Happy Easter
Happy Easter everyone! I had one of those church musician weekends. The church I’m soloist at, Plymouth Congregational Church, only has 2 services during Holy Week. Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. So, this year I decided to try to pick up a little more work. Luck had it that one of my former church choir directors is the interim at The Cathedral of St. Paul, so I was able to do some singing for Good Friday and Easter Vigil, and a friend of mine needed an emergency sub for St. Mark’s Cathedral in Minneapolis for Friday evening. Well, I was already singing two masses that day, why not throw one in that evening as well!
Singing at both of these churches was “old home” week for me.
Cathedral of St Mark, Minneapolis
When I moved to the Twin Cities almost 20 years ago, the first church I stepped into was St. Mark’s Cathedral in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis. I was told to look for Don and Emma Small by a friend of mine at the San Diego Opera. Don was the choir director and organist, and his wife Emma was a prominent voice teacher/coach who also sang in the choir. I ended up volunteering in the choir until I found my first church job at St. Louis, King of France in St. Paul where I remained until 1996. Lawrence Lawyer was the choir director/organist at the time, and from there I moved on to The Cathedral of St. Paul up on the hill until 2000. In 2002, I was hired by Philip Brunelle at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis where I continue to sing on a weekly basis throughout the year.
Cathedral of St. Paul
So how fun for me when I was able to sing at both the Cathedral with Lawrence and at St. Mark’s where many of my old friends from my early Twin Cities days still sing.
Easter Vigil at the Cathedral is a sight with all of its pomp and circumstance and ceremony. Starting with a fire in the middle of the dark Cathedral where the Easter candle is lit and the flame is passed from person to person, lighting up faces in the dark and casting a beautiful glow within the walls of an architectural wonder.
Seven services later, I have survived the weekend, with one of the highlights being the Lotti “Crucifixus.”
Peace to you and yours.