Student Leadership in Music Ministry

As the flagship program of music ministry, the Liturgical Choir has its own council, who work with the choir’s director to oversee the various responsibilities necessary for the choir’s success. Choir council responsibilities include primary communication with choir members, planning and leading choir retreats and monthly Taizé services, coordinating service opportunities, overseeing logistics of music distribution and concert preparation, publicity and social media, and much more. Council members apply in the spring and are selected by the director to serve a renewable term for the following academic year. Some of the council members also oversee volunteer teams/committees within the choir to accomplish particular tasks, such as Taizé committee or retreats team.

The Music Ministry Team is a select group of instrumentalists and singers who take an active leadership role in music ministry. Members of this team serve as leaders of small ensembles for Masses on Sunday evening at 9 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family and on weeknights at 10 p.m. in the St. Joan of Arc Chapel.

The team meets weekly to prepare the music for the Masses. This includes sharing the scriptures and offering music suggestions, evaluating the music for all Masses on a weekly basis, assisting with the training of cantors, and assisting in other prayer services such as Taizé Prayer.

With only one exception (the 6:00 p.m. Sunday Mass led by the Liturgical Choir) each Mass on campus is served by a student-led team of musicians. These teams can include a combination of instrumentalists and singers. With input from the director, every team works together to pick and lead music at their respective Masses. Each team includes at least one leader from the Music Ministry Team who serves as the point person for that Mass. We currently consist of four of these student teams, leading at the following liturgies:

• Sunday 4:30 p.m. Spanish Mass in St. Joan of Arc Chapel
• Sunday 9:00 p.m. Mass in Chapel of the Holy Family
• Tuesday 10:00 p.m. Mass in St. Joan of Arc Chapel
• Thursday 10:00 p.m. Mass in St. Joan of Arc Chapel

Campus Ministry employs student assistants in a variety of areas, including in music ministry. Student assistants in Music Ministry are hired to help out with the following: preparation of music binders for Sunday liturgies, leadership of student music teams, organization of Liturgical Choir music and binders, setup and cleanup for choir rehearsals and liturgies, copyright reporting, facilitation with chapel requests, and other tasks as necessary.

Student assistants are frequently asked to take leadership of one of the Student Music Teams each semester and are expected to serve on the Music Ministry Team. Student assistants are also able to dedicate a certain amount of their weekly work hours to practice and instruction on their instrument of choice, subject to approval from their supervisor.

The Marquette University Liturgical Choir employs an accompanist who is responsible for piano leadership at all Liturgical Choir rehearsals, Masses, and performances. The position is granted to a Marquette undergraduate or graduate student upon successful audition with the director. The position is stipended and may be renewed on a yearly basis. Candidates for the position should be able to demonstrate strong piano and improvisational skills, sight-reading ability and a proficient level of choral score reading ability. Whenever the position is open, this page will include a link to the application page.