The St. Andrew the Apostle Music Ministry traveled on a two week concert pilgrimage to Italy in November, 2005.
While in Italy, the choir performed two formal concerts, sang for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, sang for Pope Benedict XVI, and had many informal singing engagements throughout northern and central Italy.
Preparation and Fundraising:
For two years prior to the pilgrimage, the music ministry coordinated a variety of fundraising events. This included selling newspapers, selling hams at Easter, hosting a book fair, organizing an Ash Wednesday Spaghetti dinner, hosting "Late Night Catechism," and performing musical concerts at St. Andrew's. Thanks to all who participated in these events!
During the summer of 2005, the choir prepared sixteen pieces of music that highlighted our diverse style and the spirit of our parish community. In October, a Bon Voyage concert was held at St. Andrew's and was also performed at the Sun Terrace Retirement Community.
In total, 29 people were directly involved with the choir as singers or instrumentalists. In addition to the choir, 29 others (parishioners, spouses, friends) joined our pilgrimage. Our group consisted of pilgrims from Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, California, Texas, and Florida.
The choir consisted of members from our 5PM Saturday ensemble, our Adult Choir, and our 8:30 and Noon mass ensembles. In addition to our own choir members, we had three other singers join us from St. Joan of Arc Parish in Indianapolis and from Christ the King Parish in Mesa.
Formal Concerts:
The choir performed two formal concerts while in Italy. The first was at Santi Giovanni e Paolo church in Venice. The second was at the Santissimo Nome di Gesu all'Argentina church in Rome. At the Rome concert, the choir sang for the Vatican Ambassador of Austria.
The musical program included: “Go Out in the World,†“Like a Deer,†“Blessing,†“Pie Jesu,†and “God So Loved the World.â€
The Vatican:
St. Andrew’s had two singing engagements at the Vatican. The first was a Monday evening Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica featuring the St. Andrew the Apostle choir. The choir also sang at the Wednesday general Papal audience with Pope Benedict XVI present.
