Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Archdiocese is home to a number of liturgical music composers
Archdiocese is home to a number of liturgical music composers
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 12, 2009
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Stephen Petrunak, music director at St. Blase Parish, Sterling Heights, was nominated for a Dove Award this year by the Gospel Music Association. |
Sterling Heights - When St. Blase Parish music director Stephen Petrunak was nominated for a Dove Award - the Grammy Award of the Christian music industry - it came as a surprise to him. But it speaks volumes about the musical composition happening right here in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Petrunak, 50, of Sterling Heights, is one of several published musicians in the archdiocese. He and the others represent a cross-section of diversity and faith experiences that lead them to write original music here.
An 'amazing' experience
Petrunak admits he didn't know what a Dove Award was before his CD, "Love Beyond All Measure," from GIA Publications, Inc., was nominated for it. Investigating at home after hearing of the honor, he discovered the award is from the Gospel Music Association, and "under 'instrumental album of the year,' there was my name," he said. "My youngest told me, 'Dad, this looks kind of important.'"
He was one of six nominees, and figured he didn't have much of a chance against the eventual winner, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" soundtrack, released by Walt Disney Records. He purchased the five CDs to see what he was up against: "Even to be considered in that was pretty humbling," he said. "It was just amazing that I was there."
Since the trip to Nashville for the ceremony, his e-mail inbox has filled with hundreds of messages, including some from former classmates he hadn't heard from in 30 years. The CD, his seventh, is an eclectic collection of classics and originals, all guitar-based, much of it coming from his work playing at Sunday liturgy, he said.
"This is the one that I let go the most in, and just let it be an expression of who I am musically," he said. "It was very rewarding."
The title track of his CD has an interesting story, too: He was on a pilgrimage in Italy, inadvertently locked out of his hotel room with nothing but his guitar, frustrated and not a little angry. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he sat on the hotel steps and composed the song "Love Beyond All Measure."
Petrunak took a winding road to his musical career: As a young boy, he would lie on the floor listening to Roger Miller, and later played on a fake guitar cut out of wood until he gave himself a thumb infection. He started attending the folk choir at St. Blase, in Sterling Heights, partly because he liked, as a freshman, hanging out with upperclassmen; that also got him back into the Church he had rarely been a part of previously.
He wanted to study music in college but got a business degree instead, and eventually left his career, and took a significant pay cut, to become the full-time music director at St. Blase. That was 15 years ago, 35 years from when he joined the folk choir.
Through his work at St. Blase, he worked on instructional books on how to play the guitar for liturgy, then began working on his own recordings; among his other musical activities, he also edits hymnals, teaches guitar at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, and attends and presents at conferences.
Even with all that involvement, he still serves as head of St. Blase's 200-person strong music community. "My job's to bring out the musical gift within this community, and nurture it," he said, his usually soft-spoken voice raising. "It's not my music program. It's their music program.
"You're enhancing sung prayer," he said.
Petrunak and his wife, Judy, have two daughters, Alicia, 13 and Katie, 9, from Korea, who "keep us hopping," he said. He composes with pen on paper, resisting the encouragement to move to a computer program.
Detroit area is a 'powerhouse of writers'
While Petrunak's nomination might have been an anomaly for Catholic musicians, Louis Canter, associate director of worship and director of music for the Archdiocese of Detroit, suggested the cultural diversity of the area plays a part to why Detroit has so many published musicians. "This is a real powerhouse of writers," he said.
His own piece, "The Lord Will Bless His People with Peace," has been accepted into the hymnal "Breaking Bread," so he knows how difficult it is to publish liturgical music, as each songbook has limited space. That limited space is a downside - if your piece gets in, someone else's was axed - but Canter feels the Catholic music industry is like a large family.
"We are working for the same purpose," he said, "to glorify God. To promote and grow liturgical music in the Church. If you have the gift, (you) want to give it back."
Composing rarely makes the composer money; in fact, Canter jokes that his royalties afford him an occasional latte. "For myself, it's the personal satisfaction that other people are using the piece," he said.
Norah Duncan IV retired two years ago from his 27 years as music director at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit, with another decade before that in music ministry. His first composition, what's known as the Duncan Alleluia, was written for the folk group at St. Clement Parish, Center Line, and has since been sung all over the world, he said.
"Even with the extensive musical resources available to liturgical musicians today, there still exists that need to compose or arrange something for the local community," he said.
Currently, Duncan serves on the editorial committee for, and has written about two dozen pieces for, the revision of the hymnal "Lead Me, Guide Me," which solicited music from parishes in African-American communities in the 1980s, he explained.
Most people pray through music, he said, and among the concerns of a composer are a melody that enhances the text and music being effective in many communities. "Those who are professional composers... have tremendous responsibilities to the liturgical life of the Church," he said. "Despite all of these issues, I will continue to compose when either the need or the inspiration comes along."
"I wanted to dedicate my writing to God"
Tim Smith, not currently with a parish but an area composer with Oregon Catholic Press and formerly at St. Mary of the Hills, Rochester, said it took a few years after earning a graduate degree in music composition before "I really realized, and made my own internal commitment, that I wanted to dedicate my writing to God." And he's been writing for about 20 years.
All told, he's published about 100 pieces, many using Psalms, and is about to release his fifth CD. His music ranges from liturgical to more contemporary rock, with many that could be used for either.
Smith admits he has to take his ego out of his liturgical music, since that music is music that serves God, not himself. He called writing such music an "interesting balancing act."
"Our music serves to spread the Gospel, and Jesus," he said. "I make room for the Holy Spirit - let the spirit move me, rather than have the music be a display of my talent. It's more, 'Lord if you have something to say through me, let me be a good steward."
Smith still plays on the weekends at the campus chapel in Orchard Lake, and spends his time organizing parish missions, concerts and faith events, when he's not composing. He's a member of St. Benedict Parish, Waterford Township.
Santiago Fernandez, music minister at St. Michael Parish, Pontiac, is also a published composer with two CDs and three awards from the United Catholic Music and Video Organization. He said he doesn't intend to give up his work in his parish, as he not only loves it, but it keeps him aware of what's happening in the Church and the needs of its members.
He estimated about 10-12 songs of his are in bilingual and Spanish-language hymnals; he's now involved writing music for quinceaneras, the celebration for a Latina girl's 15th birthday. "It gives me tremendous joy when the music is incorporated into the music programs," he said. "To me, that's when a song has reached its final destination."
For Fernandez, being a published musician also inspires him to keep his work at a high quality, and even to be a better person. "To me, the more my music keeps showing up, the more I feel obligated to prepare well, to play well to treat people with respect," he said. "You can't sing about unity and love and scripture and prayer, and not live it."
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