Collaborative Advent Concert set for Hudson Falls

By MIKE MATVEY- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

In a Diocese that covers 14 counties and 126 parishes with a home base in Albany, it is understandable that sometimes the rural parishes might feel a little left out.

But Father Desmond Rossi, pastor of St. Mary’s-St. Paul’s in Hudson Falls and St. Joseph’s in Fort Edward, came up with an idea that will showcase a collaboration between city or suburban parishes and rural or country parishes.

The Church of St. Mary’s-St. Paul’s — in collaboration with the Albany Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) — will sponsor and host an Advent Concert on Dec. 16 titled, “Joyful Expectation! An Advent Concert: Preparing the Way of the Lord.” The event starts at 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s-St. Paul’s (11 Wall St.). The concert will be full of hymns, instrumental music, solo works and sing-a-longs that embody the Season of Advent, and will be led by musicians from the local parish network and the NPM. A freewill offering is encouraged to support the work of NPM.

Father Rossi — formerly at St. Madeleine Sophie Church in Schenectady, St. Gabriel’s Church in Schenectady, Our Lady Queen of Peace in Rotterdam and St. Margaret of Cortona in Rotterdam Junction — was named pastor to the northern parishes on July 15 and wanted to do something exciting for the faithful this season.

“It just dawned on me, I have only been up here four months, to try to get something going for Advent. I got a hold of Justine Crevatas, the music director where I was at — St. Madeleine Sophie — and she is also part of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians,” Father Rossi said. “She met with some of the other music directors down in the Albany area and we started talking about what we could do for Advent. They said they would be able to come and what I like about the idea is, it is the rural parishes partnering with some of the more city or suburban parishes.”

Crevatas, the local NPM social media coordinator, will be joined by fellow members Richard Purtorti (co-director), Tony Koslowski, (co-director) and Melinda Cestaro (secretary and treasurer) as well as other members of the organization.
“Father Des, for a couple of years before he became the pastor in Hudson Falls, he was our parochial vicar so he and I had a relationship,” Crevatas said. “He knew my musical capability and he also knew that I was an officer with the local NPM chapter and he asked for our assistance to bring some collaboration to a concert to those northern parishes that are farther away from the Capital Region.

“It is definitely going to be a collaborative effort. I am inviting some of the St. Madeleine Sophie choir partly because they want to see Father Des. … It is more of a full concert for Advent. Father Des was saying that there has really never been something like this out that way or at that parish. Sometimes there is so much going on in the Capital Region in terms of music, there has not been something like that out that way. It’s a nice concert to showcase the musicians in the area.”
The collaboration will include Kristal Crandall, music director and solo vocalist, and Jonah and Isabel Passaro, accompanists — all from St. Mary’s-St. Paul’s — and Ben Rowley, music director at St. Mary’s in Glens Falls.

“There is lot of talent in our area locally and this is an excellent chance for them to be showcased and it would be a great opportunity as well for members of the public and the congregation to come and listen to the music not only to hear their own local musicians but also those from NPM,” Crandall said. “Honestly any time that people gather in God’s name is special anyway.”

Crevatas agreed.

“It is exciting because, we as NPM, our local chapter, we have about five or six events every year and we have been trying to branch out and help and support the more outlying parishes,” she said. “But is it hard because what we do is we hold events at places where we have relationships already with other music directors. But we don’t know a lot of people in those outlying parishes so this is a good step for us supporting them too.”