Liturgical conference prepares Catholics to 'sing a new song unto the Lord'

Intermountain Catholic

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The hand bell choir from Saint Vincent de Paul School will perform under the direction of Scott Larrabee during the Southwest Liturgical Conference.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Southwest Liturgical Conference, which will be at the Salt Palace Feb. 2-5, will offer numerous workshops for music ministers and others interested in learning how the changes to the Roman Missal will impact liturgical music.

The changes to the Roman Missal will take effect the first Sunday of Advent.

The sung parts of the Mass will undergo major alterations with the change, said Timothy Johnston, director of liturgy for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. "The ‘Holy, Holy,’ the Memorial Acclamation – all of that is changing," he said. "It’s going to be crucial that our music ministers in our parishes have access to the new compositions. These workshops are designed to introduce some of that new music and to help them choose which might be best for their parish."

The workshops also are designed to give music ministers practical tools to teach the new music to their assembly, he said.

Of particular note is ‘Practical Steps for Teaching the Assembly New Music,’ by Barbara Guenther, who will provide way to implement the new compositions; other workshop presenters also will touch on this topic, Johnston said.

For the Diocese of Salt Lake City ministers, the workshop ‘Music for SCAP,’ by Father Ronald Krisman also will be of interest, Johnston said, because the Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest "is obviously a reality for our diocese."

As director of liturgy, Johnston said he’s concerned about how ministers at each parish will choose the music they plan to implement after the change. The text to some old favorites will change, which might make it more difficult to keep those rather than teach new music "because you’re going to be fighting against the memory and wrestling with the, in some cases, drastic changes to the composition," he said.

Those attending the conference will have a chance to hear many of the compositions, including the Mass of Renewal, composed by William Gokelman and David Kauffman. Their composition won a contest sponsored by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and will be published with the music resources that will accompany the changes to the Roman Missal.

At the liturgical conference, the Mass of Renewal will be performed, with a read-through by the composers, on Feb. 2 at 3 p.m.

Several local musical groups will be performing throughout the conference. The schedule follows.

Wednesday Evening Prayer: Saint Ambrose Parish Choir under the direction of Chris Huntzinger

Thursday Morning Prayer: The Madrigals from Judge Memorial High School under the direction of Ramona Mayer

Thursday before the plenary session: The hand bell choir from Saint Vincent de Paul School under the direction of Scott Larrabee

Thursday Mass: the Cathedral of Madeleine Choir and students from the Madeleine Choir School

Thursday night prayer (at the hotel): Chris Huntzinger and a group of adult singers

Friday Morning Prayer: Juan Diego Catholic High School Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. Brian Manternach

Friday banquet: The Jazz Band from Judge Memorial Catholic High School

Saturday Morning Prayer: Saint John the Baptist Parish Choir

(For a complete list of Southwest Liturgical Conference workshops or to register, visit www.swlcslc.org.)