Music

11/26/2016: Removed "Children's Choir Begins Soon!" section.

10/5/2016: Added "Children's Choir Begins Soon!" section.

8/18/2016: Updated "Catholic Music Available Online" section.

Scroll down past the "Music Inquiries" form for information on Catholic music available online, our Music Ministries, Instruments, and the Director of Music.

Welcome to the St. Edward's Music website.

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact Paul Radkowski, Director of Music/Organist, at
music@saintedwards.org, 740-587-3254, or use the "Music Inquiries" form on this page.

As mentioned in the 8/7/16 bulletin, there are numerous options for listening to Catholic music -- liturgical and otherwise -- online. Here are a few:

Sacred Music and Immaculate Heart Music are two online music stations hosted by Immaculate Heart Radio, a a network of Catholic radio stations in the western United States. Sacred Music has a mixture of chant, choral pieces, organ music, and hymns, while Immaculate Heart Music has guitar and drum-based contemporary songs.

The Commons: Our hymnal publisher, OCP, has compiled a number of video interviews with contemporary Catholic composers. The composers discuss and perform some of their pieces, both liturgical and non-liturgical. You can find The Commons here.

Spotify (account required): With an enormous library of music, Spotify enables users to make their own playlists. Users create an account, and music can be played either on a program or app downloaded to a computer, smartphone, or other device. If you have an account or if you create one, you can listen to a wide variety of Catholic music playlists here. (Just like the radio, there are occasional advertisements unless you subscribe to Spotify's Premium option.)

• Adult Choir: The Adult Choir sings weekly for the 10:45 a.m. Mass from September through late May/early June. The Choir also sings for the Christmas Eve 9:00 p.m. Mass, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, two Masses on Easter Sunday, and other special liturgies and events throughout the year. Rehearsals are Sundays from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and Thursdays from 7:00-8:10 p.m. The Adult Choir currently has 22 members and is always welcoming more.


• Bell Choir: The Bell Choir plays handbells for a weekend Mass once or twice a month from October through May. The Bell Choir also plays for the Christmas Eve 9:00 p.m. Mass and two Masses on Easter Sunday. Rehearsals are Tuesdays from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Directed by Steve Schlicher, the Bell Choir has three octaves of bells and is always looking for additional people who are interested in ringing. 


• Children's Choir: The Children's Choir is comprised of first through seventh graders. The Children's Choir sings for the Christmas Eve 5:00 p.m. Mass and occasionally another Mass throughout the year. Seasonal rehearsals are held on Sundays immediately after the 10:45 a.m. Mass (from about noon to 12:45 p.m.). The Children's Choir generally has 20-30 members depending on the season. 


• Cantors/psalmists: Cantors sing the responsorial psalm and gospel acclamation, and they lead the assembly in singing other music during Masses. They also sing for special liturgies and events throughout the year. St. Edward's has twelve regularly scheduled cantors who usually sing for one Mass per month. New cantors and substitute cantors are always welcome. 


• Instrumentalists: Instrumentalists from keyboard to strings to brass to woodwinds play as needed for liturgies and other events throughout the year. New instrumentalists are always welcome.

St. Edward's is blessed with instruments that serve our music ministry well.

ORGAN
Installed by Peebles-Herzog in late 2004, our pipe organ was originally built by Casavant for First Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, VA in 1975. It is a two-manual tracker organ with full pedalboard and 1105 pipes divided into the Hauptwerk and Ruckpositiv chests. In summer 2014, the organ was revoiced by Halbert Gober, and it is regularly maintained by Peebles-Herzog.  

PIANO
Generously donated to St. Edward's in 2008, our piano is a Bechstein upright.

HANDBELLS
We have three octaves of Schulmerich handbells, many of which were refurbished in summer 2015.

Paul Radkowski has been the Director of Music/Organist at St. Edward's since September 2014. He has a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an M.A. from Saint John's University (Collegeville, MN). He served as Liturgy & Music Coordinator at the Church of St. Peter (St. Cloud, MN), and he has also served as organist at the Church of St. Joseph (St. Joseph, MN), Sacred Heart Church (Sharon, PA), and his hometown parish, the Church of the Good Shepherd (West Middlesex, PA). He lives in nearby Newark, OH with his wife and family.

Previous Directors of Music at St. Edward's include Susan Brattain, Bill Miller, Julia Parker, and Steve Schlicher.