Paul A. Thornock II, Director
of Music
Robert Wisniewski, Principal
Cathedral Organist & Assistant Director of Music
Dorothy Riley -- Assistant
Cathedral Organist
The primary focus of the Cathedral music program is
to support the assembly at liturgy in the singing of the hymns and
responses, and to lift their hearts and minds through the great
patrimony of music that belongs to the Church. Another very
important part of the mission of the Cathedral is its outreach to the
greater community through music in non-liturgical settings.
In the course of a season, thousands of people come
to the Cathedral for musical events. For many of these
concert-goers, this is their first encounter with the Cathedral.
For many others, this is their first connection with the Catholic
Church. The Church recognizes the importance of concerts:
Our churches have for a very long time played an
important role in the cultural life of cities and towns. Is not
the church the house of the People of God? Has it not been in
churches that this people has had its first aesthetic experiences in
seeing the beauty of the building, its mosaics, paintings,
statues, or sacred objects; in hearing organ music or the singing of
the choir? Outside of liturgical celebrations there can be a
place for religious music in the form of a concert. This can be
an occasion offered to Christians who are no longer practicing their
faith, or even to non-Christians who are seeking God, to have access to
a true religious experience, beyond a simple aesthetic emotion. (Pope John Paul II, 1987)
The 2005-2006 Cathedral Concerts season has
wonderful things in store. The Notre Dame Glee Club will perform
for us in October, Collegium Musicum Oberliniense will be here in
December. The Cathedral’s musicians will present an
all-Renaissance concert in February, the extremely popular Office of
Tenebrae on Good Friday, and the Donor Concert in May. In
addition to these performances, the Cathedral Choir will join forces
with members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and four world-class
soloists for a performance of Handel’s Messiah.
The 2005-2006 season is one of anticipation as the
Cathedral community awaits the installation of the new Grand Gallery
Organ by Paul Fritts & Company organ in the summer of 2006.
This instrument will be one of the largest mechanical action
organs in North America, and will rank among the great instruments of
the world. This 100-rank organ will serve the choir brilliantly,
and work in liturgy and concert situations in ways we have never
imagined!
The following pages offer glimpses into the
workings of the Cathedral Music Office. In addition to details on
the concert offerings, you will find information on the music staff, a
list of the Cathedral Choir’s upcoming repertoire, and
information on the new Fritts organs. We hope you enjoy these
pages, will visit them often, and will share with us your comments!
