Happy Pentecost!

Happy Pentecost! This feast is the culmination of the Easter season, and in a way the culmination of the program year for our choirs. (Actually we start our summer schedule after Corpus Christi Sunday, but I digress.) For Pentecost we pull out all the stops musically: a 4-voice schola at 5pm Mass, choir and handbells at 9am, contemporary ensemble at 11am. We’ll have plenty of good music this weekend.

A couple of folks have seen me around church this week and seemed surprised. Most people see me when I’m playing a Mass or directing a rehearsal, but those hours are really a fraction of what I do here. Out of curiosity, I tried to count up everything needed just for the music this one weekend. Between 5pm, 9am and 11am, we will have:

15 hymns

3 psalms

21 acclamations

3 choir anthems

5 handbell pieces

2 organ instrumentals

That’s 49 pieces of music in one weekend. (That’s not counting yesterday’s graduation Mass or today’s wedding, that’s probably 30 more.)

Some of the music repeats at each Mass, but there are many differences from one Mass to another. For example, we will switch to the Mass of Creation at 9am because the handbells have parts for that Mass and not for the Mass of Glory. And this particular weekend we have different hymns at 5, 9, and 11 based on what instruments are coming and giving each Mass its own unique style.

For each of those 49 pieces of music, it’s not like the printed music just falls from the sky into the musician’s hands. At any given time, there are around 30 pieces of music inside each of 25 choir folders, probably 20 in the each of 6 handbell folders, and maybe 10 in each of 16 ensemble folders. (30x25) + (20x6) + (10x16) = 1,030 pieces of music in circulation at any given time, which continually rotates in and out of the files during the year. Plus all the books to keep track of—lots of filing.

Then there’s the planning/organizing. I’ll spend up to 10 hours per week just planning the congregational music, choir music, who sings on what verse, who is the cantor for each Mass, what instruments are playing at which Masses and on which songs, copying music for each of them, making packets, making recordings of new music, planning the rehearsals, sending email reminders, on and on. That’s time spent at a computer, on the phone, in meetings, or arm deep in file cabinets: none of which involves me touching a musical instrument. Practicing the actual music takes hour or two of my own practice time plus 3-6 hours of choir rehearsals each week. Oh, and I spent an hour yesterday adjusting the sound equipment upstairs for the ensemble.

Add to that time spent on long-term planning, working on improvements to our music space, various committee meetings, budgeting, applying for grant funding, meeting with wedding couples, continuing education for many of our musicians and myself, going to regional music meetings, just to name a few. (That’s all in addition to my full-time job at the Center for Liturgy.)

Why do I do it? Because God calls me to do it. And because I love God, I love the liturgy, I love music, and I love the people of Epiphany.

If I stagger out the door at noon on Sunday, you’ll know why.