A NEW YEAR, BIDDING FAREWELL, AND WELCOMING NEWCOMERS
As much as we humans value spontaneity, we simultaneously crave organization. We like our lives, like our books or miniseries, to be divided into chronologically categorized chapters. In fact, one of the wildest adjustments in my early adulthood came in realizing that a given year of my life was no longer defined by which grade I was in. There was no longer a “freshmen year,” “sophomore year,” etc., and sometimes it seems as though the years maybe came and went in a directionless fashion.
As we begin a new calendar year, we always do so with the knowledge that there will be some continuity and some change. In fact, when making our New Years’ resolutions, we are not only doing so with an eye to change, but with an eye to constancy. Yes, I want to weed out some bad habits, but I don’t want to dispense with the good habits! We begin a New Year with the bittersweet losses of yesteryear as well as the hopeful optimism of what can unfold in the near year.
As Director of Sacred Music in a multi-campus parish, I am seeing this dynamic play out in a very real way in the music department of Holy Cross. After many years of dedicated service at our parish—and spread out across all three campuses—Chris Brand will be retiring and moving to Kraków, Poland in April. While many people would be cautious about retiring to a foreign land, such a decision totally fits with Chris’ affable and adventuresome nature!
I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Chris in many different ways. Firstly, he was my predecessor as Director of Sacred Music at Holy Cross. When the position of Director of Sacred Music was being expanded to a full-time role, Chris graciously welcomed me on board and congratulated me, and I found him to be a tremendous wealth of institutional knowledge and practical wisdom at the time. While a lesser person might have treated me as an intrusive presence, Chris was hospitable and embracing through and through.
As an organist, I have heard how Chris’s solid and steady service playing has teased great singing out of the congregation. But beyond being merely a musician, Chris has been a dear part of the social fabric of this parish, endearing himself to many people from all three campuses. In fact, he embraced the Polish community of Holy Cross to such an extent that he will reside in the old world. Thank you so much for everything, Chris.
While we will certainly miss Chris, I am particularly eager to welcome—or rather, to welcome back Mary Ann Zabinski. Mary Ann has served as an organist in many parishes throughout the greater metropolitan area, and, in a manner fitting of her last name, she has also played extensively for Polish Masses at Holy Cross.
Mary Ann will coordinate music at the St. Hedwig Campus, and she will also be playing at the 11:15am St. Clement Mass—and occasionally at the 11:30am Polish Mass. In the meantime, I will transition into playing more regularly for the 11:30am Polish Mass, while occasionally returning to St. Clement for the 11:15am Mass.
Please know of my deep gratitude both to our musicians, but also to you, our dear parishioners. I give thanks for all that is behind us, and I greatly look forward to all that is ahead!
~Samuel Backman, Director of Sacred Music