 |
|
The current Madison Diocesan Choir under the direction of Dr. Patrick Gorman. (Contributed photo) |
MADISON — In celebrating 40 years of music ministry, the Madison Diocesan Choir will present a free spring concert like no other at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center on Friday, May 3.
The evening concert will include former members in performing favorite, heartfelt hymns of the past, as well as relatively new songs of praise.
Choir will swell to over 100 voices
The choir has more than 70 active members representing parishes throughout the diocese. On this festive occasion, however, its numbers will swell to more than 100 as the former members, some of them founding members, join in singing sacred music, including signature pieces the choir has sung from its beginning.
For Dr. Patrick Gorman, now in his 21st year as director, the biggest challenge may be finding space for them all in the O’Connor Center chapel. Assistant Director Glenn Schuster will accompany the anniversary choir in the concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel of the center, located at 702 S. High Point Rd.
“I’m delighted by the response,” Gorman said. “The audience can expect a rich and warm sound. Sine Nomine, ‘For All the Saints,’ will be particularly powerful.”
Important role
In an invitation to former members earlier this year, Gorman wrote, “The choir has not only played an important role in our diocese these last 40 years, it has played an important role in the life of our members (from the founders down to today). Those who have sung with the choir are grateful for those who came before us (or after us). We want this to be a joyful celebration of thanksgiving through song.”
The choir’s spiritual influence on an individual level was perhaps more evident this year than any other. All who gather each week for rehearsal do so dedicated to serving the diocese and fulfilling the choir’s music ministry. They also come together as a strong faith community, supporting one another spiritually in especially difficult times.
Rallied around member
When bass Joe Schoeneman of Oregon began to experience kidney failure and needed a transplant, the choir rallied around him. All felt a sense of relief and joy when a donor stepped forward.
He underwent successful transplant surgery and rejoined the choir for Chrism Mass. There is more to tell about his ordeal and happy result, but suffice it to say for the moment that his experience, and those of other members this year, are all part of the celebration of thanksgiving through song, as Gorman described it, at the Forty Year Reunion Concert of the Madison Diocesan Choir on Friday, May 3.
Program for reunion concert
The choir’s sense of gratitude, especially that of founding members, is perhaps best expressed in singing the motet Unto Thee, O God by Hovhaness. Soprano Pat Paska, a founding member, recalls singing Unto Thee at every venue during the choir’s three-week tour of France in 1973. Unto Thee and The Blessing of Aaron are the choir’s signature pieces.
“We used it to ‘test’ the acoustics in cathedrals, castles, wine cellars, wherever we sang,” she said. “We would finish the song, then stand quietly and count the seconds as the sound reverberated throughout. The melody is beautiful and the words prayerful. Others in the building would stop in their tracks and listen. It gives me chills just thinking about it.”
Pat and husband Ron purchased new scores of Unto Thee for the reunion concert in memory of her sister, Phyllis Brumm, who died suddenly last summer.
“She was a very prayerful person and often attended our concerts and parish visits,” Pat Paska said. “I miss her every day.”
Founding members
Pat Paska and alto Sue Hubbard are the two charter members still in the choir. Ron Paska has sung bass with the choir since 1974. The present choir also includes Paul and Joyce Stein, both third generation members.
Other founding members quick to accept Gorman’s invitation include Russ Champion, Maggie Dohm, Toni Kellor, Paul Lacy, Steve Schough, and Mary Jo and Terry Steiger.
“I’m going to have to concentrate so that I don’t become emotional to the point of not being able to sing,” Pat Paska said.
The inaugural tour of France and the founding director, Roger Folstrom, who died in 2011, will be remembered fondly. Over the years, the choir has performed throughout the Midwest and abroad.
During Gorman’s tenure, the choir has toured Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Germany. In the 2001 trip to Italy, the choir sang for Mass at the famous Duomo in Florence and for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
In honor of new pope
In honor of the new Holy Father, Pope Francis, Gorman will direct the choir in singing Prayer of St. Francis, a piece that Stoughton-raised composer William Beckstrand composed for the choir in 2008 as a gift to Gorman.
“I added that as a kind of a prayer for Pope Francis,” said Gorman, also the director of the diocesan Office of Worship. “He’s a great witness, just by what he does. He has not written anything great yet, has not necessarily made any great pronouncements, but just by who he seems to be, and what he seems to do every day says a lot about humility, a lot about the way we think when we think of Christ.
“We think of somebody who’s with people, who is seeking out the lost, who is living simply. All of those things. That’s the thing that’s been most impressive to me. He really seems to want to lead by serving and showing how to serve.”
Prayer of St. Francis will feature bass Tom Eichman as one of two concert soloists. Soprano Donna Corcoran will perform the solo in the spiritual Ride on King Jesus.
“The way Tom sings Prayer of St. Francis, it seems so prayerful and serene,” Gorman said. “He’s got such an easy, pleasant voice. And Donna is really a fine musician. She has a lovely voice. I’m glad we are able to feature her.”
Remembering the cathedral
The program also includes I Will Arise, which has taken on a special meaning for Gorman. The traditional hymn was sung at Mass in St. Raphael Cathedral on March 13, 2005, the day before the cathedral was destroyed by arson fire.
As acoustically pleasing as the O’Connor chapel is, longtime choir members will remember the cathedral as a wonderful place to sing and worship.
“Whenever we do that piece, it always reminds me of the cathedral,” Gorman said.
Tour in June
The program also includes pieces Gorman chose in part for the choir’s scheduled tour of the Ohio River Valley in June with Pittsburgh, Gettysburg, and Philadelphia among the destinations. The selections include Blow Ye, the Trumpet and We Shall Walk Through the Valley, moving pieces, especially for those feeling the loss of family members, including members of the choir.
Power of prayer
The story unfolding about the choir, reunion, and concert would not be complete without returning to the point on the power of prayer, whether sung in verse at a concert or liturgical service, or offered in silence on behalf of a family member or friend in need.
When rehearsal ends, members usually make requests before Scripture is read and Blessing of Aaron is sung. Initially, Joe Schoeneman’s needs weren’t readily apparent.
Member’s kidneys failing
“Last year, we all knew Joe was having troubles,” Gorman said. “We knew his kidneys were going to eventually wear out. He had talked about his sister and her death. So I know we were all praying for him. But he’s so matter of fact about it and quiet that nobody really knew how sick he was until the fall when he told us about his need for a transplant.”
With that revelation, things changed.
“They really rallied around him in prayer and in action,” Gorman said. “It did a lot to bring the choir together. I think some people checked into whether they could be a donor. So there’s a real dynamic community at work here, a dynamic faith.”
Schoeneman, who is 57, said he knew his kidneys in time would fail. He and three of his four siblings knew they were at risk of developing polycystic kidney disease. A younger sister, Beth, died a year ago, although her death was due to an acute form of lung cancer. An older sister, Mary Jo, underwent a kidney transplant three years ago.
Schoeneman spent more than a year on the national transplant registry. Last September, he started dialysis.
“I just knew that somewhere down the road, I would get the call that a kidney was available,” Schoeneman said.
Donor stepped forward
The call came. A donor stepped forward, Paul Sever, someone Schoeneman knew all along. They are both members of Holy Mother of Consolation Parish in Oregon, and they sing in the parish choir.
In a March 3 article, the Wisconsin State Journal told the story of Paul’s gift to Joe, their recovery following the transplant at University of Wisconsin Hospital on January 24, and their developing friendship.
Schoeneman said he was grateful for everyone’s prayers and support.
“I must have written 50 to 60 thank you cards,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding, life changing. Since I’ve known quite a few people in our parish choir over the years, and of course, the diocesan choir, it’s just shown me what a faith community really is, and what the Church should be all about, supporting each other, praying for each other.”
Following the reunion concert, the audience will have an opportunity to visit with Schoeneman and other choir members, past and present, during a reception in the cafeteria of the O’Connor Center.