For The Love Of Music

Of all my hobbies, music is the one I have the most passion for. Growing up there was always a radio playing in my house and it was mostly tuned to the oldies station 101.1 CBS FM unless my mother needed to hear the news, she would then tune to 1010 WINS. As I got older music became more and more important to me. I was a DJ in my early to mid 20’s and played in a rock cover band in my later 20’s and early 30’s. Being in a rock band was the single greatest outlet for any stressful day but as my family man responsibilities became increasingly demanding listening to music was the only way I fed my musical appetite.

Last year I asked my daughter’s piano instructor, who I will refer to as “The Maestro”, if there was any local church band in need of a bass or guitar player as I explained to him I needed to get back in a band. Since no Sunday mass ends at 2:30 am, that type of gig suited my musical needs just fine. He did not know of anyone needing a musician and understanding my desire for music he asked me if I would be interested in joining the church choir. I replied with a quick “I don’t even sing in the shower, are you kidding!!!!!!” Due to the fact the choir sang at a different church than the parish I belonged to I knew it wasn’t going to work out, plus I was looking for something more. The Maestro, being persistent and proud of this new program he was putting together, asked if I would be interested in being part of a Gregorian chant program. Gregorian chant was a genre of music that I really enjoyed listening to since I was in high school. Now, one year later, the Saint Mary’s Schola Cantorum I am part of is getting ready for our second Advent season. Instead of being part of a cover band in a local bar/club venue I am rocking out at a variety of masses singing in Latin. The first time my youngest daughter saw me at mass in the choir loft she asked why I was wearing a dress (I was wearing a robe). Wait until she finds out I am seriously pursuing bag piping and she sees me in a kilt.

Recently we brought our chant to The Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan. It was a great experience and if I do say so myself, we sounded really good. My buddy, who I will refer to as “Dirty Copper”, wrote about the experience in his blog. I can’t describe it as well as he does so I attached the link for your reading and visual pleasure as there is a picture of us in action up in the choir loft. Enjoy and if you are daring enough to hear us chant we will be at the Vatican for the entire month of December. Okay, don’t book a flight, I am kidding. Click this link to read my buddy’s blog story as well as many more of his genius Shakespearean writings. http://dirtycopper.blogspot.com/2009/09/chant-rant.html