IFC Concert Preview: Meet the Ignatian Choir of Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Holy Trinity Ignatian Choir at rehearsal, 11/15/12

This past Thursday I was fortunate to get a glimpse of the upcoming 33^rd InterFaith Concert. Rehearsing that night was the IgnatianChoir of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Walking in promptly at 8pm, the group set up fast and began to rehearse multiple times through their song choices. Music director Dr. Kathleen DeJardin led the choir full of energy. At one point, she instructed everyone to speak in a humorous high-pitched voice. “It’s very funny but our singing always sounds better after this, doesn’t it?” she said, speaking to the choir in a high-pitched, elf-like tone. The choir chimed back in the same manner.

Following the song rehearsal, three members of the choir were kind enough speak a little about their involvement with the group and what music means to them and their faith. A choir member for three months, Micah Johnston is the newest of the three. “I joined because singing brings me deeper into worship and it’s a gift that I can give to my community. God connects us in many different ways and the more ways we can find to connect to God, the better. It’s another way to do that.”

Beth Hoffman, another member, has been involved since the spring of 2009. “Music is one of my main ways to connect to spirituality,” she says. “It’s a special kind of prayer and there’s a way in which just the physical act of joining your voice with someone else—attuning yourself to the sound of the person next to you, the sound of the choir, resonance of the space—that just connects you in a way that speaking, sitting, and reflecting…” She paused. “These are all different ways of being present, but singing connects you in this really physical way and it’s very beautiful and powerful.”

The longest attending member of the three, Barry Grinnell, has been in the choir since around 2000, but he’s been in church choirs since his 20s. “For me, [being in choir] brings it down to a more manageable group. Catholic Churches can be rather impersonal because they are large, and when I joined the choir in my late 20s it brought it down to a more human level. And it brought connectedness with fellow worshippers and people that come from all walks of life.” He sees music as an expression of his faith and the “hook” that keeps him coming to church.

For the 33^rd InterFaith Concert the Holy Trinity Ignatian Choir will perform two pieces. “This is an interfaith service, so I really thought that “One Faith, One Hope, One Lord” spoke to everyone in the room,” says Dr. DeJardin. “It’s a very uplifting piece, so that’s what I thought we would all want to hear and to pray together.” The group will also sign Mozart’s “Ave Verum,” a classic piece and a favorite of Dr. DeJardin’s.

InterFaith Conference invites you to come watch this beautiful performance by the Ignatian Choir of Holy Trinity Catholic Church on December 6, 2012 at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. Concert starts at 7:30 and tickets are available online, by mail-in order, or by calling (202) 234-6300. 

Author: Misha Davies, IFC Communications Intern