If you are interested in becoming part of our music ministry here at Visitation, please contact me for your personal interview.
Barb Masters
Director of Parish Music Ministry
barbara.masters@visitationcc.org
(630) 834-8190
Opportunities for Music Ministry
Parish Choir season is from August-June. We welcome new members.
Adult Choir rehearses Tuesdays 7 PM and sings every Sunday at the 9:30 Mass and on Holy Days.
High School Ensemble rehearses Wednesdays at 8 PM and sings 2 weekend Masses per month and Holy Days.
Children’s Choir grades 3rd-8th rehearses Wednesdays after school and sings at 1 weekend Mass a month and on Holy Days.
Contact Music Director Barb Masters for your personal interview if you want to join our Music Ministry family.
Email: barbara.masters@visitationcc.org Choir Room Phone: 630-834-8190
ADULT CHOIR BEGINS TUESDAY September 6 7-8 PM
All singers college age and older are welcome to join our Adult Choir. The first practice is
Tuesday September 6 7-8 PM
Choir sings Sundays at the 9:30 AM Mass.
Please contact me if you are interested. Registration will continue through October.
Choir experience is welcome but musical support is available for enthusiastic newcomers.
SING A NEW SONG UNTO THE LORD!
Barbara Masters, Music Director 630-834-8190 barbara.masters@visitationcc.org
VISITATION CHILDREN’S CHOIR
Barbara A. Masters, Director 630-834-8190 barbara.masters@visitationcc.org
Regina Gibbons, Assistant 708-692-1006 regi3756@hotmail.com
August 2, 2022
CHILDREN’S CHOIR REGISTRATION FORM
Student’s Name_________________________________________Address___________________________________Grade___ School: ______________
Parent’s Name(Print)_____________________________
Email__________________________________Phone ___________________Alternate phone__________________
____My Visitation student would like to be walked from School to Choir at 3 PM
_____My Religious Education student would like to be walked from Choir to RE
Parent Volunteer opportunities. Please circle one that fits your family schedule.
*** Help at WEDNESDAY Rehearsals 3-3:40 PM ***Help during Weekend and Holy Day Masses ***
***Help filing music*** Help with communications, website, emails
*** Help with end of Christmas party *** Help with Year-End Party
PARENT COMMENTS: (health concerns, sports conflicts, schedule, musical issues)
Please use reverse if needed.
The joy of Easter in Elmhurst included the Visitation Parish Catholic Church Children’s Choir, whose members sang at several of the church’s services, culminating with the 11:30 a.m. Mass Sunday.
The 30 choir members, in third through eighth grade, were led in traditional Easter hymns by Music Director Barbara Masters and backed by some young instrumentalists and kettledrums, formally timpani.
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Members of the Visitation parish children’s choir with Music Director Barbara Masters prepared to sing before the 11:30 a.m. Mass Easter Sunday morning. (Graydon Megan / Pioneer Press)The Easter performances were a long time coming, according to Masters. She noted in an email to Pioneer Press that when COVID-19 resulted in large-scale shutdowns in March of 2020, choir members were rehearsing for that year’s Lent and Easter liturgies.
“During the shutdown I continued to meet students for rehearsals through Google Classroom,” Masters said. “I sent music online to the parents and we would practice the songs of the season. We would also include a part of each rehearsal when students could share music they were practicing at home on piano, guitar, and voice. It was so inspiring to see our students working at home on their own on their music.”
The choir, which was unable to meet during the 2020-2021 school year, returned to masked and socially distanced singing in fall last year. Masters said the choir has been part of the fabric of Visitation’s music ministry for decades. A planned choir tour to Grand Rapids was one of the COVID-19 casualties in 2020. Masters is hopeful another choir tour might be possible in 2023.
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Maeve (l) and Norah McMahon joined the children’s choir through the parish’s religious education program. (Graydon Megan / Pioneer Press)While most choir members are from Visitation Catholic School, several attend Elmhurst public schools and come to the choir through the parish’s religious education program. Those include sisters Maeve, a fifth grader, and Norah McMahon, a third grader, from Jefferson Elementary School.
“I thought children’s choir could be like the big break,” said Maeve in a phone conversation with Pioneer Press, who joined the choir in third grade. “I just thought it would be kind of fun to sing at the podium, be with the bigger kids. I really like it. I’d say it’s worth it.”
Visitation parishioners would agree.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.