Concert day ... nerves ... excitement. This was the BEST day of the conference for me. The morning started off with a pop tart and some water and then off to my first morning prayer service. As expected, it was a musically moving experience that I enjoyed thoroughly. But everyone was waiting excitedly for the day's plenum speaker.
Hey, it's the "On Eagle's Wings" Guy
Father J. Michael Joncas came out to a spirit-filled standing ovation. His appreciation and humility was more than evident with his smile that seemed to welcome personally each of the three-thousand-plus in attendance. The subject of the day was way above my head -- The Pastoral Musician: Hermeneut, Catechist, and Mystagogue. Still, my full attention was his. A review of his talk would not do justice to its power and message. I took away from his talk a better understanding of my role and liturgical responsibilities as a music minister. I can't wait until Judy gets the DVD of his talk so others can experience this enlightening.
Following the talk, I couldn't believe my eyes - WHY? Because sitting two sections away from me were Pat, Marlene, Mary Lou and Mary! They are some folks from my college days, but I need to elaborate a bit more on Mary. Who's Mary? She's the one who started this all for me. She's the one that helped open my eyes to the call of music ministry. In college, I was a member of the Catholic Newman Center where I sang in the choir and later became a cantor. In my final year of school, I was chosen as the music ministry intern. That year, I learned so many things about handbells, guitars, keyboards, winds, brass, strings, percussion, musicianship, conducting, soundboards, microphones, pick-ups and choirs. But more importantly, I also learned about faith, leadership, musicianship, liturgy, commitment, and pastoral care. Needless to say, seeing Mary and the others put a huge hanger-in-the-mouth smile on my face.
Operation Adobo
I experienced another "NPM first" with my first breakout session. It was more time spent with getting in touch with my roots. In my mind, I had given this whole thing the codename "Operation Adobo." This session succeeded in giving me more direction in learning how to get more in touch with the history involved with the faith that goes along with my heritage. It is more than just different ways of doing things. There are stories behind the rituals and cultural differences that could add so much to our liturgies. The working bibliography alone will keep me occupied for months.
Time to Eat!
Actually, for me it was time to shop. I had to go to the mall. You see, that night I was participating in the "Harmony in Faith" concert with a Filipino choir that I met the day before. I went to the mall to find 2 things: dark pants and a barong-esque shirt (I'll explain later). I found them after much searching. I was running short on time though so I just grabbed a protein bar from my bag and ... well, that was my lunch.
Showcase: WLP
World Library Publications is one of the larger music publishers here and this showcase of their music was a crowd pleaser. We were each presented with a copy of their hymnal and the choral octavos for the pieces presented. I arrived late, but quickly found the best way for me to enjoy these showcases - I spread out over two or three chairs and played along quietly with my ukulele as I sang. It was fantastic.
Breakout Session B
On my way to the next session, I saw another familiar face from my college days -- Father Dan!! I couldn't contain my excitement when I saw him. He was the presider at our wedding. I got someone to take our picture and I spoke with him for several minutes trying to catch up. I couldn't believe what a great day I was having. I went on to my session which was a talk on taking your handbell choir to the next level. For me, this was worth the price of admission. David Weck went over rehearsal techniques, musicianship, and emphasis on dynamics. It was refreshing also to be one of the people selected to play bells at the session. We played music of higher difficulty that reminded me of the music we played in college.
Quartet Concerts
That evening, there were 7 different concerts scheduled. Four concerts at 7:30 and three more concerts at 9:30. My schedule was already planned the day before however. If you recall, I got invited to sing with a Filipino choir at the 9:30 "Harmony in Faith" concert (I really don't get tired of saying that). We were to met in the lobby at 4:45 and went over to the church where the concert would be. We had to get organized as far as where do we stand, when do we sing, what order will we sing - all the fun stuff. We were able to get through most of that stuff, but many of us were very hungry. One of my new friends, Marlon, had ordered Filipino meals for all of us. Additionally, a parishoner of the church opened her home to us so we could eat there prior to the concert. It was a wonderful gift from both of them.
Marlon also provided a barong for me. A barong is Filipino formal wear for men. They come in various designs and colors. The evening before, Marlon had brought one to rehearsal. Unfortunately, the one he brought didn't fit. He said he would check to see if he another that would fit better. Just in case, I bought a shirt that kind of looked like one - it wasn't perfect, but it would've been passable. Marlon, however, came through big time. The shirt he brought for me to wear was beautifully made of the pineapple cloth fabric (or something close to it) and dyed with a tropical design.
The concert itself was an event like I'd never experienced before. The other cultures represented in the different choirs and performers were Hmong, Vietnamese and Korean. Each group performed liturgical pieces whose roots were from their respective heritages. Our choir had 3 selections that were written by Father Manoling Francisco, a Jesuit priest in Manila. Our first song, Sa'yo Lamang, was sung entirely in Tagalog and translates to "For You Alone." The next was song called "Face of God" which was in English and sung in canon with 4 separate musical themes. Additionally, we performed it with descriptive hand motions. It worked very well for audience participation. Our final selection was a composition of the Magnificat written in Tagalog and English. Again, the audience was invited to sing along with the English ... incidentally, I played ukulele on this one -- woohoo! To close the evening, all the musicians collaborated on the song "Springtime is Blossoming" which was written by Father Ricky Manalo. Again, I played the ukulele and sang. It was an evening I'll never forget.
Taize
To end the evening there would have been fitting. But for me, it didn't end there. Maria and Jojo said they were going to attend the Taize prayer service later that evening. Taize is a very meditative form of song and prayer that I had gotten some exposure to in college, but very little since then. I arrived a bit late for the service, but was able to find a seat with Maria and Jojo. The entire space was dimly lit with candles adorning the altar area. The music completed the meditative ambience and I just let the moment take me along for the ride. It was both invigorating and frightening to let go of everything and truly live in just that time and space. What happened to me there that evening was something so wonderful, so awe-inspiring and so intense that I still sense the shadows of that experience now. At the same time, it was also very personal and intimate which is why I don't want to elaborate on the details here. Those with whom I did speak about it understand why. I thank those few for caring and helping me try to make sense of it all.
Print | posted @ Tuesday, July 24, 2007 12:25 PM