Job Postings

Be sure to check out the job postings page for recent announcements!

» Position at St. Mary Magdalen, Kentwood «

» Position at St. Mary's, Big Rapids «

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Summer Carillon Concerts

Looking for a relaxing Sunday evening activity for your family? Why not come to Grand Valley State University's Allendale campus for a carillon concert? The 8:00 PM concerts are free, open-air (bring your own chair), and last about an hour. Concerts are scheduled every Sunday evening through August 17, and our own Anna Colby will be a part of the July 20 performance. Easy to find - just drive to GVSU, and look for the large clock tower. Inside the tower are 48 bells, which are played from a keyboard that is nothing like what we see on our church organs or pianos. Rain or shine, there will be music, unless there is lightning! There are also concerts on the downtown campus, at noon on the Wednesdays of July. The downtown carillon is visible from the S-curve, and free parking is available on the GVSU campus.

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Upcoming Chapter Events:

Monthly — Taizé Prayer

An Ecumenical Prayer for Peace

Please join together at St. Mary's Church to pray for a renewal of peace in our world.

• Each month on the 2nd Monday (...May 12, June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Sep. 9, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, Dec. 8)
• 7:30 PM
• Ecumenical Taizé Prayer: a mixture of song, silence and scripture

[download a flyer for this event]
[click here for more information about helping as a musician or in other roles!]

Plans rolling for the 2008-2009 Chapter Events!

The chapter board is hard at work putting together the events and topics for the upcoming year! If you have any suggestions, just drop a line to Aline Snoeyink (alinek@peoplepc.com), our chapter director.

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News, Notes & Key Changes

Congratulations

• Nick Palmer will be our new Cathedral musician at St. Andrew! We look forward to seeing and hearing Nick in his new position.
• Lisa Townsend, B.M. Lit.Mus., a recent graduate of Aquinas College, was hired as the Director of Music Ministries at St. Charles Parish in Greenville, MI. Lisa will be the pianist, organist, and direct the cantors youth choir and adult choir.

Musicians Looking for Work

If you need a sub or a regular helper, please consider contacting these folks:

• Elizabeth Christian: is a liturgical music major at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids through the summer, looking to pick up work as a cantor. Email: chriseli@aquinas.edu | Tel. 616.570.9089
• Carolyn Burns: Tel. 616.735.4836; Master's in music, plays organ and piano, available to accompany weddings or Sat. Mass.
• Mary Poje Halbeisen: email pianomary88@aol.com; Master's in sacred music, music director, organ, piano, voice, also adult and children choir director. Seeking music director position in the area and willing to accompany until then.

A good way to get your name "out there" as a potential sub is to join the chapter and be listed in the chapter yearbook!

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Keyboard for Sale

A chapter member's friend's mom decided about a year ago she wanted to learn to play the piano. So she bought a Technics Digital piano, model PR-170. She paid over $4000 for it. Well... (you guessed it), after a few lessons, she's changed her mind. Now she's getting ready to move into a retirement home and would just like to sell it to someone who would put it to good use. She's asking $2500 or best offer. They use one very similar to it at St. James. We're passing the word along, in case someone's looking for a good deal on a digital piano.

Interested? Contact Sheri at proulxsheri@yahoo.com

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Banners Used at Convention for Sale

The Banners used at the NPM regional convention in Grand Rapids are for sale. Interested? Know someone who is? Contact Aline at alinek@peoplepc.com.

Some photos of the banners:
[click the links]
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5

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NPM Regional Conventions 2008

Check out the exciting plans for next summer’s NPM regional conventions:

June 30 - July 3, East Brunswick, New Jersey
July 8 - 11, Cleveland, Ohio
August 5 - 8, Los Angeles, California

You’ll find the convention themes, major speakers, institutes, musical performances, and workshop presenters. Brochures for the conventions will be mailed in early January. Complete program information will also be posted on the NPM national website.

2008 NPM Institutes (National)

NPM will sponsor eight in-depth educational institutes this summer in California, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut. This year’s institutes include the popular Cantor Express in four cities, along with institutes for Choir Directors, Music with Children, Guitar and Ensemble, and Pastoral Liturgy. Each of the three regional conventions will also include an institute (vocal, handbells, multicultural) in addition to the regular program.

Great Opportunities for Cantors

NPM will sponsor four Cantor Express Institutes this summer that provide a wealth of information and practical skills for the parish cantor. If your parish is a member of NPM, any cantor from the parish may attend at the member rate! Choose from four locations:
· San Francisco (Menlo Park), California—July 11-13
· Hartford, Connecticut—July 17-19
· Buffalo, New York—July 18-20
· Baltimore, Maryland—August 8-10

View the brochure for 2008 NPM Institutes
Register for an NPM institute now

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New U.S. Music Document Now Available

You may now view and download Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship (PDF), a new set of guidelines for music in the liturgy approved overwhelmingly (88%) by the U.S. bishops in November. The document had originally been proposed as a legislative document, but the bishops opted instead to issue it as an official statement of the USCCB, which still required a two-thirds vote of Latin rite bishops.

Sing to the Lord is longer (more than 250 paragraphs) and more comprehensive than its predecessors. It addresses some topics not covered in earlier documents, treats other areas more expansively, incorporates the norms of recent official liturgical documents, and draws on the experience of celebrating the current “ordinary” form of the Mass for the past thirty-seven years.

The USCCB is planning to publish the document together with the Directory for Music and the Liturgy. These official norms for approval of texts for singing at the liturgy were adopted by the U.S. bishops in November 2006 and are still awaiting confirmation from the Vatican.

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