Visions of music led her to career

Rachelle Cotugno may be blind, but she's never failed to see the importance of music.

"Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed singing and had a love of music," reflects Ms. Cotugno, contemporary choir director at St. Mary's Church in Amsterdam. "I am very grateful to God for the gift of music in my life."

Both she and her faithful guide dog Mandy are regulars on the altar during Masses each Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m. Mandy also attends Catholic school on a regular basis, accompanying Ms. Cotugno when she teaches music to kindergarten through Grade 6 students at Immaculate Conception School in Schenectady each Wednesday and when she conducts monthly liturgical music programs for students at St. Mary's Institute in Amsterdam.

Connecting to kids

"I really enjoy working with the children and helping them to prepare to sing for Masses," says Ms. Cotugno, an accomplished pianist, guitarist and composer. "Hearing them bring out their voices in song in very rewarding."

Ms. Cotugno has been completely blind in her right eye since her premature birth, but she considers herself fortunate to have a decade of life with limited vision in her left eye. Her world gradually became darker and darker until she was lost her sight completely.

Although she never had what a sighted person would consider anything close to normal vision, Ms. Cotugno is grateful for the visual memories with which God blessed her during that brief period in her life.

Gift of music

Two other gifts were her late parents, Dominic and Florence, who encouraged her love of music and secured the lessons that would one day enable her to earn a living through music.

Although she yearned to study music following her graduation from Bishop Scully High in Amsterdam, Ms. Cotugno was discouraged from doing so because her blindness. Instead, she attended the College of Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale, near the Bronx, where she earned her BA in English with a minor in religious studies.

While there, she was involved in campus ministry, providing music for her peers at weekend liturgies. After college, she spent a year directing the Glee Club at Bishop Scully and working on musicals with the students.

Turning point

A turning point in her life came when the Rev. Joseph Cotugno (no relation), then pastor of St. Michael's Church in Amsterdam, offered Ms. Cotugno a job as soloist, folk choir director and coordinator of music for religious ed programs. She spent 15 years there.

Prior to being named contemporary choir director at St. Mary's in 1992, Ms. Cotugno also recorded and produced four albums, each featuring at least one of her original compositions.

Her first song, "Where Am I Going?" written while she was in high school, later became the title song of her first album, a collection of sacred music. The second album, "Never Before," features mostly popular songs and is dedicated to her late cousin Patricia, who died of Hodgkin's Disease. The third album, "Star By Night," is a collection of Christian music dedicated to her father while the fourth, "In My Heart," is dedicated to her mother.

Second family

Ms. Cotugno feels blessed that Susan and Charles White of Amsterdam have become like "adoptive parents" to her since her mother and father passed away.

She credits the couple not only with encouraging her to travel and teaching her how to cook, but also with directing her to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Training School where she was paired with Mandy.

"Before that, I had to rely on a cane to get around, and I hated using it," Ms. Cotugno said. "Having Mandy to guide me has made an enormous difference in my life."

Parish support

Ms. Cotugno derives great joy from working with the choir at St. Mary's, lavishing praise both on the ensemble and Rev. James Gulley, pastor.

"Father Gulley is such a compassionate, supportive, respectful, encouraging person," she said. "He has made a positive difference in my life, and he deserves a lot of praise."

(In addition to her accomplishments in her parish, Rachelle Cotugno gives private lessons in piano, voice, guitar and recorder, and is a soloist at weddings and funerals throughout the Albany Diocese.) [[In-content Ad]]