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Last week on Ministry Monday we started a mini-series focusing on The Singing Priest. Last week we heard from Fr. Ricky Manalo on the first episode that inspired this mini-series! This week we’re hearing one more replay episode on this topic. In January 2020 I spoke to Nicholas Will, who was the Director of Music for the North American Pontifical College in Rome. Nick has great experience with developing the singing voice of clergy, and that’s where our conversation takes us today. Enjoy!
The relationship between us, as music ministers, and the clergy which we serve is critical. Our clergy are our shepherds of our flock. They are our bosses, our administrators, and, in many cases, our spiritual advisors. But I hope I don’t ruffle too many feathers when I say that most clergy do not enter the seminary to become leaders in solely music for the Church. Their charisms span a different range, and music may or may not be one of them. Some priests and deacons love to sing, and some, truthfully, shy away from the opportunity. I can guess that most of us have experienced a liturgy in which the priest sung extraordinary parts of the Mass and the spirit of the liturgy was absolutely elevated as a result.
What can we do to support our clergy as they develop their own musical voice?
Today I speak to Nicholas Will, Director of Music for the North American Pontifical College, Vatican City State, where he oversees all aspects of liturgical music, serves as principal organist, and directs the Seminary Choir. Nicholas is also on a leave of absence as the Coordinator of the Sacred Music program and Assistant Professor of Music at Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio.
Nick’s work centers around the musical and spiritual formation of seminarians, which is what we will focus on today.
Nick joins us today from Rome.
SHOW NOTES
This episode is a replay of episode #084: The Singing Priest (Pt. 2), aired on January 6, 2020.
Bio: Nichloas Will
Nicholas Will is the Director of Liturgical Music at the Pontifical North American College, Vatican City State, where he oversees all aspects of liturgical music, serves as principal organist, and directs the Seminary Choir. He is currently on a leave of absence as Coordinator of the Sacred Music Program and Assistant Professor of Music at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he oversees the degree program in Sacred Music, directs the Schola Cantorum Franciscana and Franciscan Chamber Orchestra, and teaches organ, music theory, music history, Gregorian chant, and conducting courses. A graduate of Duquesne University and the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Nicholas is a past winner of the André Marchal Award for Excellence in Organ Performance (Duquesne), the Dorothy DeCourt Prize in Organ (Peabody), the Young Organists’ Audition sponsored by the Pittsburgh Concert Society, and the Duquesne University Concerto Competition. Nicholas has appeared as soloist with the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra, Altoona Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. Other significant performance venues as soloist, accompanist, and conductor include national gatherings of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (2012, 2018) and the Church Music Association of America (2018), Notre Dame Cathedral, The American Cathedral (Paris), the Westerkerk (Amsterdam), the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, St. Patrick Cathedral (New York), National City Christian Church (Washington DC), St. Peter Co-Cathedral (Split, Croatia), All Saints Anglican Church (Rome), St. Peter Basilica (Vatican City), the Sistine Chapel, and numerous historic churches and basilicas throughout Rome. An Associate and active member of the American Guild of Organists, Nicholas also serves on the National Association of Pastoral Musicians’ national Steering Committee for Organists. His recordings as an organist and conductor have been released by Navona Records and Jade Music, and he is a published composer with CanticaNOVA Publications. In 2019, he founded the Saint Gregory Institute of Sacred Music, a non-profit organization devoted to the education of present and future church musicians.
For more information about the Saint Gregory Institute of Sacred Music, click here.
Check out Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.
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