Brothers three make music all around the Diocese

Accomplished church organists Art, Tom and Ed Savoy may be best known for the inspiring sounds of music each has brought to parishes in the Albany Diocese. But it was the sound of laughter that was most "note-worthy" when the three brothers found themselves reunited for an interview recently.

Clearly enjoying one another's company as they reminisced about their combined 80 years of service to churches in the Diocese, the trio made it clear that upbeat humor -- as well as uplifting hymns -- have helped maintain harmony in their lives.

"Church organists work incredibly long hours, especially during Advent and Lent," noted eldest brother Art, who estimates that he provided musical accompaniment at 12,000 Masses before retiring as director of music at St. Mary's parish in Crescent in 1993. "There are times when music becomes a seven-day-a-week affair, and you see little of your family and get almost no sleep. They keep telling us our reward in Heaven will be great. We call it the deferred compensation package!"

Ha-ha-harmony

All three agreed that a healthy dose of laughter is the best medicine for coping with stress and keeping sour notes at bay between periods of back-to-back rehearsals and performances.

Born to Josephine and Arthur Savoy (who will celebrate 50 years of marriage next May) Art, Tom and Ed learned early in life to appreciate the wonder of music and the importance of sharing their God-given talents with others.

"There was always a piano at the old homestead at 16 James Street in Cohoes, and our parents did all they could to encourage us to develop our respective abilities," piped in middle brother Tom, who is a nationally recognized liturgical composer as well as music minister at the Church of St. Margaret Mary in Albany. Nodding their consensus were "big brother" Art and "baby brother" Ed, director of music at St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynantskill.

Practice makes perfect

"I don't think they ever paid more than $50 for a piano, and we practiced our hearts out in our basement, which was unheated. In that sense, we suffered for our art from an early age," quipped Tom.

In retrospect, the Savoys believe their parents suffered and sacrificed the most during those early days of musical growth.

"Looking back, our parents should be canonized for listening -- especially after they gave me a drum set one year," laughed Tom, adding that some of the old neighbors probably wished practice sessions on a little electric theatre organ would end much sooner than they did.

Schoolboy memories

Art, Tom and Ed -- all of whom have accompanied televised Masses on "The Table of the Lord" -- said they have "wonderful memories" of their boyhood years at St. Agnes School and the old Keveny Memorial Academy in Cohoes. All three sang in Keveny's Glee Club under the direction of Sister Elisabeth Colby.

Both Art and Tom agreed that their earliest musical influences included Jack Gordon who gave them private piano and organ lessons as well as conducting an all-boys choir at St. Agnes in the early to mid-1960s (see related article).

Art's very first paying job as an organist began around age 11 when he began accompanying the 6:45 a.m. Mass. celebrated by the late Rev. Charles Carter Smith, pastor of St. Agnes in Cohoes.

"I was promised a dollar a Mass and got paid that amount for about the first half of the year," he recalled. "Then the payments stopped for about three years until 1965, when out of the blue one day, I was rewarded with a 17-inch color television. All of a sudden, it dawned on my where the money had gone. He'd been using the money as down payments on the TV set!"

Lateness excusedBY grade 10, Art was no longer just the early-morning Mass organist; he was also the "official organist" for Keveny. By grade 11, Father Smith had asked him to stay on at church each morning to play at the 8 a.m. "Black Mass" (as Memorial Masses were then called).

"I would play at the Masses before either walking or riding my big American Flyer to school," Art related. "I later found out that Father Smith had spoken with Monsignor Mulqueen (then principal of Keveny) and made arrangements for me to start school late. Years later, when I took a job for W. T. LaRose, Father Smith called the president of the company and informed him I'd be starting work late because I had to play the organ at the 8 a.m. Mass. How often to you think THAT would happen today?"

In addition to playing at daily Mass, Art also provided accompaniment at a number of weddings and funerals, and performed key roles in at least three Sunday services.

"In those days, St. Agnes had three priests and five Masses on Sunday mornings," he explained. "I was asked to play what was known as the quiet Mass at 8 a.m. I skipped the 9 a.m. Mass and the 11 a.m. Mass when the choir sang, but was an altar server at 10 o'clock and helped with the organ music again at noon."

Career in music

A turning point came in 1966 when at age 16, Art was named church organist and director of music at St. Agnes. That was, of course, also the year remembered for the changes precipitated by Vatican II. Making the transition from Latin to English Masses provided new challenges for the young organist to overcome.

BY 1966, Art was earning the princely sum of $100 a month at St. Agnes, where he continued to serve until 1971 when he was offered a position at Corpus Christi in Ushers. That, he quips, was like a vacation because it only involved playing the organ on weekends. Art later served as organist at St. Michael the Archangel in Troy. His most recent, and final, full-time assignment was at St. Mary's in Crescent where he served as music director from 1979 until 1993.

In key of 'tea'

Tom's musical roots can be traced to around age seven when he began taking piano lessons and age nine when he started organ lessons. In between, he sang a hymn well enough to pass the audition to join the all-boys' choir at St. Agnes.

"I remember I played for Mothers' Club Silver Teas when I was fairly young and did my first church service at age 11. One of the things I used to do was to play the organ at the First Friday Masses for the school children," said Tom.

Even as an adolescent, Tom frequently improvised his own harmonies, a talent that would later show up in his original musical compositions.

"In those days, I embellished a lot -- especially when I was seated at the big purple upright piano in my parents' basement that was a half-step flat and never really reached concert pitch, but I didn't actually compose anything myself until I was out of high school."

Composing

During his college years, Tom played the organ at St. Patrick's in Cohoes and St. Joseph's on Green Island. It was also during this time that he composed his first full musical piece: an Ave Maria for mixed chorus. He estimates that he has produced "a couple of hundred" compositions over the last quarter of a century.

Not long after his 1977 college graduation, Tom accepted a position as full-time director of music at St. John the Evangelist Church in Rensselaer. His was subsequently a familiar presence inside Immaculate Conception in Schenectady. In 1981, his composition placed first, second and third in a competition sponsored by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Based upon Psalm 21, it was entitled "Lift High" and marked a turning point in Tom's musical ministry.

In 1982, Tom left Immaculate Conception to accept an organ-playing assignment at St. Mary's parish in Tampa, Florida, embarking upon a musical ministry at Annunciation Church in Queensbury upon his return to the Albany Diocese a year later.

In 1984, he joined the Church of St. Margaret Mary where he has served as music director ever since. In addition, he conducts the chorus at RPI, teaches piano and organ students, and publishes original musical compositions under the company name Savoy Music House.

Singer first

Ed said "music was an omnipresent thing when I grew up. It was just part of the natural progression of things."

Unlike his older brothers, Ed did not play the organ at daily Masses in his youth, but rather sang at many of Tom's services and recitals.

After graduating from Keveny in 1977 -- exactly 10 years after older brother Art had done so -- Ed studied music at The College of Saint Rose, selling men's clothing during the summer months to offset tuition costs. He also gained experience playing the organ at St. Patrick's in Albany.

Since graduating from college in 1981, Ed has had regular employment as a musician.

Musical churches

Joking that the Savoys have sometimes played a variation on "musical churches," Ed explained that he went to St. Joseph's in Green Island after Tom left.

"Although I was his successor there, I was his predecessor at St. Margaret Mary. Tom took over from me when I left there in 1984," said Ed, who also played the organ at St. Michael the Archangel in Cohoes during his younger years.

In 1984, Ed was named director of music at the Church of St. Clare in Colonie, leaving in 1986 to accept a similar position at St. John the Baptist in Syracuse. He returned to the Albany Diocese in 1988 to accept his present position at St. Jude's. In addition to playing the organ, Ed directs the parish's choir and music group.

The Savoys are adamant that the bulk of the credit for their successes belongs with their parents.

"All those years of driving us to and from lessons, of supporting us morally by visiting the churches where we were playing -- all of that meant so much," said Tom. "Even today, they still help out by babysitting the grandchildren so we can perform at recitals. They are absolutely the best!"

All-boys choir boosted musical career

Contributing strongly to the legacy of the Savoy brothers was Jack Gordon, now of Virginia, who organized an all-boys choir that went on to gain wide recognition during the first half of the '60s.

What became known as the Cohoes Boys Choir began shortly after Mr. Gordon was named choir director at St. Agnes Church in Cohoes by its late pastor, Rev. Charles Carter Smith.

"We were very much part-and-parcel of the liturgy in those days," recalled Art Savoy, who was among the first to pass an audition to join the choral group around the same time the nation was getting used to the idea of having its first Catholic president.

Choir robes

"We sang Latin hymns and were in a lot of processions," recalled Art, adding that choir members wore robes with stiffly starched white collars and white gloves. Depending upon the occasion, the boys wore either huge red or black bows. Choir members who had achieved "officer status" wore colored sashes distinguishing their rank.

"This was treated as a very serious business back then. Being a member was not something to be taken lightly. Parents aspired to have their sons sing in the choir because it brought a lot of prestige both to St. Agnes School and to the parish as a whole," reflected Art.

Although a highlight of his years with the choir was definitely playing at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, Art said members were also honored to play on the old "Teenage Barn" TV program.

Successive SavoysBY the time Art lost his "boy soprano" voice, brother Tom was ready to take his place in the choir. Both Art and Tom also benefitted from private organ and piano lessons from Mr. Gordon until 1966 when he left the Cohoes parish.

"Jack was a very classical person who was also quite comfortable in show music," Art said. "As I recall, he had attended Julliard and used to vacation with Noel Coward."

During part of the time Mr. Gordon was in Cohoes, he commissioned Art to play with him at area nightclubs for extra money. "We played everything from Sinatra to Elvis and The Beatles as well as tunes from 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music.' It was great!" recalled Art. (AH)

(09-04-97) [[In-content Ad]]