Introducing Our New Director of Music
Ministries – a Web Interview with Matthew Mueller

St. Michael the Archangel is very fortunate to have Matt Mueller join us
as our new Director of Music Ministries.  Many parishioners have already met
Matt or at least seen him at mass as cantor, choir director, organist or pianist. 
We thought you might like to know more about him so we asked him to participate
in an interview for this web site.  Our questions and his answers follow.

Q.  Would you tell us something about your background; for example, where are you from and what is your educational background? 

After I graduated from an arts-focused public high school in suburban Rochester, New York, I spent four years at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in the process, with a major in Sacred Music.  You might be interested to know that Westminster was founded at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1920’s, expressly for the formation of “Ministers of Music” – the Protestant equivalent of “Pastoral Musicians.”  As a vocalist at Westminster, I was put through almost all the paces of a would-be opera singer, and sang in professional choirs with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, and other such ensembles.  At the same time, I was trained in organ, conducting, theology, liturgy, hymnody and psalmody, music history and composition techniques, and a few token liberal arts courses.  The idea was that, after graduating, I would be capable of leading volunteer and professional choirs as a conductor, leading congregations as an organist, and interacting with the clergy as a lay theologian and Bible scholar.  That’s what it takes to lead a liturgical music ministry such as the one at St. Michael’s.

Going back to where I’m from:  I was born in Syracuse, New York, and after six and a half years, moved to Grove City, Pennsylvania, a small college town north of Pittsburgh.  As I mentioned, high school was in Rochester and college in New Jersey.  Along the way, I’ve worked or lived in suburban New York, Philadelphia, and now Washington; eastern Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina, and Columbus, Georgia.  I’m a traveler by temperament, and while I love the warm sunshine of the Deep South, I’m culturally more a conservative northeasterner.  I suppose the Washington area offers something of each of those worlds!

Q.  How did you happen to get involved in music ministry?

It happened, quite literally, in the womb.  My mother was, and still is, a church choir director.  I’m told she conducted at least one choir rehearsal while she was in labor with me!  After that, I was the quintessential church staff brat.  I sang in the choirs, rang handbells much more than was good for me, studied the hymnal and, as a teenager, figured out how to play the organ – well, it was just sitting there!  At the age of 16, I became the organist at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, and now I don’t know how to stop.

Q.  How do you conceive of the role of music in the mass?

Music in the Mass is sung prayer, praise, petition, and proclamation.  Music in the Mass is not finally about the music at all, but about the Word.  In a sense, the music is doing its job best when we notice the Word – that is, our Lord – more than we notice the music.  That’s not at all to say, though, that the music we offer our Lord should be anything less than the best we can do.

On one hand, the Tradition of the Church has handed down some wonderful texts – the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation, and Agnus Dei, for example, that we sing to a variety of tunes throughout the year.  On the other hand, since the Second Vatican Council, it’s been a challenge for the Church to assimilate so much music in the vernacular. Many of the “better” Catholic music ministries have adopted a largely Protestant-derived body of hymnody for Catholic use; of course, a sizeable minority of that hymnody comes originally from pre-Reformation (hence, Catholic) sources, or from the Hebrew Psalter.  At the same time, since the 1970’s, there’s been an explosion of new “hymnody” from both Protestant and Catholic sources – much of which, I’m sorry to say, is the musical equivalent of junk food.

Part of my ministry that I take very seriously, then, is to choose carefully the hymns we sing at Mass.  I look for texts with good poetry and sound theology, and then for music that is both singable and interesting.  Our Gather (Comprehensive) hymnal makes this task manageable, but it’s still a challenge to find four hymns each week that meet all these criteria and complement the scriptures and prayers specific to that day.

Q.  What interested you most about the Music Director position at St. Michael the Archangel and why did you choose to come here?

This is my first position in a Catholic parish.  Having been raised Presbyterian and moved to the Episcopal Church in my rebellious college years, it’s both a giant leap and a natural next step.  In the four years since I finished at Westminster Choir College, I’ve been a few different places.  I had yet to find one where I was truly at home in terms of both a philosophy and practice of worship; about a year ago, two different friends – both church musicians and Catholics – independently suggested around the same time that I should consider applying to Catholic parishes. I took the hint, and did just that in a big way (visit http://www.npm.org/Membership/hotline.html if you want to get an idea what’s open in this field at the moment).  I was working an interim position in Ohio while the parish there looked for the “right” candidate to meet their long-term needs, so I could afford to be picky.

Eventually, St. Michael’s was one of the many places on my list.  Deacon Ealey contacted me in July, and we had a phone interview.  In September, I was invited to visit in person, and I jumped on the opportunity.  It sounded like St. Michael’s was looking for someone like me: a competent liturgical organist, a patient but demanding choir director, and perhaps most importantly, a good administrator for our small armies of cantors, choir members, and so forth.  For my part, I sensed in Monsignor Tolentino a priest who strives to be a Christ-like pastor for his staff and his flock – something very few in my profession take for granted.  The other staff members welcomed me, and the parishioners I met seemed like they were hungry to be led to musical high ground.  A couple days later, I was having lunch with some old and new friends in the cafeteria at Catholic University when I got the phone call inviting me to come to St. Michael’s.  For me, that was that!

Q.  We have multiple choirs at St. Michael representing different age groups, different languages and ethnicities and different musical genres.  How do you envision your role in relation to these various groups?

It’s no secret that St. Michael’s is a diverse place in nearly every way.  I speak English, of course, a fair bit of French, and a tiny bit of Spanish, but nothing like Tagalog, for instance.  While my hands-on role is primarily with the English-language liturgies, I’m also responsible for overseeing and supporting the musical leadership of our Spanish-language masses.  Fr. Malaver and Edwin Mendez, as two of my bilingual colleagues, make it possible for me to communicate and lead.

One of the factors that attracted me to St. Michael’s was that I would not have to be the only musical leader around.  Our Spanish and Filipino communities have their own musical leadership, and that’s a beautiful thing.  My role is administrative –for example, the Spanish community recently needed a new book of psalm settings for the upcoming year. Kitty Ealey filled out the request form, and I put my name at the top because it involved spending money from the music ministry budget.  Then, Monsignor had to approve the request, and when the materials arrived, I don’t even remember how they got to the people who needed them – perhaps this was the work of the tireless Joanie Heavey!  That’s one small example of the teamwork it takes to make St. Michael’s tick, and it happens day after day.

Q.  What do you expect of choir members?

Choir membership is a ministry that’s often misunderstood.  One choir member described the choir’s role in the liturgy as being a “super-set” of the cantor, and I think that’s a good way to put it: A choir’s first and central role is to be a team of musical leaders for the assembled congregation. The hymns, psalm, and sung parts of the Mass are the duty and delight of all in the Church, not just the people in robes.

In practical terms, being a choir member – at any age – requires a few basic ingredients.  First, there’s a time requirement.  If “choir” is defined as “a group of people singing together,” it follows that choir members must make a regular commitment to attend rehearsals and liturgies, arrive on time, and communicate when it’s not possible to attend.

Second, it does require at least a little bit of talent to sing in the choir, and formal training never hurt anybody, either.  On balance, though, I’d say we have FAR more people talented people not singing in the choir than untalented people who do sing in the choir!  You don’t have to be a musical Superman to sing in the choir - if you’re ‘behind’ some other members in musical skill, you’ll catch up after a while, and nobody’s going to be impatient with you in the meantime.

Third, being a choir member requires a sense of humor about oneself and about the art of making music.  We all make mistakes, especially me.  Becoming better musicians takes both work and humility.

Q.  What are your favorite hymns and what are your favorite choral arrangements (both religious and secular)?  Who is your favorite composer?  What music do you have on your Ipod?

Confession time: I don’t have an Ipod!  As I’m settling into my new place in Brookland, I’m pulling my hundreds of CD’s out of boxes and listening once to each one.  As I type, I’m listening to a Mozart concerto for flute and orchestra.  Last night, it was Verdi’s Requiem.  Next might be a Beethoven symphony, a collection of hymns by an English cathedral choir, some French organ music, or maybe an opera or oratorio.  I’m not sure which.

I don’t have a favorite hymn or choral anthem, per se. I’m so used to thinking of these things professionally that, through the grace of God, I tend to be in the mood for whatever’s on tap at church this week and this month.

At some point, likely not in my first year, I’ll share a few pieces of music with the Adult Liturgical Choir that are near and dear to me.  John Ireland’s “Greater Love Hath No Man” is tops on this list.  In the canon of choral music, there are certain marriages of text and music that really do seem to be made in heaven, and I consider it my personal mission to see that every choir I direct gets to experience the best of these.

Q.  Are you a sports fan?  Do you follow any particular teams? 

I’m kind of a Buffalo Bills fan.  Don’t stone me, please.

Q.  What do you do in your spare time?

Eat and sleep, mostly.

I always appreciate just about any excuse to go someplace.  Whether it’s walking in my own neighborhood on a sunny day, riding the Metro across town for a concert or dinner, driving to see friends and family in other states, or flying across an ocean, I like to go places!

In the past six years, I’ve been to Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, England (three times!), Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.  I enjoy seeing how people live – not just visiting the museums and photographing the monuments, but eating the food, worshipping in the churches, and driving on the roads.  In many ways, it’s the best education money can buy, and I wish more people could have the opportunity to travel as I have.

Paradoxically, I’m most at-home when I’m behind the wheel.  I can easily get in the ‘groove’ of driving in a city like Washington or Tel Aviv or London or Buenos Aires, but most of my favorite driving is on country roads.  Some of my most memorable drives have included the Overseas Highway in the Florida keys, the Ballon d’Alsace in rural France, the moors of Yorkshire in England, the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, and the downhill road to the Dead Sea in Jordan.  Pop in a Haydn symphony or some hymns and turn on the sunshine, and I’m a very happy man.

By the way, anybody and everybody at St.Michael’s is welcome to “friend” me on facebook.  I’ve come to use that site as a tool to stay in touch with family, friends, and parishioners all over the place.  You can also see pictures from many of my travels.

Q.  How can St. Michael the Archangel parishioners help you achieve your goals here in the parish?

In three words: sing, give, pray!

In a few more words: Sing from your pew at Mass, even if you’re afraid you might not get it quite right. Consider singing in a choir or becoming a cantor; if you need training, I’m happy to provide it.  Give faithfully – folders, printed music, robes, instrument maintenance, hymnals, and personnel all cost money!  Most of all, pray for me and for each accompanist, cantor and choir member each and every time you come into church.  We’re all humans with our own strengths and weaknesses, motivations and distractions, and none of us can carry out our ministry without your support in all these ways.