Tag: Patrick Gorman

On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Diocesan Choir presents Lessons and Carols

madison diocesan choir
The Madison Diocesan Choir, under the direction of Dr. Patrick Gorman, presented a Festival of Lessons and Carols at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center in Madison on December 20. Bishop Robert C. Morlino presided at the Advent service. Joining the choir this year was the St. Raphael Brass Quintet and timpani. (Contributed photo by Ken Halfmann)

MADISON — The Madison Diocesan Choir gives a special gift to the Diocese of Madison each year during the holiday season.

The choir presented its annual Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, Dec. 20, in the chapel of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino presided at the service, which includes Scripture readings and hymns and songs celebrating the season.

Dr. Patrick Gorman directed the 66-voice choir composed of singers from throughout the diocese.

Enhancing Lessons and Carols this year was the stirring music provided by the St. Raphael Brass Quintet and timpani. Members of the quintet include Robert Rohlfing and Jessica Jensen, trumpet; Matthew Beecher, horn; Brian Whitty, trombone; and David Spies, tuba. Joe Bernstein performed on the timpani.

Glenn Schuster, assistant director of the choir, provided piano accompaniment.

Read More
On
Dick Jones, For the Catholic Herald

Trumpet will shine at Lessons and Carols

MADISON — With a trumpet solo as pure and melodic as it is glorious, the Madison Diocesan Choir will herald the birth of Christ in a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, featuring brass quintet and timpani, this Sunday, Dec. 20, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center.

Dr. Patrick Gorman, Diocesan Choir director for nearly 25 years, has had harp, strings, and woodwinds accompany the choir with organist Glenn Schuster for the Advent service, a longstanding tradition of the choir.

Read More
On
Dick Jones, For the Catholic Herald

Choir’s mini-tour is a joyful hymn of praise

ESCANABA, Mich. — Despite gray skies and cold, blustery winds, the Madison Diocesan Choir’s recent mini-tour of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) will be remembered as a joyful hymn of praise, a wonderful weekend of friendship and spiritual renewal.

Perhaps more so than any other trip, members not only sang beautifully, they lived the music, embodying John Rutter’s For the Beauty of the Earth and Harold W. Friedell’s Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether.

Read More
On
Dick Jones, For the Catholic Herald

Diocesan Choir promises extraordinary Spring Concert

MADISON — With voices raised heavenward, the Madison Diocesan Choir will present a free Spring Concert on Friday, May 8, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center with the classic Irish hymn Be Thou My Vision as the centerpiece and theme of a special program unlike any of the choir’s previous spring concerts.

The extraordinary program by director Patrick Gorman will feature Dublin-born tenor George Breadon of Monroe singing the hymn’s first two verses in Gaelic.

Read More
On
Dick Jones, For the Catholic Herald

Choir presents final O’Connor Center concert

diocesan choir

The Madison Diocesan Choir will bid farewell to the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison when it presents its final spring concert in the center’s chapel on Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. Here they sing at the 2013 Lessons and Carols with Dr. Patrick Gorman directing and Glenn Schuster accompanying the choir along with guest musicians.(Catholic Herald file photo)

MADISON — On Friday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m., the Madison Diocesan Choir will present its final concert at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, and under the direction of Dr. Patrick Gorman, members will bid farewell to their principal venue for many years with a spring concert to remember, featuring an orchestra, guest soloists, and two seldom-heard, but stunning and inspiring pieces.

Only a year ago, it was in the O’Connor Center chapel that the choir celebrated 40 years of music ministry. Its more than 70 active members from parishes throughout the diocese swelled to over 100, as former members returned. Together, they performed a spring concert as an anniversary choir.

Leaving the center

Since then, the Diocese of Madison announced its decision to leave the center, located at 702 S. High Point Rd., and lease it to a developer. Under the tentative agreement announced last fall, the former seminary will become an apartment complex with up to 150 rental units.

“I think everybody’s sad in their own way, but it seems to be a practical move,” said Gorman, choir director for 22 years in addition to being director of the diocesan Office of Worship.

“I trust that that’s what needs to be done. But as I’ve said before, my favorite place to sing in the diocese always had been St. Raphael Cathedral. It was such a lovely cathedral. I was very sad when that burned, and there’s a similar sadness here in that we have a nice home, it’s convenient, it’s a good acoustic. People like to come here. Good parking. That’s all going to have to change.”

Read More
On
Patrick Gorman

Encountering Christ in the liturgy

Year of Faith column logo

One of the great contributions of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy is the brief synthesis on Christ’s presence in the Church’s prayer.

“Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations,” (art. 7). Christ’s presence in the Mass is multifaceted and mysterious, but there are four specific ways named by the Council — in the Eucharistic species, the Word of God, the person of the priest, and in the gathered community in which “the Church prays and sings” (art. 7).

Read More
On
Patrick Gorman

Regarding the constitution on the sacred liturgy

Year of Faith column logo

The liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council was grounded in centuries of Church tradition, in the Council of Trent, in the writings of the popes of the 20th Century, and in developing scholarship and practice throughout the world.

The first document promulgated by the Second Vatican Council was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. This document is one of only four constitutions issued by the council. Constitutions are the most authoritative and important documents issued by the council.

Read More
On
Patrick Gorman

From Trent to Vatican II — ongoing reform

Year of Faith column logo

While the liturgical reforms promulgated by the Second Vatican Council were unexpected by many people, the seeds of the reform actually were planted centuries earlier at the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

The Council of Trent was a monumental moment for the Church. Held in the decades following the Reformation, the council sought to define, unite, and codify many of the Church’s dogmas and practices. In terms of the liturgy, the most significant task that they accomplished was directing the pope to standardize and revise the books for the celebration of Mass.

Read More
On
Patrick Gorman

From Trent to Vatican II — ongoing reform

Year of Faith column logo

While the liturgical reforms promulgated by the Second Vatican Council were unexpected by many people, the seeds of the reform actually were planted centuries earlier at the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

The Council of Trent was a monumental moment for the Church. Held in the decades following the Reformation, the council sought to define, unite, and codify many of the Church’s dogmas and practices. In terms of the liturgy, the most significant task that they accomplished was directing the pope to standardize and revise the books for the celebration of Mass.

Read More
On
Patrick Gorman

Taking a closer look at the council

Year of Faith column logo

Mother Church Rejoices! With his typically optimistic words, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962. Today, we share that same joy as we commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Council that Pope John frequently referred to as “a new Pentecost.”

The first document issued by the Council was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. It was one of only four Constitutions (which are of the highest rank of Church teachings) issued by the Council. The goals of the entire Council are laid out in the first paragraph: to increase the vigor of people’s Christian life, to adapt those things which may be changed to the needs of our own times, to promote Christian unity, and to help all people come to know Christ in the Church.

Read More