May 1-7, 2020 Facebook @FloridaCatholic
to our instructor and the music." It is not the method that matters, but the ability to worship Christ through song that makes Danielle happy. She considers her time in the choir at Verot as a major moment in her life. Getting involved in the choir has been hands down one of the best things that's happened to me at Verot. It is such an open and positive atmosphere, and every- one there shares a common love for singing, as well as representing the faith and our school through mu- sic," she said. "I know for a fact that I will never stop singing no matter where I go, and I definitely plan on joining an a cappella group in col- lege." Danielle knows that her future will remain good-spirited because of her days at Bishop Verot. "My faith and relationship with God have both grown stronger through- out my four years at Verot, and no matter where life takes me I never will let that go."
DEVOTED TEACHER AT THE HELM
Along with the Lord, Danielle credited her music teacher, Clark, for training and honing her abil- ity to sing in the choir. "Choir these past few years has been such a blessing, and I just want to say thank you to Mrs. Clark for being the best music teacher and chorus/ theater director, from fourth grade to senior year, that I could have ever asked for." And Clark is indeed a seasoned veteran when it comes to teaching choir. After teaching choir for three years at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers, she began teaching at Bishop Verot in 2013. While Clark has found the transi- tion to virtual choir as needed, she said it does have its drawbacks. It's very difficult and unfortu- nately for the students, the reward is very delayed," Clark said. "With normal choirs, it's instant gratifica- tion to hear those harmonies you've learned combined with the other voices in the choir and it can be a motivator to keep practicing. With all the technology we currently have, there's still just no way to run a live choir rehearsal where you can hear everyone. Instead, I record parts for them, e-mail them, and they learn them at home." Nonetheless, as all great teachers are experiencing the transforma- tion to online instruction, Clark has adapted to the change, too. Since the virtual choir videos take a lot of time to edit on my end, we probably won't learn too much new music," she said. "We'll record the songs we've learned so far this semester and possibly a new one." The current crisis has flipped upside-down many of the school's ability to follow their curriculum appropriately. But Clark looked at the quarantine on the bright side. In the choir class, we're focus- ing more on the music theory end of things, which we normally only cover minimally because of the pressure of upcoming performanc- es and monthly school liturgies," she said. "In that way, it's a blessing because the students are growing into more well-rounded musicians and hopefully, it will help them be able to read music better in the fu- ture. It also gives me some good groundwork for next year's classes." She said her students may not find the virtual choir process as fun as others might expect. "It's tough for them," she said. "But I think they enjoyed putting together the first virtual choir video. Part of why kids love being in choir and the- ater is the feeling of togetherness, and right now they're missing that shared experience of performing together. But it is nice to have a fi- nal product that they can be proud of, and that's why it was worth it for me to learn how to create the virtual choir videos." Clark hasn't allowed the self-iso- lation rules to infiltrate her devo- tion to Christ. Teaching music to her students and keeping busy within the Church is what keeps Clark's momentum going. I'm also a cantor at St. John XXIII (Parish in Fort Myers)," Clark said. "So, a lot of the time when I'm at Mass, I have to shift my focus back and forth between experi- encing the Mass and leading the congregation. With the Zoom and Google Masses that our priests have been putting together, I can really listen to the liturgy and focus on the word and the liturgy itself. It's also been fun switching back and forth between our Verot liturgies and St. John XXIII liturgies. I love that the priests have all put such an effort into figuring out the technology so we can all still celebrate our faith together." Although all Florida schools have been canceled for the remainder of the year, Clark has a full schedule. The Bishop Verot choir is currently working on a song from our con- cert, "The Moon and Me." Clark still expects to navigate the musi- cal, "Beauty and the Beast," with her students, with hopes to perform the show over the summer.
VIRTUAL PRIESTS
Along with Catholic school teachers adjusting to virtual per- formances, a duo of Miami's priests seem to have modified their ses- sions quite nicely. Father Alexan- der Rivera, parochial vicar of the Church of the Epiphany, has made quite a name for himself lately as one component of a pair who sings for his congregation online. His guitar-playing counterpart, Father Jose Alvarez, who has a graduate degree in theatre, has joined along to celebrate the Lord by using vir- tual platforms to reach his flock. Father Rivera wanted his parish- ioners' faith to continue to thrive during these times when they are unable to attend Mass. "The hope is that people will remain connected to their church family and not put faith 'on the back burner' simply because they cannot physically go to the church," he said. Hopefully," Father Alvarez add- ed, "it encourages them (parishio- ners) to pro-actively check the par- ish website, be consistently engaged and discover new avenues of com- munication." In the recent past, Fathers Rivera and Alvarez made short videos of themselves singing John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Road" and The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" in hopes that their parishio- ners will stay positive throughout the pandemic. Father Rivera has a background for song of many years but is un- certain if those skits with Father Alvarez will stick around. "I really cannot see it becoming a regular thing,'" he said. "There is a strong sense within me that these songs and music are kind of 'therapy' for this situation in which we find our- selves." Father Alvarez enjoys the song- making activity he shares with Fa- ther Rivera. "We try not to take our- selves too seriously and that helps as well," Father Alvarez said. "We're just two amateurs doing the best we can to inspire people and having fun in the process. We both have a little bit of performing arts back- ground. We are usually comfort- able in front of viewers." They don't have a music plan when it comes to their performances, Father Alvarez noted. "We have no idea what we'll play from week to week. We're mak- ing it up as we go along." Up until the statewide quaran- tine, Father Rivera's history with us- ing virtual technology was limited. Since then, he has been in contact with his parishioners at Epiphany Church in Miami, holding Sunday Mass and weekly Friday School Masses. He looks forward to the re- flections and new updates, medita-
MUSIC: High schooler, 'I know for a fact that I will never stop singing no matter where I go'
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tions and positive videos he posts each week to assist his parishioners who cannot attend Mass with him. Father Alvarez uses virtual tech- nology, but would rather communi- cate in person. "I've used it sparing- ly in the past," he said. "I am open to its use for predominately infor- mational purposes, but one must be cautious to think that a virtual experience can replace personal face to face encounters in ministry." When he is able to communicate with his parishioners, Father Rivera advises his then to keep sacred the Sacraments as he knows the self- isolation can bring forth a monoto- nous attitude. While the crisis texts everyone in many ways, it has of- fered them the opportunity to "look within themselves to discover God with them.". In that vain, Father Alvarez ad- vised turn-off negative reports, and tune into prayer. "Focus more on all that is life-giving, inspiring and hopeful and limit exposure to the excess of 'tragic news,'" he said. While one needs to be informed of what is happening, one must nur- ture a 'culture of life' within and not be overwhelmed by 'culture of death' we see in our midst." Father Rivera is considering keeping the virtual communica- tion going even after the quar- antine is lifted to help those who still cannot attend Mass. "I think we should consider the possibility of continuing to transmit Sunday Mass on a regular basis, for the sake of the elderly, ill, or those oth- erwise unable to attend Mass," he said. However, he doesn't want his parishioners to neglect coming to Mass if they can. "Church at home is not at all the goal," he said. "I think our parishioners appreciate the efforts we are making to com- municate with them, and they do seem to like seeing their church, of which they are rightly proud, on a weekly basis." If they decide to keep the music performances going after the quar- antine is lifted is still undecided. We're open to it," Father Alvarez said, "but we'll gauge the pulse of things when we get there." The Epiphany choir haven't met up to practice due to social distancing demands. But there is hope the choir will resume later on this year. Hopefully, they can perform as usual, if not, we'll see what can be reasonably accommodated."
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Father Jos Alvarez, right, and Father Alex Rivera, pastor and parochial vicar, respectively, of Epiphany Church in south Miami, offer an acoustic rendition of the Beatles classic song, "Here Comes the Sun." (SCREENSHOT) Theater Manager Lisa Clark conducts her Bishop Verot Catholic High School choir in Fort Myers last year. (COURTESY)
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