Teens find harmony at summer camp on Church music

At "Music and Liturgy at Pyramid Lake," aspiring young music ministers learn the practical and theoretical bases of choosing and arranging music, how to balance traditional and contemporary music, and ways to infuse parish music programs with their own excitement and enthusiasm.

The program is held each summer at Pyramid Life Center in Paradox.

Realistic lessons

"We put [the youth] in a realistic setting," said Mr. Putorti, who is also the music minister at Our Lady of the Assumption in Schenectady. "We tell them how they can still be a part of music in their own parishes, even with the limited resources many parishes are faced with."

A realistic setting, according to Mr. Putorti and the young participants, is often mismatched instruments, singers and musical styles. The students work on arranging hymns for unorthodox ensembles, learn how to transpose music from one key to another and convert choir parts into something an instrument can read. Those are important skills to have in cash-strapped parishes that don't have the ability to purchase expensive music, Mr. Putorti said.

Lessons in practice

Diane, a member of St. Bonaventure's parish in Speigletown, recalled that the success of the ministry stemmed from a Mass at their school in which she and Eric incorporated "Lean On Me." Students clapped and sang along "as loudly as they could," she said.

"It was great to see how people were so into this music, after thinking that singing at Mass was the uncool thing to do," she said.

Youthful preference

Although both teens say that shifting the focus of liturgical music may be a way to get young people interested in coming to church, they believe that purging old favorites in favor of new music isn't the way to accomplish that goal.

Instead, the camp at Pyramid Lake stresses how fashioning new arrangements of traditional music can serve as a bridge between ages and tastes in a parish, and bring the entire community together. "There are always new ways to play older music," Eric said.

"Sometimes, it's not just the music you use, but how you present it to make it more interesting for everyone," said Mr. Putorti.

Upbeat

"I met friends at the program who could help me through that loss," she said. "That summer was one of the best of my life. When the time came, I made the decision to give my church's new music group a try."

Since then, Meg has used her skills each week at Christ the King.

Sing out

Alexis Norelli, a 2002 graduate of Saratoga Central Catholic High School, used her skills to plan the music for her school's Senior Baccalaureate Mass.

"I was able to help my campus music minister pick songs that got more of the school congregation singing," Alexis said.

The camp "gives youth the power to stand up to people who don't think we should be musical in church," added Meg, noting that the program had given inspiration to youth whose parishes didn't have extensive music programs to begin such things.

(For information about next summer's music camp, call Richard Putorti at 346-4926 or e-mail [email protected].)

(09-12-02) [[In-content Ad]]