Practical Hymn-based Music for Organ and Instruments
You often discover that someone in your congregation plays an instrument, is competent, and is eager to play for a service. High schools often have outstanding music programs, which might be an avenue for community outreach. Many of the arrangements explored in this workshop have been successfully played with high school and even junior high school instrumentalists in parish settings. They can also, of course, be performed with professional musicians, who are often grateful for the opportunity to play music that, for them, is not at all difficult.
Joseph Burgio
Joseph Burgio earned a Bachelor of Science in music education and organ at Nazareth College and a Master of Arts in pastoral music, awarded jointly by Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and the Eastman School of Music. He studied organ with Barbara Harbach, Will Headlee, and David Craighead, and performed in masterclasses at AGO conventions for Russell Saunders and Marie-Claire Alain. He has performed in both the Summer Sunday and Advent Vesper series at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral, and presented workshops for the Hymn Society, which named him a Lovelace Scholar. After serving parishes in Syracuse, Norfolk, and Chicago, he is currently director of music at St. Bernardine of Siena in Forest Park, Illinois, where he has directed adult and youth choirs, adult and teen handbell choirs, and trained cantors. In addition to his church work, he is the administrative assistant in the Ticketing Department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.