sacred … and sometimes everything but liturgical. Nevertheless, such were the circumstances—so I steeled myself against all that I knew I might encounter and stepped across the threshold. My wife said she was happy that we all got to sit together, but then Mass began … and she leaned across, whispering that she thought she’d prefer if I were back at the organ as usual. The best I can say about that particular Mass is that it was valid.
“Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch” • While I was out of town, one of my former choristers—now 16 years old—substituted for me at the full slate of Sunday Masses. I couldn’t have been more pleased when a musical member of the parish told me afterward that she wasn’t sure (at first) if I were at the organ or not. A week later, I took the young organist in question out to lunch in order to say “thank you.” Over a hearty meal, we spoke of his love for the organ and sacred music, as well as his desire to go to seminary one day. As his confirmation sponsor, I point blank asked him—at the conclusion of lunch—about his prayer life and received a pleasant surprise. While I knew his family attended Mass daily and prayed the Rosary, I didn’t realize how serious he was about his daily mental prayer. When I asked where he learned about (Catholic) meditation, he told me he’d read about it in a book on the spiritual life by someone named Adolphus Tanquerey! Another young gentlemen—very much like him—plays incredibly well and is currently pursuing a career in organ building.
Soli Deo Gloria • I obviously can’t take credit for anything in their lives other than giving them some piano and organ lessons over the years. Nevertheless, see them and others I’ve taught, who now contribute to the Church’s sung prayer, I feel extreme gratitude that the Lord has allowed me to play a small part in His work.
Planting Seeds • Just before Christmas, I began giving organ lessons to my son and a couple of his friends. I’ve been pleased to watch their love of the instrument blossom. The parish has a small three-rank pipe organ I procured several years ago. It’s currently located in a chapel across from my office, and I continue to get reports from my son and his friends about their practices, which (at this point) consist more in tuning notes that are “a little off” than in practicing their lessons. When they first regaled me with these stories of their organ escapades, my heart leapt to my throat, imagining a junior high boy accidentally crashing down onto a whole bloody rank of pipes—but I would have done the same thing at that age, had I been given the opportunity. In a couple of years, all three will actively be playing in church.
Truly Blest • I am also thankful for all the young people who sing in the Schola Cantorum each week—enough of them, in fact, that we struggle to find opportunities for them to sing as a group on a regular basis. I have high school cantors who pop up to the choir loft even when they’re not scheduled. Their thought process is: “What could possibly be wrong with forming a little choir at every single Mass?” Other musicians ask me how I do it—but in reality, I don’t. I’ve trained others to do it over the years. While it’s extremely exhausting in the moment, it bears so much wonderful fruit later on, making my life and work easier in the end.
My Challenge To Our Readers • I challenge all of our readers to swell the ranks of our young musicians by engaging in meaningful instruction of the youth. Some of you already do this—and I think that it’s fantastic! If, on the other hand, you struggle to educate the youth of your parish, start by challenging yourself to find just one young piano player this year who could begin learning the pipe organ … and then teach him. Find just one young voice to cantor, or join your choir. After Mass, allow just one child to come up to the loft and play a few notes on the pipe organ. These are the stones that will one day build the edifice of a musically vibrant parish life.
