GrapeVine - Feature Articles

Mainstream Music with a Positive Attitude

2009-12-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

Mainstream Music with a Positive Attitude Music Spotlight Interview with Barry Russo, These Are the Days by Lisa M. Hendey.

I live with a fourteen year old who loves to spend his spare time playing his electric guitar and has begun to work on his own original compositions. As a parent and one who spends a lot of time in the car listening to music with my kids, I was thrilled to discover the music of Barry Russo, and particularly his CD These Are the Days

Barry, along with being an accomplished musician and composer, is a liturgical musician and music teacher. For this, his debut CD, he's chosen a mainstream approach, recording great tunes with broad appeal. The project is a blast, one parents and their teens can and should enjoy together. This is the kind of musical role model our families need - one who lets the essence of his soul shine through with a fun and positive message.

Read the entire article at Lisa's blog InTheSpotlightTV.com.

Sal Solo - Celebrating Ten Years

2009-10-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

10 years ago today, I arrived at O'Hare on a journey into the unknown, with a suitcase and not much else - no visa, no money, no promise of anything, aside from one or two dates we had on the calendar. But I had one of the firmest convictions of my life that God was calling. I was not a person given to gamble or take big risks, so it was really out of character, but many times since, I have looked back to that moment as evidence that it is possible to leave everything behind if God calls.

I was met at the airport by Tom Westendorf and Jeff and Sue Jones, and we stopped on the way home at Pappadeaux on Kingery. I have never been there since, so it remains a memory associated with that day alone. For the first couple of years Tom was kind enough to open his home, and it must have been harder for him than I, since we were both batchelors accustomed to our own space. Within the first 2 or 3 months, I got a 3 year visa, took a US driving test, and became aware of the need of my own car, until someone kindly donated one shortly after. In those first few months we also started to sort out where exactly the calling was, and how ACTS would operate as a ministry. After about 7 years I became a Permanent Resident in the USA - even that involved much strife and appeals, but in the end I expect to live and die here.

ACTS had been incorporated before I came, so the real birthday of ACTS is I believe in the summer, and the original Board was founded without me - I only joined the Board later when it was found necessary for insurance purposes. I cannot find detail of events we had late in 1999, but I do recall our first youth rally in Grand Rapids MI, which Paul Bauer drove us to, and I also remember us seeing in the New Millennium with an Anno Domini Mass at Glenview IL. Fr. Kevin fraher has remained our faithful Spiritual Director ever since, and always a cheerful face at events we have promoted. By the end of 2000, we already had several diocesan youth rallies on the schedule, and also our first national conference, in Birmingham AL. World Youth Day in Rome may have been a highlight for some in ACTS as we had about 10 people go I think.

Among the many surprises of this past decade were almost 20 tours in Latin America. I had never planned to go there, and knew almost no Spanish, but made two Spanish CDs in those early years, and took a Spanish course. I see the 2001 itinerary included dates in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador - where I spent Christmas and New Year. Also 2001 cannot be mentioned without the landmark which was 9/11. I stood with Catholic artists from various other countries in prayer that day and we had Anno Domini Mass in a cathedral that night. I was trapped in Brazil with Lynn Geyer and Donna Lee, and air travel has since become an increasingly burdensome part of this ministry.

Over this past decade we have had approximately 480 ministry events. Brazil was the largest with perhaps 100,000 at a festival; last year we had 8,000 between Phoenix and Orlando; last weekend we had 32 for a Confirmation retreat in WI. Some are big, some are small, it is almost impossible to calculate how many thousands in total the Lord has given us the privilege of reaching. We have seen some teenagers grow up and become involved in one way or another with this ministry. We have had many testimonies of those who felt their lives were changed by hearing the Gospel message from this ministry, and we may never know if they are still walking in faith today, or how they have acted upon what they heard, but many have given us new inspiration.

One of my favorite stories is the boy in Biloxi back in 2004, who went and promised 50¢ a day to the poor after I spoke on justice, and that idea gave rise to our newest initiative with Catholic Relief Services, and the We Cry Justice! project. Right now we are planning for the presentation of that project at our third National Catholic Youth Conference, and WCJ will also be presented at various schools around the country in the coming few months, and other diocesan youth rallies.

If you are receiving this message, then you likely have played some part in all of this, maybe big, maybe small. I cannot name everyone, but Cecilia Byars and Paul Bauer continue to work daily for this ministry as do I; Carolyn Kelley and Carol Dabisch have also put in many hours at different times. The Hickeys, Kulhaneks and others have provided significant support to keep the ministry afloat. Various people have served time on the Board, some are still there from the start. The late Debbie Bielawski worked on fundraisers, and John Robson has often volunteered technical support when Paul was not available; Jake Chojnacki donates his time and talents to keeping the website going. Some of you have offered prayers and words of encouragement from a distance. I am grateful for every part you have played in this unknown adventure.

Even after a decade, it still remains an adventure in uncharted waters, since we do not know what is on the horizon, and we have tried many things for which there was no existing template. It has not gotten any easier - one financial crisis to another - from the priest abuse days, to the current recession. We still have to work hard to pay our bills and fill our calendar with ministry events and thus fulfil our mission. Perhaps instability is in the nature of focusing on youth, since they will always grow up and move on, so no permanent structure can ever be built. However we are not ready to give up just yet, and even though we are all 10 years older, and perhaps a little slower, we have not lost the desire to continue trying to bring the Good News of Jesus to everyone who will listen in the most innovative ways we can find.

Once again, thanks for your part in this journey - continue to pray for us - and the journey continues...

Sal

Ca C'est Bon!

2009-06-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

by Tony Rosse
www.christophers.org

The Louisiana-roots band known as L’Angelus is made up of siblings Johnny, Stephen, Katie and Paige Rees. They want their music to bring families together because that’s exactly what it did for them. Paige Rees joined me recently on “Christopher Closeup” (full podcast here) to talk about the central role her family’s faith plays in their lives and music. Here’s an excerpt:

TR: Paige, L’Angelus is made up of you, your sister Katie, and your brothers Johnny and Stephen. By modern standards, that’s already a big family. But there are even more of you at home. How many kids are in your family?

Paige Rees: We are actually a group of ten kids altogether. Our Mom and Dad have been blessed with eight children. And two years ago, we were blessed with a foster brother and sister.

TR: Tell me about your parents taking in those foster children. How did it happen and why did they do it when they already had a significant number of mouths to feed and raise?

Paige Rees: My parents, about seven or eight years ago, became open to life as they grew deeper in their faith…Then we met this little family in New Orleans shortly after Katrina. Their mother was very young and she had four little ones herself. (She had) no family or support system and was suffering very much the effects of the storm. After meeting her and getting to know her over a few days, there was a lot of uncertainty but we just tried to trust in God and follow what He has shown us over and over in Scriptures and through the examples of the saints of how we are supposed to care for one another. So we’ve had this relationship with their mother for the past few years, and she just graduated from a medical assistant program. She actually came into the church this past Easter. The children were baptized and it was a really glorious day for everybody.

TR: Paige, your music career has become more successful through the years, and sometimes it would seem that the busier you would get, the more faith would be pushed to the side. But the exact opposite has happened with your family. Why do you think that is?

Paige Rees: We started out playing music when we were pretty young. Early on, our uncle who has had a career in the music business - he doesn’t necessarily practice any faith. But he did tell my Dad when we were still quite young, “If you’re going to be in this business, you better take those kids to church.” There are so many challenges to the faith that are presented in this business, in media in particular. So I think my Dad really took that advice to heart and we tried to stay really close to the sacraments and close to each other so that we would have that support system, that accountability. So I think it’s been a grace, not necessarily anything that we’ve done but our heavenly father protecting us and thankfully giving our father a lot of wisdom.

TR: Paige, I don’t know if you saw this in the newspaper late last year. There were some atheist bus ads in London that said, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Considering the fact that you’re Catholic and you perform this joy-filled music, does being a person of faith keep you from enjoying your life or does it make you enjoy it more?

Paige Rees: I think that because of our faith, because of knowing that we are children of a heavenly father who loves us – that gives our life meaning. I did see those bumper stickers (saying) “There’s no God so stop worrying and enjoy your life.” I think (the problem) is just the opposite. The problem is that people feel no purpose. There’s meaninglessness. You can’t enjoy anything if you don’t see a reason for it. You can only enjoy in the moment the pleasures that you’re experiencing. So I think the reality that there is a father in heaven who loves us, who wants to help us, and who wants us to be eternally happy with him in heaven – that is what gives everything meaning, it gives everything purpose, it gives suffering purpose, and it gives joy the ability to last instead of just being a pleasure that comes and goes.

TR: Another way you’re living out that faith is you’re working on an album of sacred songs with the family. Can you tell me about that?

Paige Rees: The CD’s that we’ve released so far have been more of the music that is Louisiana roots and stuff like that. So we’ve been thinking about doing a sacred album for a while now. You know, we play at Mass pretty often. We’ve come up with a collection of songs that we play a lot and we really love. So we’ve been thinking about doing an album for a while. Then through a meeting at a Catholic marketing network in New Jersey, Ignatius Press, they told us they were interested in carrying one if we ever did one…So we’ve got a lot of traditional songs on here that have been very inspiring to us.

(To listen to the full interview with Paige and here clips of L’Angelus songs, visit www.christophers.org/closeuppodcas t. You can also check out a L'Angelus music video below:

Catholic Music Spotlight: Send Me by Billie Tarascio

2009-06-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

By Lisa Hendey (originally posted on June 7th, 2009 on Catholicmom.com)

I’m pleased to share the following Catholic Music Spotlight with Billie Tarascio, highlighting the release of her new CD Send Me. Billie’s music is both inspirational and infectious - I know you’re going to love it!

Q: Congratulations Billie on the release of your wonderful new CD, Send Me. Please briefly introduce yourself and your family to our readers.

I am a 28 yr old catholic mom of an 8 year old step-daughter and two boys 4 and 2. My husband Tony and I have been married almost 7 years. I’m also an attorney and own a legal firm that offers limited legal representation at affordable rates.

Q: How did you get started in music and specifically life as a Catholic recording artist?

I have always been a singer, and have briefly explored everything from Broadway to opera to country music. In 2001, I stumbled upon Lifeteen and was asked to join the band. It literally changed my whole life. My Catholic faith came alive largely through worship music. It wasn’t until I found music ministry that it finally clicked what I was suppose to be doing with my voice. Then, while my husband was deployed to Iraq I began writing music. He came home and we both felt called to meet God halfway so to speak. He had given us all these gifts, the largest of which was an intact family, so we decided to take a huge leap of faith and make a CD. Since the release, things have been a bit crazy, we are getting radio play all over the country and even in Spain. We have had lots of local requests for our band to come play at schools or retreats. Its been fun.

Q: As a mom, I have to ask how you balance the many demands upon your time as wife, mother, attorney and musician? What do your kids and colleagues think about you being a Catholic rocker?

It’s pretty funny. I do feel compartmentalized in my three roles, at least when it comes to wardrobe. I only work part-time as an attorney while my son is in pre-school. Luckily the practice I have created is conducive to a part-time schedule. Other than that, I have a very supportive husband and very musical children. They all pick up their instruments and practice right along with us! It isn’t easy, but we have only been given one life and many responsibilities to do God’s will. My kids think it is awesome that mommy has concerts. They watch the tape over and over and even pretend to be different members of the band. My attorney colleagues probably think I’m nuts, but other moms are typically very supportive.

Q: Please tell us about your experience composing the songs for this CD and share the stories behind a few of your favorites.

During Tony’s deployment I felt like I was drowning. Isaiah was born about six months before Tony came home. Sebastian was a very difficult toddler who missed his dad immensely. The only thing I did outside of take care of them, was Lifeteen music and it was literally my lifeline. My relationship with God grew exponentially during that time. I never knew I could write music and then one day a song popped out and I couldn’t stop. I remember specifically being on a long walk with my two little boys in their double stroller trying the pray the rosary when I wrote the Hail Mary. When I hear it I can hear the steps I was taking in rhythm while writing it. Those hard months were the first time in my life I needed God enough to really feel him, and the songs on the album are my prayers of thanks, laments, and songs for my church.

Q: Could you please introduce us to the other members of your band and tell us a bit about the actual making of the CD?

The CD was produced by David Smith of Icon Music Studio. He did all the instrumentation on the CD and I think he did a superb job. My band is made up of my husband Tony on guitar, and many other fellow life-teeners from my church. Caitlin Lindahl is a core member, in our Lifeteen band and my bass player. She actually learned the bass in record time for our band. James Duchateau is our drummer and one of my boys heroes. Josh Laguana is our fantastic piano player. He live in Portland about two hours away and comes down every weekend for rehearsals, and our newest addition plays electric guitar and teaches junior high math. Russ Hunt has an amazing story. He suffered a terrible accident years ago that left his left hand disabled. He has managed to create a completely new way of playing guitar and is nothing short of fantastic. The best part about my band is that we pray together for our ministry, ourselves and our families. We are a very close group.

Q: Who are some of your favorite musicians, both Catholic and secular, and who would we find on your iPod?

I like a really wide variety of music including everything from Taylor Swift to Daughtry, the Fray, Jackie Franscios, Matt Maher, Sean Clive, Ceili Rain and more. I think U2 is fabulous and really like casting crowns and Natalie Grant. Currently, I’ve been listening to cold play on my ipod.

Q: How does your Catholic faith inspire and impact upon the music you are creating?

My faith is the center of all the music I create. Only in that context does it feel right to parade around on stage inviting applause. We were created to worship the Lord and our band loves to lead worship. I also hope that my music will help people, especially youth, to come closer to Christ. Music certainly had that effect for me, and I’m trying to pay it forward.
Q: With the release of the CD, what’s next for you and the band?

That really remains to be seen. We do lots of local youth ministry events and are hoping to do more both statewide and beyond. We would love to have some of the music published in Spirit and Song or by GIA, and have also talked about other christian publishers. Many of the songs were written to serve the liturgy and we would love to see the songs being used to complement our holy mass.

Q: How can people learn more about your music and upcoming appearances?

We have a band website and a myspace page we try to keep updated. The band site is www.billietarascio.com and our myspace page is www.myspace.com/billietarascioband.

Lisa Hendey, wife and mom of two teenage sons, is the founder and webmaster of Catholicmom.com.

Award-winning Catholic rapper Bob "Righteous B"Lesnefsky shares his missionto bring Christ to inner-city youth.

2009-06-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

by Tony Rossi

Bob Lesnefsky, a graduate of Franciscan University, found musical success as the award winning Christian rapper Righteous B whose albums include “Get the Kids to Revolt,” “Sweatshop Sessions,” and “How a Wound Bleeds.” But Bob’s true passion – what he considers his vocation – is a program he co-founded called Dirty Vagabond Ministries which currently operates in Steubenville, OH, Queens, NY, and Rochester, NY. I recently had the opportunity to interview Bob on “Christopher Closeup” (full podcast here). Here are some excerpts:

TR: I want to focus on Dirty Vagabond Ministries because I was on your website and I saw a description where somebody said, “If you want to know how these guys operate, think of Mother Teresa with earrings and tattoos.” So tell me about Dirty Vagabond Ministries.

Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: In the most simple description, it’s youth ministry to the inner-city church… We come into a city and make a long-term commitment to that city. We place two urban missionaries there that live among the people. The style of ministry they do we call incarnational ministry; they’re not waiting for people to sign up or show up. They’re going out to them, hitting the streets, and really everything happens in the context of that relationship.

TR: Did you grow up in the inner-city yourself? How did your vocation for this develop?

Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: I really have no idea to be honest (laughs). God kind of sucker-punched me. I definitely didn’t grow up in the inner-city. I grew up in about as suburban, white, upper-middle-class culture as it gets. Just outside of Philadelphia (is where) I grew up. But when me and my wife started doing youth ministry, we ended up at a little inner-city parish in New York. I didn’t realize how urban it was. About a year into it, we found ourselves in just a whole mess of problems with police there all the time, violence. We were about to quit and leave but something happened where our hearts were changed and we really fell in love with that kind of kid and we felt this is what we wanted to do with our lives.

TR: Give me an example of how relational ministry works with the kids.

Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: We go up to the projects or a basketball court or we show up at a park with a grill and start grilling hot dogs and feeding people. The first time we maybe just see them, get to know their name. Over weeks or years, it eventually builds relationships and develops into a friendship. It’s much more effective for me to share Christ with someone who considers me their friend than someone who I knock on their door and try to give them a five minute plug. These are people we have an authentic relationship with. There’s an element of trust that happens before we even tell them about God. They begin to see we care for them outside of whether or not they ever come to the church.

TR: Bob, on the Dirty Vagabond web site , it says, “We believe the greatest intimacy with Christ is found in the sacramental life of the Church.” A lot of these kids don’t have a foundation of faith, so how do you and your volunteers convey the relevance of the sacramental life of the Church to teens who may not have ever been exposed to anything like that?

Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: It’s difficult. We have a little storefront building; it’s called “Urban Underground.” Kids come in there, there’s a pool table, it’s kind of a fun, cool place. A lot of those kids when they come in, I’ll hear them say, “Yesterday at church…” and they’re talking about coming into our building and hanging out. In some sense, we’re like, “Uh, we’re not church.” We’re trying to bring them to the Church and Christ and the sacraments. But on the other hand, there is something true about what they’re saying. They are experiencing the sacraments in a living way in someone who’s really trying to live that out and be Christ for them...But as far as how we make that tangible, we’ve got an old school bus we drive around every day. We pick kids up. On Sunday, we fill it up and go to Mass. Afterwards we have a big family style meal. So some of it is just exposing them to (the church) which is a little jarring when you’ve never come to church. But there’s a beauty in it too that they’re attracted to.

TR: Do you think the fact that they’re lacking in a lot of worldly things opens them up to more spiritual nourishment?
Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: Yeah, I think so. I think half of the difficulty in ministry situations is first convincing people of their need. We’re one of the richest countries in the world. We have lots and lots of stuff and things to distract us. When you remove those distractions, you don’t have to spend as much time convincing them that we’re a people who are desperate for God. They’re well aware that they’re desperate. But for them, it’s trying to grab onto anything that can give them satisfaction or fulfillment for the moment. When you can point that in a genuine way (to Christ as) the person that’s going to fill that (need), it’s kind of a beautiful awakening.

TR: Bob, in everything I read about your work with Dirty Vagabond Ministries, you cite your wife Kate as helping to create everything. So tell me how did you find this incredible woman who’s so in tune with your life and your faith?

Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: It’s all God’s grace. When I met her, we were just good friends. She told me she was going to be a nun. She had already visited some convents. Somehow, we fell in love. My friends always tease me that when I die, I’m going to hell for stealing her from the convent (laugh). But she’s far more holy than I am. The thing I appreciate the most about her is that – in her holiness and in her relationship with Christ, she’s just willing to step into the adventure. She definitely has a missionary heart. She has a very simple heart and a very pure heart for God. So the rest of the stuff of the world and the things that a lot of times we feel like we need, she’s just okay without them. She’s also willing to take the risk of following God’s call wherever that’s been…She’s definitely my better half.

For more information on Dirty Vagabond Ministries, go to www.DirtyVagabond.com . To download the full interview, go to www.christophers.org/closeuppodcast.

Join The Christophers group on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=55547700670.

Matthew Baute: Living the vocation of a music minister

2009-05-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

by Susan Bailey

As a long-time musician, and as the wife of a soon-to-be-ordained deacon, I recently came to the conclusion that music ministry as a vocation has many parallels to a vocation to the religious life. As the Spirit is wont to do, I found myself talking about this out of the blue one day when a fellow musician who was just getting started in ministry called me up for some tips. In speaking through me, the Spirit planted the desire to explore the idea of music ministry as a vocation equal in part to a religious vocation; thus He led me to Matthew Baute, a full time music missionary who clearly sees this ministry as his vocation.

“I can certainly see parallels between a vocation to music ministry and a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated religious life,” he says. “Just last week I was singing at a Mass at which three priests were concelebrating, and a deacon was also serving. There I was, a non-ordained lay person, offering my gift of music alongside these ordained ministers who have undergone years of study and preparation. If I have the honor of being placed in such a position, then I need to prepare well and develop my gifts. I need to develop a deep prayer life and love for Scripture that nurtures a living relationship with Jesus, something critical to the effectiveness of any ministry–priesthood or music ministry. I need to learn about and appreciate our musical heritage and the impact of those who have gone before me. At the same time, I also need to allow room for the Holy Spirit to move in my heart and to inspire me in new ways, leading me on the journey.”

As many who have experienced a vocational calling will tell you, the road to that calling is often winding and long. Matthew’s story is no different. Although he recognized his talent in and love of music as a child, and a deeper love for his faith as a young adult, Matthew had to test many paths before he received confirmation that music ministry was indeed his call. The road began with many musical endeavors and wove through a marriage that ended in annulment. Time was spent in a monastery after the pain of that event, discerning a call, but the call wasn’t there. He worked for several years in the corporate world as a software engineer but felt isolated from his faith. He then tested the waters of music therapy, but didn’t feel called to be a clinician.

However, as Matthew devoted more time to composition and singing for prayer services, the vocation of music ministry became clearer to him. This revelation culminated in his first CD, Love Wins All. Several songs from the CD received airplay on EWTN’s Global Catholic Radio Network, and Matthew took that as confirmation that he was headed in the right direction at last.

Now, three years later, Matthew is involved in full time music ministry, traveling throughout the United States and the world, sharing his prayerful music in parishes, festivals and missions. He was signed on as a World Library Publications (WLP) artist and subsequently released his second CD, Hold Me Lord. Matthew also hired Alyson Bleistine of ALBIE Entertainment to teach him how to manage the practical and business elements of his ministry. He also teams up regularly with fellow recording artist and mentor Annie Karto. As Matthew’s ministry continued to grow and bear fruit, so did his support system. He understood clearly from the beginning that following his vocation required that he not work in isolation but reach out for help.

The year 2009 saw the release of River of Grace, perhaps the project closest to Matthew’s heart. “I’m very happy with River of Grace,” he says, “and I certainly feel that it’s my best project yet, in both the songwriting and the production. WLP connected me with a fantastic producer, Warren Kahn, who has worked with [Catholic recording artist] Michael John Poirier for many years. Warren brought the desire to create something meaningful and beautiful right from the start.”

Vocations call for hard work and discipline, and the recording of an album is no exception. After going over the compositions with his producer and the editing team from WLP, Matthew spent a few weeks in the studio recording vocals and guitar parts, and then reviewed tracks sent to him by Warren via the internet.

“Warren hired the other players–violinist, cellist, percussionist, bassist, and oboist–to add their parts afterwards. I wasn’t there for the tracking of these instruments, but I would get a rough mix via the Internet either that evening or the next day to hear what he was capturing. The convenience of technology these days certainly has changed the way music is produced.”

River of Grace has already been well received and has spawned a couple of music videos which Matthew produced himself. One such video, “One,” has been viewed nearly 4,000 times on Youtube. The song has become popular with Marriage Preparation (Pre-Cana), yet that was not the original purpose of the song.

Matthew explains: “The song ‘One’ was originally written about the personal relationship I have with God: “your love, my love / your heart, my heart / may they be / may they always be / as one.” But sometimes God reveals different meanings to people in completely different ways. Someone heard the song and described how it was a great song to include in wedding ceremonies. Another pointed out that it really represented the whole marriage journey, celebrating the perseverance of a committed relationship over time. This is one of the blessings of composing—after a song is finished and gets out there, it may take on a life of its own, based on how listeners are hearing it. We took this feedback and put together a video that depicts couples through their journeys of life together—with both the joys and the struggles. (Note: Video available at http://www.songsforprayer.com/video.asp). So although this song is for me a prayer of intimacy with God, it’s something else for other people.”

The work involved with producing recorded music and videos certainly doesn’t end with the producing. Matthew now had the task of getting out on the road and sharing this new music with listeners. God blessed this effort and Matthew’s calendar has been full with engagements.

The most meaningful venue for Matthew is singing in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He is passionate about showing his love for the Eucharist and the impact he feels when playing before the monstrance.

“Jesus is the focus here,” he says. “Not me. Not my music. Not my ministry. In my musical prayer services when the priest places Jesus in the monstrance on the altar, I simply go off to the side and sing, hoping the music helps open hearts, helps those in attendance be more receptive to the work of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus himself is present, what do I need to say other than a few words of encouragement to give him permission to come into our hearts and do what he will?”

Such blessings as these keep Matthew strong in his vocation. He describes his life as a full time music minister in these words: “I’ve been making my way as a full-time ‘music missionary’ (a term I borrowed from Danielle Rose) for nearly three years. I remember calling my friend John Grassadonia when I was discerning this path. He told me that based on his own experience, God does indeed bless our “yes” when we step out in faith, but at the same time it’s never going to be an easy road. I’ve found that to be true. The deep joy that I feel in using my gifts to help nourish other people’s faith lives is immense! What a privilege that is. But there are certainly struggles as well, times when I’m not as busy, times when I also need to be faithful to the business side, promoting my music and ministry to get the word out. That’s certainly not as much fun as singing, but it’s important to keep things going.”

He continues, “I know that I couldn’t put forth the same will and effort if I had a full-time job at the same time. So, I have to learn to live with less—a more humble lifestyle. But this enables me to devote more time to prayer, to daily Mass and Scripture study. This way of living also allows me to pick up and go on the road for ministry whenever I’m asked. Being able to be flexible for the sake of others is important to me.”

Remaining connected to a community is something that Matthew knows is vital as he perseveres in his vocation. “Although I end up traveling a good bit, I’ve come to understand that staying connected to my parish is vital to keeping balanced. I really enjoy the fellowship of my church community when I’m home. My parish is home base; it’s my faith family. Seeing God at work in the lives of my fellow parishioners renews me, and inspires me to go back out to serve God’s larger family.”

Prayer, study, service, fellowship, an austere lifestyle, the sharing of his talents in a spirit of love of God and His family – this is how Matthew Baute is living out his vocation as a music minister.

You can learn more about Matthew Baute, listen and purchase his music, and watch his videos at his website, www.songsforprayer.com.

Singers for the New Evangelization - More Catholic Artists Deserving of Extra Exposure

2009-03-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

from the National Catholic Register

http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/17518

by Amy Smith

March 15-21, 2009 Issue

Matt Maher has had quite the year since releasing his latest CD “Empty & Beautiful” (Essential Records), last April. He performed at World Youth Day in Australia and the youth rally during Pope Benedict’s visit to the United States.

His CD was launched into space on NASA’s Discovery mission last May. A song from the CD, “Your Grace Is Enough,” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Adult Christian Contemporary Chart. Recently, he was nominated as “Best New Artist” for CCM Magazine’s 2009 Reader’s Choice Awards.

Amid the whirlwind success and travel — last year, he was on the road 300 days — the United Catholic Music and Video Association Unity Awards winner is ready for a new CD and remains committed to what his music is about: glorifying God.

His inspiration: “Prayer and Mass. That’s where it all comes from. Artists and musicians need to embrace the sacramental life of the Church. Music reflects what’s going on in your heart.”

Maher’s advice for aspiring musicians reflects this viewpoint: “Go fall in love with Jesus. Pursue him radically. What will happen is that eventually songs will start coming out. Art will come out as you live the faith. The Eucharist is a mystery that’s discovered, not proclaimed on stage.”

His stepfather, who is not Catholic, helped him reflect on his musical purpose recently.

“He challenged me to write from faith, not about faith,” Maher said. “I want my devotion to come out in my lyrics, not the other way around. Otherwise, it’s like an assignment.”

“Write about life, and the faith will come out of that,” he added. “In that context, it’s more authentic. Otherwise, it’s almost a business proposition based on theology rather than art reflecting 2,000 years of Tradition.”

Maher is one of a burgeoning number of contemporary Catholic singer/songwriters who write from the gut as well as the Gospel. That list includes Janelle, Curtis Stephan, Sarah Bauer and Marie Miller.

Taking Off

“I think Catholic music is in a state of transition, in a state of finding an identity,” Maher says. “A good thing is that Catholic music is coming into a full expression of itself musically.”

Adds Stephanie Wood, coordinator of NextWave Faithful, an online outreach to young Catholic adults, and host of “NextWave Live” on EWTN radio, “There are quite a few exciting things going on with Catholic music. Ten years ago, people thought Catholic music was church music. In the past five or six years, it has taken off. Catholic musicians are making names for themselves.”

Wood’s radio show features a variety of Catholic musicians.

“Instead of public service announcements, we take music breaks,” she says. “We feature heavier-sounding bands with rock beats. It’s a popular feature. The kids love it. Ours is the only show on EWTN trying to get young people into music. It’s the main mechanism to get their name out there, since there are no Catholic music stations.”

“When I started doing this show about five years ago, there was hardly anyone to play,” she adds. “Now there’s stuff that could go up against [mainstream Christian contemporary artists] Jars of Clay or Third Day. There are high-quality artists. Lyrically, we have the fullness of the faith that can be expressed in music.” Wood recently featured The Thirsting. “They’re a great band,” she says.

NextWaveFaithful.com features a positive music chart with Catholic and non-Catholic artists. The music Next Wave features is available at CatholicMusicNetwork.com. Another online source of Catholic music is SpiritandSong.com.

“We have a great commitment of artists to their sound,” says Robert Feduccia, SpiritandSong.com general manager and artist relations and product development associate director. Spirit and Song is a division of Oregon Catholic Press.

“What young people want is real, believable sound from a real, authentic place in the spirit, singer-songwriters sitting down with their guitars creating interesting art with real attention to artistry,” he says. “Lyrically, I’m hearing a lot more depth. People are coming to grips with the quest of being human, having a relationship with the Lord, and our artists express that.”

Up north in Canada, Catholic music is also making a name for itself.

“Janelle has broken a lot of mainstream avenues to bring knowledge of Catholic music, that we can produce good music,” notes Jason Reinhart of Life-Vision Communications Inc., who is the manager for and husband of Canadian Catholic artist Janelle. The artist recently reached No. 1 with More Radio magazine’s Adult Contemporary radio chart. She has written an autism theme song and is working on a praise and worship CD.

Even with the progress, Reinhart says, distributing the music to the masses remains a problem.

“Distribution channels are not as strong as they could be,” he says. “There aren’t as many Catholic bookstores. It needs to be easier for people to learn about it.”

Coming From Faith

As for music contributing to the New Evangelization, Maher notes, “What needs to come first is the desire for evangelization. The New Evangelization comes first; the music comes second, as a response.”

The New Evangelization is at the heart of Spirit and Song. “Our artists have a heart for evangelization, for bringing the good news, coupled with worship, which comes from a deep place in the liturgy and outside of the liturgy,” says Feduccia. “We’re intentional. We know that music outside of the liturgy feeds it inside the liturgy.”

New media is a driving influence, Feduccia notes.

“With Jackie Francois, we gave a five-hour window for song downloads,” he says. “It was ‘five for five free.’ The response was great. It helped her record to get out there. Our ‘The Commons’ interviews debut songs. With the song player, we have 30-second artist introduction followed by the song. We have song-by-song features with Sarah Hart and Jackie Francois. We want to be cutting-edge, to use current methods. We have podcasts with Steve Angrisano and Jackie Francois, who is the host for ‘Perfect Playlist.’

“Listeners can submit titles, and if theirs is selected, they win a free CD. Ken Canedo does a liturgy-planning podcast. He takes the readings, does reflections, and gives music selections.”

Feduccia hopes to test iPhone and BlackBerry concepts this summer.

Internet and new technology help, Reinhart agrees: “If something is good, people find it.”

Regardless of the avenues used, society needs to hear the message of faith: “We are living in a post-Christian culture,” Maher says. “We have to find ways to reach out with messages that they understand.”

What’s Next?

Wood hopes that the genre will stay true to its roots.

“Now, a lot of Christian labels are making it more of an industry, not a ministry. I hope that doesn’t change with Catholic music. Catholic music is ministry oriented.”

Adds Maher, “One of the things I love about Catholic music, which fundamentally sets Catholic music aside: It’s never been the modus operandi to create a subculture within a culture. The goal of a Christian is to be in the middle of the world, not in the world. We need to be in the culture, in dialogue with it with philosophy, truth, beauty and art, especially art; art has the ability to reach people no matter their religious background.”

“I think as Catholics we will always be rooted in the liturgy, with sacraments and the Incarnation,” Spirit and Song’s Feduccia says. “The industry has matured. In the past 10 years, we’ve started to see more diversity in sound. Catholic Christian music has something unique to offer. Josh Blakesley is from Louisiana. His music isn’t country or blues, but Southern. It’s who he is infused with sacramental, liturgical and incarnational theology. I think we’ll continue on that trajectory.

“Artistically, I don’t know where things are headed,” he adds. “Radio is such a peculiar, elusive thing. But in the part of the industry that’s not as public — the songwriters — we see Catholics having great influence. We have songwriting partnerships with EMI. The top song at World Youth Day, ‘Take Up Our Cross,’ was written by Curtis Stephan, Sarah Hart and Mark Byrd of EMI [who wrote the Christian radio hit ‘God of Wonders’]. Sarah Hart has just written for 33 Mile, a mainstream Christian group.”

“There’s hope and a great future for Catholic music,” adds Reinhart. “What we need is great Catholic music with a great message to contribute to the New Evangelization. If songs are great, the records are great. That will take the Catholic market to the next level. It doesn’t fit the mainstream record mold or the Protestant mold. There’s a purity to Catholic music. We are seeing more record deals happening. Catholics are more accepted in Protestant circles.”

And Catholic youth are an important key.

“Young ministry has been teaching youth about the life of Christ, the history of the Church, and, eventually, that will start to come out artistically,” Maher predicts. “Great things have happened in the Church through music. The great composers wrote for the Church and gained respect in society. I think that could happen again.”

Amy Smith is the Register’s copy editor.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
SpiritandSong.com
MattMaherMusic.com
Janelle.ca
NextWaveFaithful.com
CatholicMusicNetwork.com

Franciscan Friends Music Mission - Part Three of a Four Part Series

2009-02-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049

Next stop was the “Nursing Home” where we found one of saddest places I have ever been. It was home for the elderly, palliative, deformed and any other type of disease or mental illness. June our wonderful host and driver informed us before we entered that we were there to help celebrate five women’s birthdays. June thought of everything! She brought all kinds of tiny sandwiches and treats along with ice cold drinks followed by “birthday cake” and presents. Those in our group who were not musically inclined helped to seat those who were able to come, in a brightly decorated room. We assisted June in preparing tiny plates of delectable delights and handing out cold refreshments. The musicians on our team entertained the group with lots of cheerful upbeat tunes. They loved it! Some even stood and moved gently, fully enjoying every note. Smiles were everywhere even though some of them were not able to communicate verbally it was evident they were having fun. I couldn’t help but notice that many of them were very concerned with caring for one another. Then June turned and handed me a tray full of the same treats and asked me to take them upstairs to those who were unable to walk down to where we were celebrating. She pointed outside but I couldn’t see any stairs. Suddenly a young man appeared and pointed the way. Up I went coming to a complete standstill when I heard the sound of women screaming. I took a deep breath before saying a quiet prayer. I asked Jesus to give me strength and courage to face whatever lay ahead of me. Later I found out the screams came from women being hosed down in the showers. When I walked through that doorway it was like entering another world. The first woman I saw was sitting on the end of her bed, both legs amputated at different places. Her blouse was nearly off exposing her flat dark breasts completely. She had eyes full of tears. I tried very hard not to cry and did not. I just asked Jesus to guide me to say and do what he would do in my place. I reached over and touched her leg then hugged her and helped her cover up. I gave her a plate of the tiny cakes June had prepared. Suddenly they were all wanting some as they reached out for me. They were all on beds less than a few feet between them. There was a woman screaming and moaning in pain as she lay on her bed. She was large in both stature and shape. Her eyes were closed with what looked like some sort of infection. I went to her and touched her face asking if I could help her. She answered only by moaning. I brought a tiny piece of cake to her lips and asked if she was hungry. At first there was no reaction as I waved it under her nose. Then slowly she bit into it as she took it from me. She quieted down as I gave her more and a sip of lemonade to wash it down with.

Part 2 Franciscan Friends Music Mission Diary

2009-02-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049

ST VINCENT
Part Two
First stop was the Mental Institution. I was there last year so was somewhat familiar with the place but many of our group were not and found it quite shocking. Some of the men were waiting for us, welcoming us all as we entered the dark stone entrance which led to a small open aired stone courtyard bare of anything except patients and benches. I could sense how hard this was for some of our group so I prayed silently and decided to lead the way hoping to make them more comfortable. Over to the right of the courtyard there was a small window with bars. A man looking to be in his late 60’s had both hands on the bars and his head was down. I felt drawn to this man who seemed in such pain. It looked like he was in prison. I reached through and touched his hands, asking him “what was wrong”? He said his head hurt bad. I asked him if he would like prayer and he said yes. I held his head between both my hands and prayed for healing out loud. He said it helped but now he was hungry. He looked terribly sad. I caught Paula’s eye over to my left as she wiped away tears. It was heart wrenching because it looked more like a prison. I coaxed the man out slowly to come join us in the fun. Our group looked like “court jesters” performing for royalty. The Lord was happy and joyous as he came alive in that courtyard. I went around and hugged each one of the men and women, introducing myself and asked their names. They were so sweet and gentle. As I left one of the men gave me a gift he had made. A small piece of wood about 4 x 5 inches, painted like a “target”. I asked if I could take his photo so as to remember who gave it to me. He was more than happy to oblige but some of the other men overheard and wanted their photo taken as well, so a group shot it was and they were all smiles as they posed for me. Nearby I noticed the most amazing tree I have ever seen. It was all large and gnarly at the bottom with a tiny pool of water hiding within the knotted limbs. For some reason it reminded me of elephants feet, not sure why other than the color was similar.

Franciscan Friends Music Mission:Part One of a Four Part Series

2009-02-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Wendy and Denis Grady are part of a unique music mission known as the Franciscan Friends Music Mission. They are currently recruiting musicians to join them on their next mission in November (see separate article in the JUST FOR ARTISTS section). In this series of articles, Wendy shares personal reflections from her diary which paints a vivid picture of what it's like to serve on a mission.

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049

ST VINCENT
Part One
I woke at 6 am after a sleepless night. Too hot for sleep though my body and spirit was weary. I lay back down till my husband Denis awoke then got up for an early Mass at 7 am. Denis, Cathy, Hedi, Brent, Guy and I attended with a few “sisters” from the Pastoral Center where we are staying. Afterwards we made breakfast of two hard boiled eggs, toast and two small pieces of bacon, orange juice and fresh coffee or in my case a cup of tea using teabags I always bring from home. Then the cleanup, I washed dishes, my sister Paula dried. Hedi made egg salad for lunch and Paula made coleslaw for supper. Catherine and I did laundry, lots and lots of laundry. Then hung it all up in the porch only to have “Rueben” (security for the Pastoral Centre) complain to Sr. Ann and I that it was in his way. So I had to move it all down one more level and rehang it. Yikes!! Five trips I made carrying heavy wet laundry in terrible heat down stairs into the yard. I was hot and exhausted. Denis caught me at one point and I began to cry but stopped just as quickly. I’m tired. On one of those trips Rueben locked the two large metal gates leading outside where the clothesline was. I had my arms full of wet clothes! I told Sister Ann and she said she would speak to Rueben and was perplexed at his behaviour. Anyway soon it was lunch and everything we prepared earlier was nearly gone. The musicians had all left at breakfast time to do Radio Interviews but not before grabbing eggs and toast on the run. One of the guys even made himself a plate to come back to. When they returned they ate again!. Then they ate lunch! I really felt the Lord telling me to “let it go” all day. Before we left I said “let’s all wash our own dishes and drinking glass for the next meal” and I did just that. Then we were off to do what we came here for, working for Jesus.

We will continue with Wendy's diary about the mission in Part Two of our series on the Franciscan Friends Music Mission, coming in a few days. Stay tuned . . .

Recording artist Angelina makes a special video in Lourdes

2009-01-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

Catholic recording artist Angelina, known for her beautiful music and high quality videos, has just released a new video filmed at Lourdes. Entitled “Angelina travels to Lourdes,” the video features Angelina singing her signature “Ave Maria” while introducing viewers to the famous sacred site.

In 2005, Angelina released "The Faithful", a compilation of 11 music videos. One of the songs in the compilation, "I Can Only Imagine," was filmed in St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica. It is the first and only music video ever shot on Vatican property.

She, and her mother, Maria Davis (manager, and producer of Angelina Productions) share with GrapeVine what it was like to film in the place where St. Bernadette Soubirous saw visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who proclaimed to her that she was the “Immaculate Conception.”

GV: How would you compare the experience of filming at Lourdes to filming outside of St. Peter’s and/or at the convent of Saint Faustina in your video "The Faithful" ?

Angelina: Lourdes is like the other two places - very sacred, and a blessed journey to take, and full of hope. Walking around and seeing the people wanting to be healed by the miraculous spring was at first shocking to me. In this day and age it is refreshing to see so many people with such devotion and faith. Everyone that goes there goes with their faith out on there sleeves and they wear it proudly. When I was filming in Lourdes, I felt as if I was tip toeing through every place I walked. I didn't want to distract anyone away from their adoration, peace, and meditation.

GV: Was this second video easier to than your first?

Angelina: This second video was for some reason more tiring than the first; perhaps it's my old age setting in! When I was fifteen I did ten videos in three weeks. This was simply one video. It was hard getting every shot just right and making sure that I wasn't giving any goofy faces or walking strange, but it all worked out. I think the song is also one of the hardest songs I sing. Singing Schubert's "Ave Maria" over and over can get a bit tiring. I felt though that this video allowed me more time to enjoy and reflect on my surroundings than the time spent on "The Faithful".

GV: What goes into the making of a professional music video?

Maria: We had done this before in a much bigger sense with the making of "The Faithful", 11 music videos filmed over a three week period in three different countries: Italy, Ireland and Poland. After that venture Angelina and I came to a common understanding: "If we could do that, we could do anything under God. Christmas 2007, my husband gave me and our two children a trip to go to France and Belgium for May of 2008. One of the stops was Lourdes.

To begin with, I have learned over the past 10 years that one must truly discern to the Will of the Holy Spirit before taking on a task of this nature. You really have to lay it (the idea) at the feet of Our Lord and ask that if it is His Will, than so be it. There is a fine line of surrendering to the Holy Spirit and at the same time going forward in the day to day operations and doing the works needed to complete the finished product. Basically, both need to be working side by side in order to get it done. The Holy Spirit has its task and I have mine. This is a key period of time before we do any projects at Angelina Productions. I will sit on a project for however long it takes until I get some type of "Spirit filled moment” that lets me know, "now is the time".

So as time went on in early Spring, I began to think how we could do something really special in Lourdes commemorating the 150th Anniversary Celebration. Then it just came to me: What better way to honor Our Lady then with the song that started it all for Angelina's ministry, Schubert's "Ave Maria."

The first thing I had to do was run it by Angelina to see if she would be open to filming another music video. Remarkably, time had eased all what we had gone through and she immediately agreed.

The next task would to be contact the director, Manuel DeTeffe, for a commitment and agree on a price. At the same time I made contact through the Internet with the Lourdes office telling them a brief history of Angelina and her works and what our hopes and desires would be for filming this video in Lourdes. After much consideration, they wrote back directing me to their Attorney in Paris who then e-mailed me and faxed a contract of about 12 pages long in French. My heart leaped with joy but at the same time I was very anxious because I could speak no French. My husband’s secretary took one year in high school, so she began deciphering bits and pieces for me. It sounded pretty normal and redundant as far as legal documents go and then I remembered there was a nice lady at my parish that grew up in France. I called her and she went over the document with me paragraph by paragraph as well as she could, not to confuse anything, especially about money. I mean can you imagine if I didn't read it and just signed off on it (which I thought about doing) only to get over there and find there was some enormous fee attached to some stipulation in the contract.

It seemed all was laid out as far as using the area for a certain amount of time, the areas which we could use, and observing the holiness of the site and showing the utmost respect and reverence. I suggested that we not sell this particular video, because it was my opinion that I didn't want to profit from this particular shoot. It was only going to be used as a source of education and an inspirational tool for the Faith.

With the contract signed, I basically had to coordinate the director flying in to meet with us in Paris and then setting up extra hotel rooms for his stay in Lourdes. Once there, the staff at Lourdes were extremely accommodating to everything the director and Angelina needed. They assigned a person to escort Manuel and Angelina and be with them at all times as a courtesy. This helped the filming move along very quickly. Everything was shot in a three day period.

I am personally extremely happy with the completed music video and feel very blessed to have had the opportunity once again to bring a piece of our faith for the world to see. We know we have made the best we could in honor of Our Lady and the messages of Lourdes, for St. Bernadette and the town of Lourdes.

Here is the video, “Angelina travels to Lourdes”:

Angelina is currently attending the University of New Orleans Music School full time. Her goal is to complete her studies and become a Conductor of Music.

A Cool, Interactive Advent Calendar

2008-11-28T07:55:00.001-08:00

Courtesy of the Catholic New Media Roundup Podcast, here is an interactive Advent Calendar for 2008. The calendar is designed to mimic the chocolate-filled advent calendars where you have to search for the window for the day, then open it up to find a surprise inside. Click on the day and see what kind of devotional is offered. It could be a reading, a song, a picture - click on the date and be surprised, and blessed!

A step of faith leads Dan Dúet’s music ministry to Africa and beyond

2008-10-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Singer/songwriter Dan Dúet is raising funds for a Catholic music tour of South Africa with Franciscan and Friends that leaves on Dec. 29.

BY CAROL BAASS SOWA TODAY’S CATHOLIC

SAN ANTONIO • Late on the night of Dec. 15, Dan Dúet, the director of a department at Goodwill Industries and a parish music minister, was deep in prayer. A Christian music singer/songwriter, he was finding it increasingly difficult to effectively do justice to both his 16-year corporate career and his music.

For the previous six months he had been struggling to discern what to do and that night he again found himself telling God that as soon as he had financial security and a business structure in place, he would devote himself 100 percent to music ministry. That night he sensed the Holy Spirit telling him that “as soon as” would never come and he needed to take a step of faith. If he waited for everything to be in place first, it would be merely making a career change and not following God’s call. Dúet knew then that he needed to step out in faith.

“And at that moment, the Scripture that came to me,” he said, “was of Peter getting out of the boat onto the water. As long as Peter focused on Jesus, he was fine. It was when he allowed himself to become distracted with the waves and the thunder and the lightning and the rain, when Peter got distracted by all of that and took his eyes off Jesus, that’s when he began to sink.”

Dúet suddenly felt at peace and the next day began drafting his resignation letter for his full-time job. His boss was not surprised and even supportive. “I expected this five years ago,” she said.

Still, Dúet admits, it was scary leaving the security of a good job with a good company and its benefits. At the same time, he found it exhilarating. “For the first time in my life,” he said, “I really was now going to depend on God for absolutely everything in my life. And that was, and continues to be, very exciting.”

Now free to follow his calling, Dúet embarked on a 5-week concert tour this past summer throughout the Midwest. The tour took him to the Catholic Association of Music (CAM) national conference in Eureka Springs, Ark., where he had the opportunity to meet and speak with John Michael Talbot and José Melendez, brother of Tony Melendez.

It was at the conference he learned what he had begun to suspect — that, bye and large, there is not a market for Catholic contemporary Christian music. “In the Catholic Church,” he noted, “we embrace liturgical music and sacred music, but when it comes to the contemporary, it’s not that people in the Catholic Church reject it, it’s just not a part of what we grew up with.” The same is not true in Protestant churches.

While some at the conference tended to take a defeatist attitude regarding this, it made Dúet only the more determined to knock on church doors in an effort to make contemporary music by Catholic artists a part of Catholic culture. “I just want to do my part,” he said. “I feel that’s part of my calling.” He sees change coming about already through ministries such as ACTS retreats and retreats of a similar nature in other parts of the country. “Those are the parishes that are opening the doors,” he said. “Those are the ones who are embracing contemporary Christian music specifically by Catholic recording artists and finding a value in the music coming from somebody with a Catholic perspective.”

He noted that 90 percent of the churches he contacted about performing on his tour had turned him down, even though he offered to perform just for “love offerings.” John Michael Talbot shared with him that had Dúet been a Protestant, 90 percent of the Protestant churches would have welcomed him with open arms.

While attending the CAM conference, Dúet’s music ministry took a giant leap forward when Denis Grady, a Canadian Catholic singer/songwriter and international director of CAM, asked him to be one of four U.S. Catholic acts traveling on behalf of Grady’s offshoot of CAM, Franciscan and Friends, taking their music to CAM members in South Africa. Dúet was honored, but wondered how in the world he could manage financially, not only to pay for the trip, but live for five weeks without an income, since the trip would run from Dec. 29 through Feb. 1.

Within 24 hours though he contacted Grady and told him he would go. “God’s going to find a way,” he said. Shortly, doors he had been knocking on since January, without success, began to open. People started contacting him saying they wanted to contribute to his trip and asking him to come out and speak. Now several fundraising concerts are in the works — the first at Holy Trinity on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., with a second set for St. Pius X in November and another still to be scheduled, plans for one in Houston having been waylaid now by Hurricane Ike.

This will be the first time Dúet has sold tickets for his concerts — $10 per adult, $5 per student and children under 11 free. A large collection of Coca-Cola items was recently donated to him out of the blue for a silent auction at the Holy Trinity concert, and at all of the fundraiser concerts he will be raffling off a gift basket of Catholic music CDs, after putting out a request to other Catholic artists. CDs have been pouring in ever since.

Dúet has also been asked to be the group’s liaison with their South African contacts on the tour, as well as selecting the remaining artists. Grady himself and John Grassadonia were already down to go, and Dúet will be announcing who will fill the remaining two slots shortly. In South Africa, the group will visit Cape Town, Victoria and Johannesburg, helping with a series of conferences and workshops similar to the U.S. CAM event and participating in special events as well as daily liturgies with South African musicians there.

“We’re going to be going to AIDS hospices, universities,” Dúet related, “any place that we can go to bring hope through music, specifically as Catholics.” The emphasis, he noted, is to bring the message, “What you do here in South Africa is important to the church and it’s important enough for us to have to come here to tell you in person what you are doing makes a difference.”

It will be a mentally, emotionally and spiritually grueling trip, Dúet admitted, with two or three events scheduled each day, and he expects the North American musicians to learn as much, if not more, from their South African counterparts as their hosts will from them. “It’s going to be very, very, very challenging,” he added, “but I know it’s going to be very rewarding.”

Adding to the sense that doors are beginning to open for him, Dúet was asked to present the keynote address at the Youth Spectacular held here in February, for which he wrote the theme song, “Transform Us.”

And he was recently named a finalist in five categories for the United Catholic Music and Video Association (UCMVA) Unity Awards, known as the “Catholic Grammys,” which take place in New Orleans on Oct. 25. He is up for Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Country-Gospel Song of the Year for his “Traces of Jesus,” as well as a nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year and co-nominee with Raul Santiago and Matt Di Filippo (a young musician he has been mentoring) for Album Packaging of the Year for Di Filippo’s debut album.

Dúet’s “Traces of Jesus” also appears on a compilation CD by Spirit Wing Records that is up for two awards: Praise and Worship Album of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. And it all started with a step of faith.

copyright 2008 Today's Catholic www.todayscatholic.com
reprinted with permission.

Renowned composer [Marty Haugen] delights audiences with local visit

2008-09-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

(note: I was not able to get permission to reprint this, but I was allowed to post the link. I think the article was worthwhile enough to post it in this fashion. Ed.)

By Mike Latona/Catholic Courier

IRONDEQUOIT -- He did it without fanfare, but some simple instruction from Marty Haugen spoke volumes about his vast influence.
Click here to continue reading this article

Tony Melendez - Up Close and Personal

2008-09-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

by Lynn Geyer, President of the Catholic Association of Music

Tony Melendez is one of the best loved Catholic musicians. Born without arms in Nicaragua, he learned to play the guitar with his toes! He and his manager/brother, Jose, have traveled throughout the U.S. and 40 countries; he has appeared on countless TV shows and received numerous commendations and awards. Tony was invited to perform 3 more times for Pope John Paul II in addition to the first time when he received the legendary kiss from the Pope and was told by him, “Tony, you are truly a courageous young man. You are giving hope to all of us. My wish to you is to continue giving this hope to all the people”. In that message from JPII, Tony realized the reason he was born without arms. It was without arms that he would embrace the world.

Nora Dieseldorff, from the band, Karysma, Miami, FL says, “Tony has no physical hands yet knows perfectly well how to embrace. One evening after a concert, we, in Karysma, were praying over our drummer, laying hands upon him. After a while of intense prayer, Tony quietly slipped his sandals off and humbly placed his feet atop those of our anguished drummer. The impact received through Tony's feet, for this man, was felt throughout the group. How awesome is the loving presence of the Spirit of God through Tony!”

I met Tony and Jose in 1998 while attending a Catholic Association of Music Conference. At one point Tony stood and spoke with gratitude about the way God works in his life. When trials would test his patience, his mother, Sara, always told him, “Trust God, Tony. He made you and He will take care of you.” Tears welled in his eyes. Amazingly, with his lips, he plucked a Kleenex from a tissue box, placed it on his shoulder and wiped his eye, moved it to the other shoulder and did the same. I was in tears watching this simple act. My admiration was boundless; I was humbled, thinking of all I took for granted. I’ll never forget this moment.

I had the profound pleasure of meeting the remarkable Sara and family in 2007 as we gathered at their parish, Lady of the Lake, in Branson, MO to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Tony’s legendary encounter with Pope John Paul II. I got to meet Tony’s wife, Lynn, and their two children, Marisa and Andres and Jose’s wife, Anna, and their four, Alex, Espi and baby twins, Sophie and Sebastian. We watched a retrospective video compilation and people spoke about Tony. But it was Jose who shared the most moving words, how proud he was of his brother, how proud he was of his role behind the scenes. There is no finer example of wind beneath wings than Jose Melendez.

John Michael Talbot appreciates the miracle of Tony Melendez. "Tony has had a big impact on me. First, one simply weeps when they see him play. None of our problems seem insurmountable after seeing Tony play without arms or hands. Personally, after the first ten minutes or so seeing Tony drive or eat he seems ordinary as anyone. Lastly, his humility is extraordinary compared to anyone, disabled or not. This is, perhaps what I most appreciate about Tony. He is always a joy to share concert tours with. Jose has been not only Tony's brother, but his manager/booking agent as well. His dedication to Tony, without overlooking all those he works with, is most admirable."

Susan Stein, President of Heartbeat Records has often worked with Tony and Jose. “It’s always a joy to work with Tony, Jose and the band. The love and respect that they have for each other is heartwarming and a true example of being brothers and sisters in Christ. Tony is an exceptional artist, never demanding any special attention. May God continue to bless him and Jose, who gives willingly of all his gifts in order to assist his brother on all levels..”

Tony was our first headliner in “Merry Christmas, New York City”, an annual concert I produce. At rehearsal, Jose efficiently took over stage management, gaining admiration from the hard nosed Local One Union tough guys. He saved them so much work and time that they gave me a credit for unused labor, quite rare on a NY stage. Many in the audience were unfamiliar with Tony but he won their hearts immediately. He got them waving their lit up cell phones while standing, singing God’s praises in Lincoln Center, of all places! One of our concert goers said she hadn’t felt this good about Christmas in fifteen years.

Canadian, Denis Grady, International Director of CAM and founder of Franciscan and Friends Music Mission offers these observations, “I’ve worked two Canadian tours with Tony & Jose. They’ve set the bar high for Catholic artists; production, sound and the band, all first class. People in Canada are still raving about the concerts. Jose is a delight to be around; he manages to keep his smile under the stress of being road manager, booking agent, publicity director, emcee, soundman, and personal assistant. The guy needs to write a book for rest of us!”
Tom Booth reflects, “I’ve had the pleasure to sing, work and travel with Tony and Jose. It's funny; you forget Tony doesn't have arms. He’s just normal, funny, happy and a great guy. However, he’s special because he’s constantly overcoming the physical challenges that come with his "disability". I am honored to be a friend and a brother on the journey. He, Renee Bondi and I are all in the same "graduating class". We started our ministries about the same time in the western United States. I feel a unique bond with them both. Jose Melendez is a character! And what a great brother he is to Tony. They’re a package. One inhales; the other exhales. What I’ve really grown to appreciate is Jose's deepened sense of ministry. He has always been a good manager, sound man, promoter etc., one of the best, for sure. But Jose has become a minister as well. He does what he does with a lot of love and care, and he does so with the gospel of Jesus Christ in the forefront. He’s a blessing to Tony and to the Church for what he has helped to accomplish: the vibrant and effective ministry of Tony Melendez, and the building up of a Contemporary Catholic music culture in the U.S and beyond.”

Another great thing about Tony and Jose is that they are generous. Jose came off tour for a few days and drove to Eureka Springs, AR with daughter, Espi, to speak at our CAM conference. He could easily have stayed home and rested for 3 days before heading immediately back on the road. Instead, he felt it important to share his ministry knowledge with artists hoping to learn and grow by coming to the CAM conference. When I contacted them about this article they were willing to talk with me on the weekend when they were at home between tours. Knowing how important family time is, it was decided a question/answer format would be less time consuming and would probably be as effective as a phone conversation. Here they share advice, current news and some personal thoughts.

GV: GrapeVine contributor Nick Alexander has admired Tony and Jose for many years, and wonders if there’s any chance of OCP publishing “The Lord’s Prayer” or “You Are My God” in the Spirit and Song resources.
T/J: We’re in conversation with OCP and are moving in that direction. Thanks!
GV: Congratulations on your first Spanish CD, Esperanza! Has your ministry changed with the additional travel to Latin America?
T/J: Our mission remains the same; we’ve taken the words of Pope John Paul II and his commission to heart and are trying to live that mission out in North & South America. We’re truly global at this point; we’ve been to 40 countries. We spend 50% of our ministry outside the USA. We try to stay grounded and our mission is to give hope. We haven’t changed the mission but it has grown over so many years. We celebrated 20 years in 2007.
GV: Have you always been devout Catholics? What influence has family had on your spiritual development?
T/J: We’re cradle Catholics but it was in high school that we truly experienced the real Love of the Lord. Family is the core of how we started and why we still do what we do!
GV: As you were growing up and developing your musical sense, who were your greatest influences?
T/J: John Denver, James Taylor and many others but our father was the greatest influence.
GV: What caused you to choose Takamine over any other guitar manufacturer?
T/J: The low cost and the quality of the Takamine guitar is appealing. It’s not a high end guitar but is road worthy and the internal pickup is one of the best.
GV: How has the internet impacted your ministry?
T/J: In three major ways; one is accessibility. It provides people fast and easy access to us. Two is the free promotion it provides; if you type Tony Melendez into Youtube there are over 300 pages!!! When the Holy Father died someone uploaded the clip with Pope John Paul II to and literally millions have reviewed it. We couldn’t pay for that kind of exposure! And finally it has provided a global and cheap way for us to provide our promotional material to those who want to book us. We’ve uploaded it to our website and with a username/passkey sponsors can download all of our promo material.
GV: How do you balance a touring ministry AND being family guys?
T/J: The key is being involved no matter where you are and more important living the words of Jesus. Being a servant and placing others before you! We try to balance it all by bringing the family as often as possible and try not to be on the road more than two weeks at any one time. The other most important thing is prayer! Both of us pray with our families whether we are home or not.
GV: How much time in a typical year are you on the road? What’s your favorite aspect of ministry work?
T/J: We average 150 gigs per year, always a mixture of both singing and speaking. Our favorite aspect is that we have the potential to change people’s attitudes and encourage them towards a relationship with Christ.
GV: Jose, you have been spotted many times in the director’s booth of venues outside your own ministry. What does it take to get you to direct a venue unrelated to your own family ministry?
T/J: Timing is really the issue, because I see that as my ministry. I love the production end of the entertainment and even wish we would use it as a means of enhancing liturgy.
GV: What advice would you offer to aspiring Catholic musicians?
T/J: Be honest to yourself and don’t be afraid of being the local guy or gal. Not everyone is meant to be an American idol or have a full time touring ministry. God is greater than all that and he has given all of us a vocation!
GV: How did you put the outstanding band together?
T/J: The Lord has provided these people and their respective gifts. We didn’t intend to be ethnically correct or plan on an ecumenical group but God made it clear by blessing us in such an abundant manner.
GV: Are new projects in the pipeline?
T/J: We hope to release Hope the English version of Esperanza and a more acoustic project. We have recently added Anthony Guerrero to develop a DVD series, an extension of our ministry.
GV: What’s the chance of the Melendez brothers slowing down?
T/J: As our mother put it at the 20 year celebration, it is our time and there will be time for resting later. For now we look for the balance and pray that God continues to use us.

Mama Sara was so right; now is their time and praise God, the balance seems to be nicely met. Please support their ministry by visiting www.TonyMelendez.com.

Listen to Episode #99 of the GrapeVine News Minute to hear clips from Tony's recent performance at the Proud2BCatholic Festival. Watch the video that goes along with this podcast and see Tony in action.

© Copyright 2008 GrapeVine. Permission to copy or reprint this story must be obtained by writing to susan@gvonline.net. Used by permission.

Rob Kaczmark - The Catholic James Dean of 2008

2008-08-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

The bridge between Catholic media and relevant teen culture

by Kyle Heimann

The first time I saw Rob in person, he was clad in his business dress clothes and sporting a mohawk in downtown Chicago. I realized right away that this guy had style, a style that wasn’t imitating pop culture but one that pop culture imitated. He was a pioneer; ahead of his time. Every time I see him, he looks different with a new part of his hair bleached or a new style. Now he shares this gift, a gift of style with the Catholic community.

Rob Kaczmark isn’t your average Catholic. In fact, I would consider him an extreme Catholic. Actually, I think extreme should be his middle name. Everything this guy does is extreme.

He doesn’t just get a pogo stick, he gets an Xpogo which can jump 7 and a half feet in the air. He doesn’t just get a unicycle, he gets an off road unicycle that goes down mountains and steps. This is a man that owns PowerJumperz; springy stilts that let you take 9 foot strides and jump 6 feet high. He drives a Harley . . . do I need to keep going?

With all of this extremeness you may wonder how this fits into his faith, you may wonder how many times he has broken bones, you may wonder if he can break dance; I will show you, once and yes, he can.

Rob’s passion for life and his enthusiasm to take everything he does to a level most people don’t know exists is what makes Spirit Juice Studios so valuable. Catholic media has suffered for years from amateur quality, boring CD covers, bad fliers, and cheesy videos. Consider Rob a legal steroid shot for your media and you might start to see how your media would be able to compete with all the other media that passes a teenager’s senses.

It may seem like Rob was born for this, and that his whole purpose in life was to produce Catholic media that made peoples’ eyebrows raise and say, “Wow!” That his vocation was to take an industry that has survived off the slogan, “Not bad for a Catholic __________,” and turn it into, “You mean this is Catholic?” But he hasn’t always been doing this.

Three years ago, Rob was working in an office on the 11th floor of the Sears Tower. On the side he would DJ proms and weddings which kept his finger on the pulse of the newest secular music.

Even then he was very active in ministry. “I was doing a lot of youth ministry as one of the adult leaders at St. Germaine, as an 8th Grade CCD teacher, helping with retreats and some occasional youth rallies with a nun from the daughters of St. Paul,” explains Rob.

Then, several years ago, Rob started Spirit Juice Studios with his behind-the-scenes cohort, Bernie Czerwinski. Spirit Juice started out as a radio program that aired on the Catholic Radio Station, “Relevant Radio,” in the Chicago area.

“Bernie was on the phone with Leanne (one of Bernie's friends) talking about different possible names for this ‘young, hip, Catholic Radio show’ and well, she goes, ‘I got the perfect name for that radio show, how bout "Spiritus,"’ and Bernie goes, ‘yea "Spirit Juice" I like it.’ and Leanne goes ‘NO, I said “Spiritus,”’ then Bernie was like ‘’na that’s dumb, I like "Spirit Juice,"’ and the rest is history,” tells Rob.

The show was a fun, and hip look at Catholic music geared towards young people. Interviews, inspirational stories, full songs and remixes were combined with energetic personalities to make a fun show. Rob quickly grew a fan base and learned that there was a need for quality production in Catholic media and, well, that he was quite good at it.

So, what makes a guy that is making good money working in the Sears Tower quit his job to pursue a career in ministry?

“Well I really fell in love with God at Medjugorje,” explains Rob. “That place basically showed me that everything that was taught to me was real. I became passionate about it when I realized how much stuff out there in the church was presented in such a lame, boring, unattractive way. I basically was like, ‘man someone's got to start stepping this stuff up’.”

And step it up, he has done.

The problem was finding the income to support going full-time. “Direction for our Times flew me out to Ireland and basically wanted me to create a youth program for them,” says Rob. “It was at that point when I was like, ‘Yea, I think this could work.’ They originally wanted me to work for them but I felt called to not just serve them but the entire Catholic Community by providing digital media for them.”

But as Rob shares, knowing if a ministry can go full-time is tricky. “There are two things that I would consider before going full-time. You must have the burning desire, but it must also make sense,” explains Rob. “I had the burning desire for awhile but it didn't make sense, I had to wait a while before it made sense. Patience is a virtue.”

Since switching to full-time ministry, Spirit Juice Studios has been helping other ministries connect with their target audiences through top-notch media. The team has expanded with Rob still running the show. Now, Spirit Juice employs people that specialize in areas such as video, audio, and graphic/print art and the result has been some of the most attractive media the Catholic community has seen.

Rob’s business partner, Bernie, has worn different hats throughout the life of Spirit Juice Studios. “Right now he basically oversees everything and makes sure the business doesn't fall nose first. When things start to come apart he is the glue. In the future, he hopes to be more hands on with some of the projects,” explains Rob.

Another project that Rob has been working on over the years is “Experience the Stations.” Rob was DJing for an event at Navy Pier and Anna Scally from Cornerstone Media, was there. “I chatted with her for a while” he explains, “and we shared different projects we had done. She gave me a CD called “stations of the cross.” It had a reflection from Christ, then a personal reflection for a kid, then a modern secular song. It was really great except for one thing: every year she would update the music to include only songs from that year (2002 or 2003 etc.) Although I thought it was a great idea, I still thought it could be improved, a couple different ways; one, by not limiting the songs to just a certain year, and also by adding a visual component to it. And well 5 years later, nearly 8,000 Chicago'ans have experience the stations like never before.”

One of the services Rob and friends provide is a podcast called “the jUiCER.” This Spirit Juice podcast comes out about 3 times a month with four different regular shows to promote Catholic ministries (mostly music related).

The first and the original podcast is the “SPiRiT jUiCE EPiSODEs.” Currently on episode 37, these are full radio shows with 3-4 songs, interviews and inspirational stories. They often feature an artist or event and are very entertaining.

The “SPiRiT jUiCE SLUSHY” is a fun remix of a Catholic talk. The Spirit Juice team takes an ordinary talk from a Catholic speaker and drops a beat in the background and does some effects with the vocals to make it sound like something that would be played in a club.

Humorous personalities, Kilo and Sr. Mary Margaret, put together “Cd REVIEWS” where they “smuggle” some of the best Catholic music for your enjoyment. They give their review, play some samples and answer the listener mailbag to bring you a fun look at some Catholic music.

The final regular post on the podcast is the “FREE REFILLS.” This is a free mp3 from a Catholic artist. In the first 3 months of this year, the podcast gave out 4 different songs from artists that young people will enjoy. The podcast as a whole and the free refills in particular are a great way to learn about and get some free new Catholic music.

It’s worth noting that the podcast is not only for young people although it is specifically created with them in mind. The music is all professional recordings and spans different genres that young people enjoy. The podcast can be found at the Spirit Juice website or by subscribing on iTunes.

Yes, Rob has been doing great things for the Catholic community and the demand for his services has never been greater. Positive feedback, thrilled returned customers and glowing word-of-mouth reviews has kept the Spirit Juice staff busy and growing.

Rob’s equipment and ministry isn’t all contained to a studio, he also does many on-location events. Whether it is live audio or video recording, or sound reinforcement, Rob has quality equipment to get it done right. In fact, his live sound rig has kept growing to include an incredible light and sound production for dances or concerts. Spirit Juice also has a full-on video production with projectors, computers and lots of fancy faders and switchers to make an event top-notch.

Spirit Juice Studios has become a full-service production studio with Rob at the helm.
Good equipment and software doesn’t come cheap but now, Spirit Juice Studios has everything necessary to create amazing digital or print media. With a state-of-the-art studio in the Chicago area, Spirit Juice has the means to record, film, edit, print and duplicate anything for the web, DVD, CD or print.

“I have a motto, ‘nothing is worth doing unless you are going to do it well.’ A lot of successful business people have that same motto but not many ministers. Most people of care/ministers believe so much in God and faith and helping people that any idea to help more people seems great, and just getting the message out there is more important than how the message is presented. We, as ministers, must discipline ourselves in dedicating ourselves to making sure the message is presented in an effective way. After all, the Devil puts a lot of hard work and time in presenting his message why shouldn’t we?”

www.spiritjuicestudios.com

Here's a sample of the work SpiritJuice does in this video about World Youth Day called World Youth Day 2008 (Chicago Style):

© Copyright 2008 GrapeVine. Permission to copy or reprint this story must be obtained by writing to susan@gvonline.net. Used by permission.

GrapeVine talks to Dan Schutte

2008-07-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

The former member of the St. Louis Jesuits shares his thoughts on the spiritual life, music, and the never-ending debate on liturgical music.

Dan Schutte is best known for his collaboration with the ground-breaking St. Louis Jesuits back in the 1970s. One of the best known composers of music for prayer and worship, Dan's celebrated works include "Here I Am, Lord," "City of God" and "Sing a New Song.” A Grammy nominee and Unity Award winner, Dan has created music that is part of the standard repertoire for Christian worship worldwide. He travels frequently offering concert and workshop events for liturgists, musicians and communities seeking a renewal of faith through music and prayer. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the University of San Francisco.

We had a chance to catch up with Dan and talk about his spiritual life and the many fruitful years of music ministry which include the recent release of his latest album, God’s Holy Gifts.

GV: Talk about your faith journey, where it began, where you're at now, and how are you continuing to enrich your faith.

DS: Oh my! How does one begin to tell the story of one’s journey of faith. My early faith memories are so tied to my family, especially my mother, and to the Catholic parish we belonged to in Milwaukee where I grew up. The core of my faith, I suppose, is that God is real for me and that I’ve always been, as far back as I can remember, in relationship with him. My mother taught me as a very young child to talk to God. Every night as she tucked me in bed we prayed together. This simple little ritual had, I think, a profound effect on my faith. For me faith has never been so much about doctrine or creed, as it is about a relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

This early seed of a living faith was nurtured by the nuns who taught me in elementary school, and even more so by the Jesuits later in life. My association with these men and with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have had a profound effect on me. My faith, as well as my music, has been influenced by how I learned to contemplate the Scripture as a young Jesuit. I learned how these stories and words of Scripture are alive in my life, and not just stories of history. For example, St. Ignatius invites a person to not just read the story of the birth of Christ, but to experience it, to listen and see and smell and feel. It’s very different from just meditating on the meaning of the incarnation. Again, it’s about God being real.

There’s a sense in which the act of composing is like a contemplation. I will often turn to Scripture for inspiration and for a focus to a piece of music. When I sit down to write, I find that I need to pray the piece myself first. If it can be prayer for me, then it has a greater chance of being prayer for someone else. I suppose you could say that writing music for prayer challenges me to be authentic in my own prayer.

GV: When did your love for singing and performing start and what were your early musical inspirations?

DS: I’m laughing to myself here because, at least early on, I didn’t like to sing publicly. I was shy and afraid, self-conscious and unsure. My real love was for writing music, not for performing it. Writing music took me, however, into situations where I was called upon to perform it, to teach it to others and to lead their singing. Over time I grew in confidence and even began to enjoy public singing. But singing at liturgy, which has always been the primary focus for me, is not quite the same as performing on stage or in a club. While there are elements of performance in both, at liturgy the focus of the music is directed toward giving praise to God rather than directed toward the performer. The musician at worship is just a vehicle. During the years that I collaborated with the St. Louis Jesuits, we worked hard to keep the focus on God rather than on us.

My early musical inspiration came from my grandparents. My father’s mother and my mother’s father were both accomplished musicians. At a very young age, I remember being enthralled when they would sit down at the piano to play. We didn’t have a piano at our house, so I would look forward to visiting the grandparents, I’d sit for hours at the piano trying to learn to read the music in the books I found in their piano bench. Sometimes they would sit down next to me to show me how to do it.

GV: What instruments do you play? - Self taught, or where did you take instruction?

DS: I play both piano and guitar. I wish I’d had piano lessons as a young child, but we didn’t have a piano. So my parents had me learn the clarinet, which I played in the band all through grade school and high school. I didn’t study piano till I was in college, and even then, it was simply for the sake of writing music, not for performing. Guitar, on the other hand, I picked up during high school and on my own. I’d sit for hours with chord books and the music of Simon & Garfunkel, or Peter, Paul & Mary, and try to figure out how to play it. After high school, when I entered the Jesuit seminary, there were others in my class who knew how to play and from whom I learned. There were many opportunities in those days to play at Mass, or just to jam together, and I know it really helped me become a better player.

GV: What do you feel your mission is as Catholic musician? Who do you hope to reach with the music?

DS: The mission is very simple: to compose music that will help people pray and will draw them into the presence of a God who embraces us with a steadfast, unconditional love. Much of my music is directed first toward those who gather as community to give thanks and praise to God at Eucharist. So I’m always aware of the liturgical and communal effect of a hymn that I write. But I also think of those who are not church-goers but are still hungry for God in their lives. Music is a powerful way of expressing things of the heart that cannot be adequately put into spoken words. Music has the power to move the human heart toward God. My hope is that the music I write helps these people as well, people who might listen to the recordings as they go about their work, run errands or relax at the end of a long day. I know people who wake to my music, do their morning exercise with my music and put their infants to sleep with my music. It is such an honor and privilege to be welcomed into people’s lives like that through the songs I’ve written.

GV: How did your new album, God’s Holy Gifts, come together, and how did it differ from your previous projects? What is your songwriting process?

DS: I had a Jesuit retreat director once who often told us, “Beauty never hurries.” I find I work best when I give my music ideas time to grow and mature. It often takes me three or four years to create a new collection of music. This is true of my most recent collection, God’s Holy Gifts. Unlike my previous to projects, this one does not have an overriding theme or focus. It is simply a collection of songs for prayer and worship. There’s a setting of the Pentecost Sequence, a Litany of Peace, a setting of Psalm 116, a piece based on the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and a song of hope.

My songwriting process can be different for different pieces. Sometimes it begins with a melody. Often it will begin with a single line of text that I use to begin to create a melody. As the music will often run beyond the snippet of text that I have, I then have to fill in the rest of the lyrics. As a piece comes together I will play and sing it many times over looking for places that don’t feel quite right. This is where, I suspect, the creative intuition enters the process in discerning when something is just right or not. I will often have to work at certain places in the music or lyrics until I discover what feels right.

For liturgical music there are other musical judgments that enter the process as well. I have to ask myself whether people without much vocal training can sing it. I ask myself if the melody is memorable and will wear well over time. I will often struggle with the text, to find the right word or the right image. It’s not just the meaning of the words, but also the sound of the words that contribute to the overall impact of the song.

GV: Why did you select to re-record two older hymns, "Come with Me into the Fields" and "Valleys of Green?"

DS: Re-recording older pieces is something I’ve done on each of my last five recordings. Like the others before, the two songs you mention were originally recorded on the first St. Louis Jesuit recording, Neither Silver Nor Gold. This collection of fifty-seven songs was recorded largely on a two track recorder in a basement “studio” in our house of study in St. Louis. While people loved the music, the recordings left much to be desired, especially in terms of the quality possible today. So as I’ve done my more recent recordings, I’ve taken one or other of these older pieces and re-recorded them. In some cases I’ve updated the language and even added verses to make them more usable for liturgical purposes. You have to understand, I wrote these pieces somewhere between 1970 and 1973. Luckily I’ve learned a few things since then, sometimes from my mistakes. So my hope is that people will enjoy these older pieces again now that there is a better recording of them.

GV: "Handmaid of Heaven" seems to be an ecumenical take on "Immaculate Mary." Was this your intention, and do you strive to reach non-Catholic Christians with your music?

DS: While my intent in writing “Handmaid of Heaven” was not to make “Immaculate Mary” more ecumenical, I think that’s one of the results of my adaptation. The “regal” images of Mary in the original text are ones that do not resonate with people as well as they probably once did. Most of us, unless we live in England, have no living experience of such images. And, as you imply by the question, many non-Catholics have difficulty with images that seem to make Mary god-like. For example, the line from the original text “You reign now in heaven with Jesus our king.” would make this hymn unusable in many non-Catholic communities.

I’ve always loved this hymn tune, which is based on an old French, Pyrenean melody. It became the basis for the traditional piece that is sometimes called the “Lourdes Hymn” because it is sung, with many verses in many languages, at Lourdes. So I decided to take this lovely melody and give it words that might connect with our personal journey of faith. Mary is such a perfect model for us of how a person of faith responds to God. I took the story of the Annunciation, where Mary is visited by God’s angel, and wrote lyrics that express what I felt is the heart of that story for all of us. I tried to be true to the Scripture text and authentic in the way I wrote about this holy woman.

GV: Please share some memories of your time with the St. Louis Jesuits.

DS: The years of collaboration with the St. Louis Jesuits are a great treasure to me. I think the others would say the same. There is no doubt that it was the work of God’s Spirit in us. We didn’t plan it out, but rather, I think, did our best to respond to the urging of the Spirit to write music. The fact that people found the music helpful for prayer and worship was what encouraged us and an indication that God wanted us to continue.

One of the wonderful aspects of our collaboration was the loving critique was were able to give each other for the music. It was our common practice to bring a new piece to the group, to sing and play it through, and then sit around and talk about it. Sometimes a composer is just too close to his creation to see and hear certain things. When I first brought “Here I Am, Lord” to the group, they loved the piece, but felt that something was not quite right with the lyrics. They gently told me that the original version, “Here I am, Lord. Here I stand, Lord. I have heard you calling in the night.” sounded just a bit too confident and sure a response to God’s calling. In the Scripture stories of the call of Samuel and the call of Isaiah, both Samuel and Isaiah express uncertainty in their response to God. Though I resisted at first, I knew the others were right. So, after much wrestling, came up with the solution “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?” This nuance to the text was something that I didn’t see on my own, but the others helped me to be truer to the Scripture, and to our human experience before God.

GV: What was your experience with the St. Louis Jesuits reunion on the occasion of your thirtieth anniversary? What do you think the music legacy is of the group?

DS: When our publisher, OCP, came to use several years ago and asked whether we might consider doing a new recording in honor of this anniversary, we really weren’t sure it was such a good idea. The Church is at a very different place than it was in those years following the Second Vatican Council. Today there are those who would rather see our music disappear, or better, be banned from use at Catholic liturgy. Our music for many represents the renewal of the Council. And if we were to do a new recording, what would be the message? And, given the great abundance of new music being written for the liturgy, would it simply add more to the pile?

In the end we decided to record the collection of twelve new pieces called Morning Light. It was important to us that this new music speak words of hope to people’s hearts. So each of the songs, in one way or another, offers a different message of hope. OCP also published a beautiful anniversary coffee table book with many photos of us over the years, the story of our years of working together, letters from friends, teachers, bishops and other composers, as well as some reflections by each one of us. It is a wonderful tribute.

The reunion was an amazing event, very powerful and very humbling. I don’t think any of us truly understood the grace our music has been in so many people’s lives. We heard so many stories and received so much gratitude. The reunion concert events that we did were such a treasure for the five of us. We hadn’t sang or played together in over twenty years, and here we were on stage performing these pieces, many that we’d playing together hundreds of times before. Along with that come a flood of memories and a gentle sense of gratitude.

GV: What is your opinion of the whole "traditional vs. contemporary" worship music debate? How do you answer those who feel your music is not appropriate in a Mass setting?

DS: Because some of my early pieces of music have been around for nearly forty years (“Sing a New Song,” “You Are Near,” “All My Days”), there are people who call my music “traditional.” A friend of mine, a parish music director, tells the story of a lady who came to hear wanted to plan the music for her own funeral liturgy. The lady began by saying that she wanted the music to be traditional, not contemporary. My friend assumed she, therefore, wanted pieces like “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace.” “Oh my no!” the lady responded. “I want music like “Here I Am, Lord” and “On Eagle’s Wings” for my funeral. So what is “traditional” and what is “contemporary” is understood quite differently by people.

I suspect your question has more to do with what one might call the “style wars” that many communities are experiencing. It is a judgment about what kind of music is appropriate for use at worship. It would be important for someone to articulate why exactly they don’t think my music, or music in the style I write, is not appropriate. Many times, when you try to get them explain, the answer comes down to a matter of personal taste. They don’t like my music. They like what I’ll call the more classical “church” music, like plainchant, or Palestrina, or Proulx.

But worship, and vehicles we use to express our praise and thanks to God, is not about perfection or performance. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do all we can to create beauty in the visual, musical and ritual elements we use for worship, but it means that these art forms are never an end in themselves. All these elements are at the service of the prayer of the community and are judged by how well, or how poorly, they help people to pray. In every age, the new music that’s created must be judged by how well it can do this. The music must stand the test of time. How many years? It would seem that forty years is a rather significant amount of time. And over the centuries, both people of faith have used a variety of styles to express their faith and Church leadership has never “christened” just one kind of music. People are different and find different styles of music help them to pray. I myself find I can pray with many different styles and my music over the years reflects that. I suspect the people who are so critical of my music judge it by how they heard it sung in church. There are many elements of “classical” music in my compositions and I’ve used plainchant melodies in my music. It is simply not appropriate to say that the only kind of music should be used for worship, or even more, to impose the style that I prefer for prayer on everyone.

GV: Your concert events often involve a workshop on liturgy and music. What is the purpose of these workshops and what message are you trying to get across?

DS: The workshops that I present are directed at people who are involved in the planning, preparation and leadership of worship. This would, of course, include musicians, but not just musicians. The choices one makes in preparing worship or the manner in which one performs a role during liturgy makes a difference in how well it can support the prayer of a community. To make good choices, and to perform a role of leadership well, one must understand the structure of and dynamic of the ritual. In the Roman Catholic world, and many mainline Protestant denominations, that mostly means understanding the rites of the Eucharist. In my presentations I certainly draw on my forty years of experience as a composer and parish music director, but I base much of what I teach on the liturgical documents of the Church. For instance, the Roman Catholics bishops of the United States recently published a document titled Sing to the Lord that is directed to musicians. The document contains so much wisdom and understanding of what the Eucharist is about and how music plays a role in it. The bishops reaffirm the guiding principle first presented by the Second Vatican Council that the primary goal of worship is the full, conscious, active participation of those gathered. So at my workshops we discuss how musicians can best work toward this end.

GV: What is your next project?

DS: You know, I’m not exactly sure. Just last fall I completed God’s Holy Gifts. Sometimes inspiration takes time and I’m in the mode of waiting to discover the project that will spark my interest and passion. People will often suggest that I should write a piece about this or that, or compose a hymn for such and such occasion. But part of the artistry of the composer is to find the thing that inspires his or her soul. I’m trying to find out what that might be as I move forward with a new project. I read, I pray, I listen to various kinds of music, looking for the thing that will be the focus of a new music project. Sometimes I ask others who work in the area of liturgical music for ideas.

Questions supplied by Paul Schultz.

Dan Schutte is available for concerts and liturgy workshops. Please contact Diann Bruno at OCP Events, 503-460-5412 or www.ocp.org/events. You can see where he is appearing here: www.ocp.org/events/artist/352

Listen to the GrapeVine News Minute, Episode #81 (March 9, 2008) on the podcast player to hear an interview with Dan Schutte. Read the review of God's Holy Gifts here.

Summer keeps lots of Catholic artists busy

2008-06-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Summer of 2008 is proving to be one of the busiest concert seasons in recent memory for many Catholic artists. From Sydney, Australia where World Youth Day will draw millions of young people together to worship and praise God in song, to Quebec, Canada where the International Eucharistic Congress has just drawn tens of thousands to ponder the mysteries of the Eucharist, to states all throughout the USA, Catholic artists are sharing the Gospel though concerts, festivals and summer camps.

Held the third week of June, the International Eucharistic Congress proved to be a tremendous blessing to thousands in the historic and beautiful city of Quebec. Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21, numerous Catholic artists performed to crowds during the Catholic Music Festival. Artists included Diane Tarantino, Mark Mallett, Bob Halligan, Jr., Choeur et Christ, Atoning Stone, Takillakkta, Janielle, Donald Gagnon, Daniel Thibeault, David McDonald, Guylain Roussel, In Ipsa, Église Sans Frontières and Tuesday Bloom.

The much anticipated World Youth Day is coming up July 15-20 in Sydney, Australia. Among the featured artists are Fr. Stan Fortuna, John Angotti, Jorge Rivera, Noelle Garcia, native Rob Galea and Brian Walker.

Several large events are being sponsored by Proud2BCatholic and the La Salette Shrine, with concerts in Sulphur, LA and Framingham, MA. Featured are Tony Melendez, Martin Doman, Kelly Pease, Zealous, D-Major and Sammy Blaze. The recent winning band of the first NH Battle of the Bands, Straggler's Plea, are also scheduled to perform.

The La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA is also sponsoring their annual Steubenville East conferences for high schoolers. Speaker/performers include Righteous B, Sean Forrest, Ben Walther and Kelly Pease.

Another lucky band , the Lee Roussler Band, won a battle of the bands competition for the privilege of performing at The Fest, taking place in Northeast Ohio on August 3rd. Matt Maher is also scheduled to perform along with other bands.

Kyle Heimann and Daniel Harms, aka Popple, are spreading the Gospel through their music in a different way, through the Catholic Heart Work Camps. These summer camps serve young people in various parts of the United States.

These are just some of the many events taking place this summer. Check GrapeVine's Concert Listings page for dates, places and more information on these and other summer events.
© Copyright 2008 GrapeVine. Permission to copy or reprint this story must be obtained by writing to susan@gvonline.net. Used by permission.

Catholic band will rock Sydney

2008-06-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

WORLD YOUTH DAY - SYDNEY, 2008

BY KIM CARON, Special to RI Catholic

Like most rock bands, Pointe Blank traces their beginnings to a musty basement. However, when you picture a mom as the lead singer and her fifth grade son playing homemade drums, the classic garage band image goes out the window.

This local Catholic indie-pop band started back in 1998, as a mom’s version of music class for her children’s homeschooling program. Mom, Nicole Sweet, played keyboard as her two daughters, Jess and Danielle, sang along. Chris Sweet, then 12, pounded on a drum pad with pots and pans for symbols. The band got together every day for class, and soon discovered their knack for writing tunes. Jess, then 8, and Danielle, 9, became passionate about music writing.

“I remember Jess was downstairs one day playing Barbies and singing this one line over and over to herself,” said Nicole Sweet. “All of a sudden she came running upstairs, saying ‘Mom! Mom! I think I’ve got a song!’ That song ended up being one of our first as a band. It was called Warrior and it goes ‘Jesus I’m here for you. When the enemy’s coming, I’m not running.’”

The band first called themselves ‘How Sweet It Is” after the family name. Over time, Chris picked up the guitar and taught his sister Jess how to play drums. They soon discovered that Danielle had a powerful set of pipes, and she joined her mom as one of the lead vocalists.

Finances were tight for the family growing up, but they found ways to get the instruments they needed. A friend donated Chris’ first guitar. Nicole even rounded up odds and ends for a garage sale to raise funds.

“I spent my $550 bonus from work on a set of drums instead of paying my electricity bill, “ said Dad Scott Sweet. “I knew God was doing something with the band.”

“How Sweet It Is” first took to the stage at St. Charles parish in Providence, where the kids were involved in youth group. Their performances kicked off a whole slew of shows at youth festivals and coffeehouses all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

After practicing every day for ten years, this classroom band morphed into a talented group of Catholic musicians. Current members include the four Sweets as well as Justin Dery, 20, who joined as bass player two years ago. The band tours all over New England, playing both the Protestant and Catholic circuits. For the past four years, they have provided music for liturgies at St. Charles parish in Providence and St. Joseph’s parish in Attleboro. The Diocese of Providence’s youth ministry office has enlisted the band to play at several congress events and youth gatherings. Pointe Blank has also performed at Bryant University, Providence College, and Rhode Island College.

Since changing their name, the band released two albums, the first entitled Generation Whatever and the recently-debuted second album Providence. Both cry out against social apathy, encouraging the listener to take a stand for who they are. Songs such as “Dying to Live” question the value of material goods in the face of spiritual fulfillment. Other songs recount times of personal trials and doubt, and finding faith and hope in the midst of the darkness. Their lyrics plead for this generation to take up arms against the “whatever mentality” that is so prevalent among young people. In the track Red Sun Rising, Nicole cries out, “When nothing’s fine, let this be a sign, as I cry to the world that we’re still here.”

“We hope to achieve a level of honesty in our music,” said Chris Sweet. “Instead of taking cues from other Christian music, we find that the Catholic message is the most universal and human approach to the expression of faith. We’re trying to do something new with our art and people are responding to it.”

Just recently, in one of many attempts to share their music, Pointe Blank entered a competition through a Catholic Music organization called Rocking Romans. The prize was to play at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Not expecting anything to come of it, the band was both surprised and excited to receive a phone call a few months later from Paul Mazurek, president of Rocking Romans. Mazurek announced that Pointe Blank had won the competition hands down, and led them through the application process to play at World Youth Day.

“Clearly they had real musical quality,” said Mazurek. “I knew this was a sound and a band that could reach out into a secular market and connect with lots of people.”

Mazurek made the distinction between two types of Catholic music, that of praise and worship and a newer category of performance-style music. In his eyes, Pointe Blank fits into the second category. “Their performances can cause you to step back on your heels. You just want to take it all in. They are a very talented and committed band that can put on a great performance,” he said.

Pointe Blank is scheduled to perform on stage in front of thousands of people in Sydney during the week-long youth festival. The pope is set to arrive the day of their show. “I’m so excited,” said Nicole. “I’ve always wanted to play for the pope.”

Mazurek added that the opportunity to play at World Youth Day is a chance to show the world that there is more coming along in Catholic music. “Pointe Blank is one of the best Catholic bands out there,” he said. “Their performance will most likely be a unique experience for the pilgrims.”

“To be a part of the Catholic Church is to be a part of something universal. To be a part of something bigger than ourselves like that is moving,” said Chris Sweet. “The opportunity to play at World Youth Day has created a certain momentum and has rallied an unprecedented level of support for our mission and our message.”

Since hearing the news from Rocking Romans, Pointe Blank has hit the road touring and raising funds for their trip. They recently performed a benefit show in Atlanta, traveling the distance from Massachusetts to Georgia in their grandparent’s 32-foot camper. The band also participated in a battle of the bands sponsored by Proud2BCatholic. This summer is going to be busy for the band, with plans including the trip to Australia and a performance at Soul Fest, the largest Christian music festival in New England.

As the band continues to tour and grow in popularity, their Catholic identity will remain the driving force behind their music. On the way to every show, they will pile in the 12 passenger van, as always. Nicole will pass around the basket of plastic rosary beads she stores in the glove compartment and, in keeping with tradition, the band will pray together. They are Catholic, and proud of it.

To hear Pointe Blank, visit their web site www.pointeblankband.com. For information on Rocking Romans, visit www.rockingromans.com.

If you would like to help Pointe Blank with their trip to Sydney, feel free to send donations to the Rhode Island Catholic, 184 Broad Street, Providence RI 02903 by June 20, 2008. Write “Sydney Trip” in the memo section.

Reprinted by permission, The Rhode Island Catholic

Hear and see Pointe Blank in the NH Battle of the Bands competition (part two) our video section, www.gvonline.net/02FILES/videos.htm and also on the GrapeVine News Minute, www.gvonline.net/02FILES/audio.htm

The Presence of ValLimar Jansen

2008-06-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

By Nick Cardilino

Power. Passion. Presence.

Each time I have seen ValLimar Jansen perform, I was amazed by the power of her presence. Her full, strong, beautiful gospel voice permeated the huge spaces. She didn't just speak; she proclaimed. Her passionate presence on stage commanded attention. It drew people in to hear the Word of God in a new and deeper way. Honestly, I was a bit intimidated by her.

Yet, when we first met, she came up to me and introduced herself with the sweetest, gentlest voice. She was warm, welcoming and personable. She really made me feel at home, like we had been old friends for years. At first, her down-to-earth manner made me wonder if somehow I had her confused with someone else. But how many ValLimar's can there be?

I wondered how her powerful energy on stage and her gentleness in a one-on-one conversation could both be so genuine.

“It's amazing,” she told me on her way to do a couple of shows in Iowa, “how the Holy Spirit can make me invisible, even in front of 20,000 people, and allow people to feel they can be in God's presence. I really want to be a conduit for God to work through. I'm certainly not perfect, but I pray all the time that God will keep this conduit clean, so He can come through.” Then she gave me another metaphor: “I like to think of myself as a battery in a car. I'm not the car. I'm not the destination. But I do what I can as a battery.”

ValLimar has certainly been sparking a lot of electricity at the largest gatherings of Catholics in the U.S. lately. In the past year or so, she has performed, led liturgies, cantored and given workshops at the March for Life, the National Catholic Youth Conference, the L.A. Religious Education Congress, the National Pastoral Musicians Conference, and the National Conference of Catholic Youth Ministers. “Yet, the greatest thrill for me so far in performing,” she told me, “was last September in Loreto, Italy. It was such a blessing to perform at this event for 400,000 people and the pope!”

Her passionate presence has also been in high demand around the country. She’s been busy doing concerts supporting the new album “Anointing” that she and her husband, talented keyboardist/songwriter/arranger Frank Jansen, recorded. This CD was produced by Ted Perlman, who has worked with Elton John, Chicago, and many others. From hot, energetic dance mixes to prayerful, reflective arrangements, the album is a treasure from start to finish. ValLimar's soaring, soulful voice guaranteeds that this CD will get a lot of spins in a lot of CD players!

All but one of the songs on this uplifting CD are traditional spirituals with new arrangements by Frank and ValLimar. “Our goal for this CD was to update some of the greatest spirituals, so that they can influence a whole new generation.”

She found on her previous CD “You Gotta Move” that the traditional songs she covered had such power for today. “I decided to record 'I Want Jesus to Walk with Me' because it was about breaking free, a very important message for young people today. When I recorded the line 'Can you hear the hammer the ringing?' I wasn't only thinking and praying about the hammering of the nails of Jesus on the cross, but was also thinking about other hammers today—the hammer of a gun, the hammer of a difficult job, the hammer of a jail cell door. All those trials and tribulations are connected, and work to make this spiritual timeless.”

One of her favorite songs on “Anointing,” her second CD on the SpiritandSong/OCP label, is “Wade in the Water.” “It has a beautiful simplicity. My mom's second grade class sings it whenever I visit them. Plus, it has a lot of possibilities for liturgical use. This arrangement will work well for confirmations and baptisms, or whenever water is an important symbol.”

Confirmation is a very special sacrament to ValLimar, who was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1991 through the RCIA, and water is particularly important. “I love the moment when we become one with the rest of the Church throughout the world by making the sign of the cross and recalling the waters of baptism.”

ValLimar grew up in Louisiana in a Baptist Church, but in Louisiana, “Catholics and Baptists got along and shared a lot of commonality.” She was “raised in the church. My mom was very devoted.” And it didn’t take her long for her to hear God’s call to music ministry: “When I was five years old, I asked if I could sing. At first, they told me I was too young, but eventually, they let me sing 'In the Garden.' I was hooked!”

Not only does she pay homage on the new CD to the great tradition of African-American spirituals that she was raised on, but she also treasures the opportunity she had to sing “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel,” one of the most fun up-tempo tracks on the CD, with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. “Edwin Hawkins is such a down-to-earth guy. When we recorded the track, the singers were so well-rehearsed, so ready! Their harmonizing was so natural! They're all such beautiful people! You know, Edwin Hawkins is always asked to do 'O Happy Day,' the song that made him famous.” She laughed, “I think he was most happy to not have to do 'O Happy Day!'”

The one song on “Anointing” that is not traditional, but is certainly a spiritual, is Bob Dylan's “Gotta Serve Somebody.” “I was looking for a song that is a kind of a modern day spiritual,” she explained. “This one certainly works because of the style of the song and how it addresses the apathetic spirituality and secularism that is so prevalent in today's world.” Her powerful gospel voice and the arrangement she and Frank did make this song even more infectious and powerful than Dylan's original version.

On several of the tracks on this CD are some wonderfull spoken word parts. “Walk Together Children,” for example, intersperses some well chosen quotes from Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Gandhi and Martin Luther King on social justice. “With the spoken word, we were trying to capture some of the live performance experience.” It's not surprising that the spoken word is so effective both live and on the CD: theatre has been and still is a very important part of ValLimar's ministry.

“In addition to the concerts, I'm also doing a one-woman show called 'Stormy Weather,' about the life of Ethel Waters. She was a fascinating woman. She began her life as a 'throw-away kid;' she was the product of a rape, and her mother treated her very poorly. But she ultimately became the highest paid woman on Broadway in the 1930's. She was the first one to sing 'Stormy Weather' at the world famous Cotton Club, and she became famous for it before Lena Horne made it a huge hit in the film of the same name. Ethel Waters eventually sang with the Billy Graham Crusade.” In the show, ValLimar not only acts, but also sings 14 songs and does three dance numbers. And she co-wrote it too!

Whether it's through drama, singing, dancing, or reading scripture, ValLimar's passion and gift is storytelling. Harcourt Religion Publishers just released her second DVD on storytelling. “I'm excited that they spent a good deal of money to make it really professional!” she says with a tone of surprise based on humility.

That's not all that's on the horizon. She and Frank have just finished recording their next project “Psalms from the Soul,” which should be available in time for the National Pastoral Musicians Conference. This one will feature a number of psalm settings for liturgical use that ValLimar and Frank wrote.

ValLimar will also be performing at the National Conference of Catholic Youth Ministers again this year, as well as keeping up with a full schedule of concerts and one-woman shows. If you have the opportunity to see ValLimar and Frank Jansen live, don't miss it. You cannot help but be moved to a deeper relationship with the Lord by the power and passion that shines through their ministry.

ValLimar is truly sacramental: whether it is in a big emotional moment in a performance, or in the unavoidable urge to dance to one of the songs on her CD, or in a quiet conversation with this faithful woman of God, each instance is an encounter with the real presence of Jesus.

For information on performances and recordings, check out www.spiritandsong.com/artists/vallimarjansen/.

Nick Cardilino is a Catholic recording artist in his own right. He co-wrote (along with David Smith) and recorded the winning theme song for the 2008 NCCYM conference, “Discover the Way.” He performed it with Smith at the conference, and this is how he met ValLimar Jansen. Visit Nick’s website at www.nickcardilino.com.

Impressions of Pope Benedict XVI

2008-06-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Personal reflections from those who encountered him during his visit to the

United States

What would your reaction be if you had a chance to see the Pope in person? What if you had an opportunity to sit down with him and talk with him, one on one? Two of the performers, and a couple of lucky spectators (lucky because of where they sat in Yankee Stadium) were kind enough to share their reflections of Pope Benedict XVI as they related their experiences of seeing him in person.

Fr. Stan Fortuna, CFR performed during the youth rally in Yonkers, NY at St. Joseph’s Seminary (his alma mater) on Saturday, April 19, bringing his own unique style of jazz, hip hop and rap. This Franciscan Friar of the Renewal had had the privilege of meeting Pope Benedict in October of 2006 and felt back then that the Pope was handling the job very well. Because the pope is quiet and shy by nature (in contrast to the very public Pope John Paul II), Fr. Stan perceived that there has always been some level of discomfort for Benedict in the public setting. However, he noted a change in the pope’s demeanor when he greeted the over 20,000 young people and 5000 seminarians at the youth rally at St. Joseph’s.

Fr. Stan shares his own reflections of the day: “The [youth] were just so eager and ready to have the Holy Father come there and be with them and when he came, of course there was this major eruption of excitement, enthusiasm and gratitude. But the biggest thing that really impressed me was just watching the smile on Pope Benedict’s face. I mean, he’d been smiling a lot through the whole thing and I think really winning over the country and winning over Catholics and non-Catholics and just really touching the human hearts just very, very deeply. But at the seminary, the young people, I think, were really pressing a certain button in him that I think had something to do with the impact of the intercession of John Paul [II] because it was really extraordinary! There was a marked difference between the smile that he had when he was with the young people and the smile he had at other times during his apostolic journey. So it was really great.”

Dana, who hails from Ireland, is one of Catholic music’s most beloved singers and songwriters. She performed during World Youth Day 1993 in Denver for then Pope John Paul II, doing her signature song, “We Are One Body,” which was the theme song for that particular World Youth Day. Fifteen years later she was invited to sing that song again before the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium on April 20th.

Dana had the privilege of a private meeting with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger back in 2004 and described the now-pontiff this way: “At that meeting I was so taken aback by, first of all, his humble nature, his gentleness . . . he’s obviously a huge intellect and is recognized as such. He was very interested in what you had to say. So, in going to the stadium, I wondered how people would react to him, I wondered how the media would react to him. He just seems to have won over the people and the media of the United States. I felt he had grown in confidence; thinking back to the first World Youth Day and some of the earlier public events where you could see he was obviously not used to this incredible outpouring of love . . . I think he is just a wonderful pope!”

Matthew Baute and Annie Karto are both music missionaries, performing devotional music focusing on healing and reconciliation. They often work together providing music for healing retreats at Our Sorrowful Mother's Ministry Vandalia, IL. On this very special occasion, Matthew and Annie were part of a retreat run by Fr. Bill McCarthy. He was able to secure seating for the final Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, April 20. As luck would have it, they had 4th row box seats behind home plate!

Annie called it a “life-changing experience . . . the fact that almost 60,000 people could be quiet and reverent during the entire mass was a miracle! . . . He [Pope Benedict] shone, radiating Christ with such a benevolent voice, so fatherly and loving. I was never in my life so proud to be an American Catholic . . . I will never be the same!”

Matthew shared that “Tears came into my eyes as we awaited the successor of Peter. That’s something that I felt kind of uniquely at that point was that here we are, we’re about to witness and have a chance to see Peter’s successor . . . just amazing . . .”

He remarked on how wonderful the Pope’s homily was, relating, “He talked about what real freedom is, [how] it’s not a license to do anything [but rather] freedom is basing our lives on the truth. A very important message for our society, our culture to hear. And he also talked about having been with the young people the day before, and he once again called to young people to base their lives on the truth and be courageous in answering God’s message.”

You can listen the complete interviews of all the individuals cited in this article by tuning in to the GrapeVine News Minute program, episode #86 at www.gvonline.net.

Catholic artists perform for Pope Benedict XVI

2008-06-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

The performance of a lifetime was granted to several fortunate Catholic artists.

This is one invitation that will be cherished forever.

Five artists who are also devout practicing Catholics were asked to perform for the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, during his historic 6-day visit to the United States.

John Angotti, a singer, songwriter and retreat leader represented by World Library Publications participated in the pre-Mass event at Washington’s Nationals Park in Washington, D.C on Thursday, April 17. Other performers included Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo and American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. Angotti performed "Stand in the Light," chosen as the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress theme song in 2007. He has just put out a new collection titled, "Joy Beyond Our Dreams" which features uplifting new music for the Easter Season.

Of this performance for Pope Benedict in D.C., he commented, "To be asked to sing at this event with Pope Benedict is the greatest musical event of my life. I am humbled to just be there to celebrate the Risen Christ in word and deed, song and sacrament."

New York’s own Father Stan Fortuna, a Catholic priest and one of the original Franciscan Friars of the Renewal out of the South Bronx performed at his old alma mater, St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers on Saturday, April 19 during the youth rally held before the Pope’s appearance. Father Stan is a talented improvisational jazz-trained bassist as well as a rap and hip hop artist. This he does on top of his very active ministry to the poor. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal have opened a homeless shelter, a food bank, a community centre with numerous after-school/weekend programs and a free medical clinic for needy families in the area in addition to many other works with the poor. The CFRs have also expanded to over one hundred friars internationally. All proceeds from Fr. Stan's concerts, speaking engagements and merchandise sales through his non-profit company Francesco Productions.

Provident Label recording artist Matt Maher also performed at the youth rally at St. Joseph’s Seminary. Maher, originally from Newfoundland, Canada, now hails from Mesa, Arizona where he regularly ministers for Life Teen services at St. Timothy’s, serving with Tom Booth, another prominent Catholic worship leader and musician. Maher has just released a new album, “Empty and Beautiful,” from which he performed the title cut during the Fox News network’s coverage of the rally. Following a brief in-studio interview, Maher performed the song on his acoustic guitar as images of the pope at the rally were shown.

Maher was particularly inspired by the reported 5000 seminarians on hand for the rally. “It was a wonderful time and I’ll tell you, those seminarians in the front, they’re just on fire! It was just amazing to be there and to support their vocations.”

It was estimated that a crowd of 25,000 (including the seminarians) greeted the Pope with great enthusiasm and love.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, known simply as “Dana” professionally, performed for the over 56,000 persons who came out to Yankee Stadium for the final Mass on Sunday, April 20 celebrated by the Pope before his return to Rome that evening. Hailing originally from Ireland, the lyrical Irish brogue still evident in her speech, Dana is well-known in Catholic music circles for her music, most especially her composition, “We Are One Body,” which she performed for Pope John Paul II in 1993 at World Youth Day in Denver, CO.

Dana had met Pope Benedict XVI before when he was known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. She found him to be a towering intellect with a great deal of humility, a compelling combination that would attract and draw people to him.

On the same bill was another devout Catholic who is known by millions around the world for his hits, “Feliz Navidad” and “Light My Fire.” José Feliciano cut short a tour in Australia to rush back and participate in this most special event in his career. He performed three songs which he felt reflected the message of “Christ Our Hope” set forth by the pontiff: “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers, “Que Sera,” another international hit for Feliciano, and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” performed with West Point Cadets and the Harlem Gospel Choir.

Performed from the heart by singers deeply in love with Jesus Christ and His Church, these Catholic artists provided inspiration which prepared the many faithful present for an encounter of a lifetime with Pope Benedict XVI. And they, in turn, received the special blessing of serving the Holy Father in this special way.

For more information on the artists mentioned in this article, visit these websites:

John Angotti: www.wlpmusic.com

Fr. Stan Fortuna: www.francescoproductions.com

Matt Maher: www.mattmahermusic.com

Dana: www.dana-music.com

José Feliciano: www.josefeliciano.com

Sources: press releases from WLP (John Angotti), Provident Records (Matt Maher) and Blue Moon Communications (Fr. Stan Fortuna); the Fox News network (for the quote from Matt Maher); the Florida Sun-Sentinel.com (Dana); The Weston Forum (José Feliciano)

For more information on this story, listen to the GrapeVine News Minute Broadcast, episode #85

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