Past Events
Board Elections Held at Annual Banquet
The elections held at the annual banquet brought some new faces to our chapter board. We welcome Phil Konczyk (St. Francis de Sales, Holland) and Joe Houdek (Holy Spirit, Grand Rapids) to the board. Rick Wykoski (Holy Redeemer, Jenison) and Larry Barton (St. Mary, Grand Rapids) were elected to another term in their current positions. Aline Snoeyink (Holy Family, Caledonia), who served as the prayer coordinator the last couple of years, is our next Director! Lisa Townsend (Aquinas College; St. James, Grand Rapids) was elected to a different position as a board member at-large (student) after serving as a wonderful hospitality coordinator.
Many thanks to:
- Aline Snoeyink (Holy Family, Caledonia), who served as our prayer coordinator
- Peter Kurdziel (St. Robert of Newminster, Ada), who served as our programming coordinator
- Bill Marfink (St. Isidore, Grand Rapids), who served as our publicity coordinator
- Emily Rogalski-Rushmore (Aquinas College), who served as our member at-large (student)
- Barbara Witham-McCargar (St. Stephen, East Grand Rapids; and Aquinas College), now our immediate past director, who remains on the board for two more years as an ex-officio advisor
Two board positions are now open in mid-term: Publicity and Programs. If you or someone you know would be an asset to the organization in one of these positions, please contact Barbara or Aline, as they pass the Director's baton from one to the other.
[ UPDATE: Dan Daller has taken on the Publicity position on the chapter board. ]
Details about our board and how to contact them are always available at www.npm-gr.org/board.htm .
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Sound Advice: Pushing the Right Buttons
Monday, March 19, with presenter Dennis Fleisher
We started the evening with a marvelous meal and time for conversation, and then moved into the church's music ministry area for evening prayer and the workshop.
Dennis gave a great presentation, in plain English, that was interesting and informative to people of all experience levels. With live demonstrations of various "do's" and "don'ts" of using a sound system, Dennis covered basic terminology, useful facts, and good practices to follow. The handouts were quite valuable, with 12 pages of illustrations and explanations and a CD of test tracks to experiment and practice with.
Comments about the event included:
"I learned a great deal about the workings of sound systems, especially the mixer channel strip. It definitely solved some of the mysteries of sound systems for me."
"Dennis was able to take a rather complicated subject—namely sound systems—and keep it simple yet informative."
"He described the basic components of a sound system, concentrating on the mixing board with over 200 dials, buttons and switches, in a clear enough manner that you left the meeting at least having a pretty good sense of how it works and what it does. He easily could have given us too much information which would have resulted in information overload."
"Good info that even I could apply."
If you have comments to share about the event, please let us know.
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Workshops for Hispanic Music Ministries
with presenter Rudy Lopez, Friday/Saturday, March 9/10, 2007
Over 60 Hispanic musicians gathered for workshops at Holy Name of Jesus Church (Wyoming) with Rudy Lopez as our presenter.
Friday's workshop focused on guitar techniques, styles and fundamentals and how to apply such things to leading music in liturgy. Over 25 guitarists (and players of other stringed instruments) were there, some with only about two weeks of playing experience, many with a few years of experience, and some with over 20 years of playing experience. Rudy armed the participants with some basic music theory and an increased appreciation for the rich culture of the guitar in hispanic music. He also impressed on the group the importance of practice, punctuality, and serving the needs of the liturgy.
Saturday's workshop involved over 60 musicians! Rudy pointed out the ways music is organized, teaching some basic music theory in ways that were logical and valuable. He also addressed the importance of the assembly as the 'primary choir', and the role of the musicians as ministers of the word, servants, modeling and teaching music for the assembly to sing in worship. We talked about the purpose of music at different points of the Mass and the importance of choosing music to match these purposes.
Rudy involved everyone in excercises to demonstrate good vocal technique, and explained why these techniques are important. He used songs to practice skills of 1.) analyzing printed music before trying to sing/play, and 2.) singing clearly and with good technique.
Rudy was a strong advocate on the subject of collaboration, encouraging musicians from different groups and parishes to support each other and avoid competition with one another. Along these lines, he pointed out the need for musicians to be in basic agreement about a song's melodies, rhythms and tempo, for the people's sake, for the song's sake and for their own.
One of the ideas that came out of the workshop was to hold a music/choir festival for the Hispanic choirs of the various parishes of the diocese, perhaps to be organized for this autumn. Rudy remarked that "...this would be a great opportunity for the different groups to get to know each other and to see what is happening in the 'musical life' of the Grand Rapids Spanish-speaking community." We look forward to such wonderful opportunities in our diocese!
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Central Regional Convention
"Sing a New World" takes place July 18-21 in downtown Grand Rapids
THANK YOU to all who participated in the NPM Central Regional Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a joy to gather with so many friends and colleagues for learning, support, and celebration!
The convention was a rousing success by all accounts. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of the many dedicated volunteers. We also give thanks for the presentors, clinicians, musicians, exhibitors, national staff, publishers, and the staff of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.
| Also, we are very thankful for those who made "hospitality" donations—food & beverages & such—which made getting through the convention a more pleasant endeavor. | |
| Arnie's Bakery & Restaurant | J.A. Besteman Co. |
| Gordon Water | R Bakery |
| Center of the Plate Catering | Marge's Donut Den |
| Cherie Inn | Gordon Food Service |
| Daniel Herman | St. Stephen Parish (East Grand Rapids) |
| Holy Redeemer Parish (Jenison) | Holy Name of Jesus Parish (Wyoming) |
We are beginning to assemble photo galleries, so check back with us!
Cantors/singers: Handouts for the breakout session A1: Healthy Body, Healthy Voice presented by Barbara Witham McCargar may be found here.
Radcliffe Lecture: Bishop Ricardo Ramirez and Dr. Elaine Rendler-McQueeney both made reference to a recent lecture by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, entitled "Overcoming Discord in the Church." If you would like to read this lecture for yourself, you may read it at this link.
Convention Evaluation Form: If you have not yet filled out your convention evaluation form, please take a few minutes to complete and mail it to the NPM office (962 Wayne Avenue, Suite 210, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4461). If you lost or did not receive the evaluation form, you may download a printable form.
What have some people said about the convention?
- "We heard nothing but good from all we have talked to."
- "It was an amazing week...a joyful, rewarding, wonderful week...!"
- "I am still hearing from my musicians and parish volunteers and even via email and phone calls how wonderful the whole experience was."
- "Thanks again for all your great work and hospitality throughout the entire convention. Bravo on a job very well done!"
- "What a great convention many of you planned and executed, with more than a little help from loads of super volunteers."
This was a marvelous opportunity for us to educate, refresh and invigorate our ministry. We look forward our chapter events throughout the year, and to gathering again for next year's national NPM convention in Indianapolis, from July 9 to 13, "That All May Be One".
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Día de Ministerio Hispano
Sábado, 15 de julio, 2006
Para directores, instrumentistas y cantantes—todos los músicos pastorales hispanos y todos aquellos que sirven a las comunidades hispanas. Aprenda, celebre, e identifique los fundamentos para ejercer un ministerio litúrgico de música hispano.
Localidad: Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI.
Other Past Events
Coming Soon
The plan is: get our members to write reviews of/commentaries on chapter events. So, what did you think? Tell us about it!
In the mean time, click on the "Photo Galleries" link to the left...
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