-
Almendares 1:470:00/1:47
-
From 62 to Thursday 1:520:00/1:52
-
Looking Back 5:400:00/5:40
-
Together We Are More 2:580:00/2:58
“On June 6, Catholic churches in the Diocese of Joliet sang a responsorial psalm composed by Angela Salvaggione, an accompanist at St. Mary Immaculate Church in Plainfield. Salvaggione won the diocesan "Year of the Eucharist Psalm Refrain Composition Contest," one of the initiatives the diocese and individual parishes are offering to foster increased love and devotion for the Eucharist, said Sister Sharon Marie Stola, director of the office of divine worship and catechumenate. We wanted to get more people involved, so we decided to offer the musicians the opportunity to compose a responsorial psalm for the Feast of Corpus Christi," Stola said. A second winner, not yet decided, will have his or her responsorial psalm (a chant or anthem recited or sung after a reading in a church service) played during next year's feast (June 26), marking the end of "A Year of the Eucharist," which began on Holy Thursday. The year will include talks by Bishop J.P. Sartain, a themed prayer and increased opportunities for Eucharistic adoration. "We want people to pray a little bit more," Stola said, "to be present to the Lord and respect the Eucharist. Cheri Perine, music director at St. Mary Immaculate, said this is not the first time Salvaggione has been published. Another piece, "God Please Rescue Me," was published in the United Church of Christ's new praise and worship songbook, "Sing! Prayer and Praise." Salvaggione also wrote 30 piano accompaniment arrangements for pieces in that songbook. She is very, very talented," Perine said. "Her versatility is amazing, whether she is writing anthems or something rather grandiose. For the past eight years, Salvaggione has served St. Mary Immaculate in various ways. She is a pianist for traditional, contemporary and Polish Masses. She directs a choir for the 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. Salvaggione also works within the deaf ministry. Although Salvaggione began composing as a child and teaching music when she was 13, her compositions increased several years ago when some of St. Mary's musicians decided they wanted to sing some new psalms. Salvaggione then offered to write some. One of these selections won the contest. She wrote this particular piece last year for use at St. Mary's," Perine said. "When the contest came up, she did some minor editing and then submitted it. Salvaggione said Perine and Janet Kirer, another St. Mary pianist, helped her revise the piece before it was submitted. Salvaggione is currently composing music for her first- and second-year clarinet students, finishing up a clarinet sonata, and writing several pieces for beginning and intermediate bassoon students, all of whom meet in her Plainfield/Joliet area private studio. She also writes woodwind solos and ensembles for her students. In addition, Salvaggione is collaborating with a friend to create a Lenten worship music collection. She feels honored the diocese chose her piece and hopes other churches received it as well as her home church first did. Having been blessed by so many different composers' music in so many ways over the years, it's a good feeling to be able to contribute as a composer myself," Salvaggione said, "returning some of those kinds of blessings back to assemblies throughout the diocese. The Rev. David Medow, St. Mary's pastor, called Salvaggione a talented musician and an incredible piano player who has done a wonderful job with the songs she has written for the church over the last few years. She has been a great blessing to us," Medow said. "We're just proud that more people are getting to know that.” - Denise Baran-Unland