Music Ministry

"I am the shepherd of the sheep;
I am the way and the truth...

...I am the good shepherd, and I know mine,
and mine know me, alleluia, alleluia."

Music plays an essential role in the worship life of a parish. The music ministry at Church of the Good Shepherd exists to support the liturgical goals of Vatican II:

• to encourage active, conscious participation by the entire assembly
• to "en flesh" with music the liturgical texts meant to be sung
• to preserve our centuries of heritage as more recent music is added

The music ministers support and lead the entire assembly in the sung parts of liturgies, as well as offering unique contributions as a choir, cantor or instrumentalist. Our parish choir is a dedicated and welcoming group of volunteer and paid singers, high school age and up. The repertoire includes quality music from many centuries and of various styles, plus recordings of individual parts are made available to use for home practice. The choir alternates ministering at the 10:30 and 12:00 Sunday liturgies.

During November of 2008, installation of our new pipe organ began. Though physically installed, the voicing was done during the month of January 2009. For more details and photos of the organ, see the page about the organ.

Our Director of Music, Mr. Terry Hicks is a native of upstate New York, and lived in Chicago for many years before coming to Good Shepherd. His preparatory studies were done at the Eastman School of Music, and he received a Bachelor degree in organ studies from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and Master degree from Northwestern University's School of Music. Since 1973, he has ministered in Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic parishes.

Contact

If you are interested in exploring opportunities of musical ministry at Good Shepherd, contact Terry Hicks at GSMusicMinistry(at)aol(dot)com or call (310) 285-5427