July 8, 2011
The choir experience: ‘I was glad’ to sing at the ordination
Deacons David Franklin and Vince Bernardin hold the Book of the Gospels over the head of Bishop Charles C. Thompson as Archbishop Joseph Kurtz reads the Prayer of Ordination. The ritual symbolizes in part the yoke of the Gospels as a commitment to preach and to live the Word of God. (Message photo by Peewee Vasquez) Click for a larger version.
By JANE E. LEINGANG (Message correspondent)
It’s not that often that one gets to sing some of the treasures of church music just for the setting they were intended. The ordination of Bishop Charles C. Thompson gave us that opportunity and the choir that got to sing relished every minute of it.
From the opening hymn of the prelude “The Heart of a Shepherd” by Rory Cooney to the last strains of the closing hymn “I was glad when they said unto me” by C.K. Hubert Parry the choir was up for the challenge that choir director Jeremy Korba set out. When it was finished Jeremy told the choir he was very pleased. In the words of his post on Face-book: “Touchdown!” He told the choir that the bar had definitely been raised for what the diocesan choir can do. They, for their part, applauded him for helping them participate in such an important occasion for the church of southwestern Indiana.
There was a lot of excitement in the Woodward Center at St. Benedict’s on June 12 as the choir that would sing at the bishop’s ordination assembled for the first time. People were excited to see each other. Some of the participants had been on the pilgrimage to Rome the choir sponsored last year and they were renewing their acquaintance. Others were just enjoying seeing those from else-where in the diocese that they don’t see often around town.
More than 120 people from more than 20 parishes across the diocese volunteered to sing. Some came as families like Ken Colton with his wife and sons from Evansville and Anna Bittner who came with her mom and sister from Haub-stadt. Some older folks who have been fixtures in parish choirs around Evansville and regularly sing for diocesan events like the Chrism Mass and ordinations showed up. Some came that hadn’t sung in a choir for a while, like Judy Lopez and Glenda Hampton of St. Ben’s. Glenda said she took a lot of ribbing from her family for being part of the choir since she is not known as a great singer. People came from as far away as Jasper and Vincennes to participate in the five practice sessions totaling approximately 16 hours (including Father’s Day) in addition to be-ginning at 9 a.m. on the day of the ordination. Andrew Miller came from Terre Haute to be part of the festivities.
As director Jeremy Korba ran through the music for the first time, it was clear that some were in comfortable territory. Korba said a number of choir directors from parishes in the diocese were part of the group. I recognized several members of the Evansville Philharmonic Chorus. The women singing around me were clearly more competent sopranos than I, but they gave me confidence that I could lend my voice to the sound.
However, many among us were feeling at sea. There are no tryouts for the diocesan choir; all who wish to sing are accepted. Even at this event, when the choir would use robes for the first time, Korba decided to keep to his policy of not to turn anyone away. The number of volunteers exceeded the number of robes, but Korba decided in favor of sacrificing uniformity to give people a chance to be part of this uniquely important event in the life of the diocese.
He set out a big task for us. The music was more challenging than many of us had ever sung. Many people commented on how high their parts were, not just sopranos but all the other voices as well. And yet by the end of our fifth practice, it began to take shape. For my part I find it is quite an amazing experience to be part of a group that is making such a large sound. It is really re-markable what many willing amateurs supported by some competent musicians can be helped to achieve. It did help that the pilgrimage choir from last year had sung two of the more difficult pieces on their trip: “Kyrie Eléison by Louis Vierne and “I was glad when they said unto me” by Parry. They gave us a solid base to start from.
We were blessed with many talented musicians who were able to help us make such a joyful noise to the Lord at the ordination. In addition to Jeremy Korba, Jennifer Korba (who underwent a knee replacement a week before the ordination), Sara Tuley, Benedictine Sister Kim Mandelkow, Kevin Ellerbusch and Mark X. Hatfield were all key people who made it happen. For me it was thrill-ing just to be part of it.