I have been a church musician in one capacity or another for 21 years. I started in 1995 when I was 12 years old, after the organist in our parish passed away. Things have changed so much since then; both real and perceived changes. I've learned a lot about how to do this, and I still have a lot to learn. The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with you, both good and bad, in the realm of Catholic Music Ministry.

When I started, it was perfectly acceptable for me to have a repertoire of about 10 hymns. I rotated these hymns with no attention to what the Sunday celebration was. I don't remember playing for Christmas or Easter the first few years. I was asked not to sing, as my voice was not all that good. I played Hootie and the Blowfish songs instrumentally before mass began. I played for free for almost a year, and then the priest reluctantly agreed to pay me five dollars a mass. Sometimes I wanted to quit. I didn't.

In 1997, I was placed on a sub list at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Cheshire, Massachusetts. I was called in the fall and began a 6 year position that I will always look back at and smile. I will talk about this in subsequent entries.

I began the position as assistant organist, progressed to senior organist and became the Music Director by the time I left the position. I also stayed on as a fill in for several more years.

From 2003-2006 I did not hold a full time organist position while I was in college and I had a difficult time finding a position until June of 2006. At that time I accepted a position at St. Peter Parish in Barrington, MA as organist and eventually, Music Director. I will talk more about this later, as it was the position that was the most formative for me in how I run my ministry.

In June of 2011, I became the Director of Music Ministries at Sts. Patrick and Raphael Parish in Williamstown.

Since September of 2014, I have been here at St. John Paul II Parish in Adams. I love what I do and am so grateful that God has allowed me to serve here.

I intend on discussing current topics in the Catholic Church, mostly pertaining to liturgical music, but I will include discussions on liturgy in general and other topics of interest in the Church today. I want this to be an honest discussion of the successes and failures of a music director in the modern Catholic Church. There are many questions to ask: how do I please everyone(and should I strive for that)? How to I grow my choir? What are the best resources to use in my parish community? These are questions that I will tackle starting with my next entry.