Jeff OstrowskiJeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).
Fr. David FrielOrdained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).
Richard J. ClarkRichard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).
Veronica BrandtVeronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).
Andrew LeungAndrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).
Lucas TappanDr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).
Cynthia OstrowskiCynthia Ostrowski holds a bachelor's degree (2005) in Geographic Information Science and a minor in Computer Science from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.—(Read full biography).
Andrew R. MotykaAndrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).
Keven SmithKeven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).
Dr. Alfred CalabreseDr. Alfred Calabrese is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have two children.—(Read full biography).
Veronica MorenoVeronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).
Andrea LealAndrea Leal is a wife and homeschooling mother of 6 children. She serves as choir director for the Traditional Latin Mass in Las Vegas.—(Read full biography).
Wilfrid JonesWilfrid Jones is a PhD student in the theology faculty of the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg, studying the theology and practice of sacred music.—(Read full biography).
Christopher MuellerChristopher Mueller is a conductor and composer who aims to write beautiful music out of gratitude to God, Author of all beauty.—(Read full biography).
Dr. Gregory HamiltonDr. Gregory Hamilton is a composer and performer currently on the faculty of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas TX.—(Read full biography).
Patrick TorsellPatrick Torsell is the Director of Music and Organist at Mater Dei Latin Mass Community in Harrisburg, PA.—(Read full biography).
Charles WeaverCharles Weaver is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and serves as director of music for St. Mary’s Church. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).
William J. FritzWilliam J. Fritz currently serves as music director at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, CA where he resides with his wife and three boys.—(Read full biography).
Daniel TuckerDaniel Tucker is the Director of Sacred Music & Liturgy at St. Thérèse Little Flower Catholic Church in South Bend, IN. He holds degrees in music and religion from Western Michigan University and Yale University.—(Read full biography).
Corrinne MayCorrinne May is one of Singapore’s most celebrated singer-songwriters. She is also a wife and homeschooling mother.—(Read full biography).
ORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED is a 501(c)3 public charity operating thanks to volunteers. Follow our organization on Facebook. We welcome guest submissions! We always enjoy receiving your emails. Sometimes we cannot reply, and we apologize for that. All correspondence will be considered “bloggable” unless the subject heading of your email indicates otherwise; and we reserve the right to edit such correspondence.
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IX YEARS AGO, we uploaded a stunning Blog Header image. Some have asked why Cardinal Ratzinger is featured instead of Pope Emeritus. The fact of the matter is, young Ratzinger has always been present on our header—even though our blog began after the election of Benedict XVI. The following paragraphs explain why.
It’s no secret that many who hopped on the “B16 Bandwagon” abandoned the liturgical movement when Pope Benedict XVI abdicated on 28 February 2013. It demonstrates that these authors—instead of being committed to perennial ideals—simply got caught up with a “trend.” However, if you examine the biographies of our contributors, most of us were involved in promoting authentic sacred music long before Benedict XVI was elected, and at least a decade before Summorum Pontificum was issued. We recall that the liturgy does not depend on the priorities or “taste” of a pope. Indeed, there were decades in our Church’s history when nobody knew who the true pope was! Yet, the liturgy continued. Assisting at Mass, where Christ is truly present, must be the summit of our existence: not “trends.”
* PDF Download • Original Sketch of Young Cardinal Ratzinger
Cardinal Ratzinger, therefore, is featured because of the crucial role he played before he was elected pope. This does not minimize what he did as pope; and without question, the most important thing Ratzinger accomplished as pope was to make it forever impossible for anyone to assert that those desiring authentic liturgy are “living in the past,” because documents such as Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae were issued in the last decade, whereas documents such as Sacrosanctum Concilium and Inter Oecumenici were issued 50+ years ago. The artist (Igor Kazarin) drew Cardinal Ratzinger circa 1988, based on various photographs we provided. The artist used a “modern” technique where only one element—Ratzinger’s hat—is colored, and the rest is black & white. This is symbolic of CCWatershed, where we promote tradition, but use modern techniques to spread it. Furthermore, take a look at this photograph of Cardinal Ottaviani dressed in his cardinal’s vestments. One reason cardinals wear red is to demonstrate their willingness to shed blood for the Gospel. Ratzinger was certainly a “martyr” in terms of the abuse he suffered from the anti-Catholic press. We believe that today’s church musicians must be “martyrs” to overcome the difficulties they face. But red is also used for the Holy Ghost; how fitting and significant! We require the Holy Ghost’s guidance to be good church musicians!
