JDCHS' Holy Week video draws accolades
By April van der Sluys
DRAPER — Juan Diego Catholic High School’s “Give Me Jesus” video was created to be an expression of prayer that would begin the students’ and staff’s Holy Week journey together. The video proved to be the perfect path to use the talents of the Juan Diego students, vocalists and instrumentalists in creating this expression.
“We shared the video with the larger Catholic community in Utah in hopes it will be a powerful reminder of what is being done in our school at Juan Diego and other Catholic schools in our diocese,’’ said Dave Brunetti, director of campus life.
The use of Antelope Island as background was inspired by Jesus going into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
“Students – all of us actually – lead such busy, full lives so we wanted the song to be performed ‘away’ from all the hustle and bustle,” perhaps inspiring those who may see it to walk in the footsteps of our Lord: To go out into the wilderness and be present to hear God’s voice, Brunetti said.
The video portrays a broad spectrum of our JD students from all backgrounds, all parts of the valley and many faith backgrounds.
“They loved the journey to Antelope Island and being part of the video,” Brunetti said. “We’re grateful for the responses we have received.”
Wanting to do something other than the standard Lenten piece, “Ashes,” Director of Choirs and Liturgical Music John VanWagoner searched everywhere for a hymn that would be suitable. Trying to continue on their current trajectory of creating music with a more gospel or contemporary sound proved to be a daunting task.
Keeping the process in the family, John and his wife Marianne, principal of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic School who is a musician herself, searched for hours for a song that could be arranged so that would fit the mold, and finally found Danny Gokey’s version of “Give Me Jesus.”
“We loved it from the first time we listened to it,” VanWagoner said.
Each musician went into the studio to record his or her part individually. Rodney Strong, VanWagoner’s accompanist and one of Salt Lake City’s most sought-after keyboard players, recorded the piano track. Jonni Lightfoot, the former bassist of 16 years for Air Supply who occasionally helps VanWagoner with recordings, recorded the bass guitar track. VanWagoner recorded the guitar tracks. The students visited the studio one by one to add their parts.
Dennise Vallecillos, director of orchestras and Academy of Fine Arts at Juan Diego, arranged and prepared the JD Strings, which were recorded at school as an ensemble.
All in all, they recorded 47 tracks of audio to create this piece, which added up to a combined 80 hours of recording and mixing the song in preparation for the video.
“It was certainly a labor of love,” VanWagoner said. “Some nights I would stay up till 2 to 3 a.m. mixing and tweaking the song.”
Issac Goeckeritz brought the video to life with his incredible vision of what he wanted the end product to be. It was cold and windy on the day the video was filmed at Antelope Island, but the students were troopers and stepped up to make the video what it is.
“I could ramble forever about the talented students that participated in this endeavor, but I can sum it up by saying I have never felt so blessed with such a wonderful group of students,” VanWagoner said. “They each bring something unique to our learning environment; I am blessed.”
Juan Diego Catholic High School’s “Give Me Jesus” video was featured on the Diocese of Salt Lake City website during Holy Week and can be currently viewed on Juan Diego Catholic High School’s YouTube channel.
April van der Sluys is advancement coordinator at Juan Diego Catholic Schools.
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