Music Ministry Shows Faith is Not a Spectator Sport

The challenge of writing about St. Joseph’s music ministry is that I’ve been a part of it for nearly 30 years. Many members are among my closest friends. Also, I have a hard time praying with words. Words confuse things. God doesn’t need words to know what’s on our hearts. Music becomes meaningful prayer when it opens a channel to God. So in a very real sense, this wonderful group has been my pathway to God for more than half my life. It’s hard for words to accurately capture that impact.

A few things really stood out when talking to people about the story, such as the director’s attitude toward children and his refusal to conduct auditions. And all members were very adamant about praying through the music, not performing.

Here’s a quick story about Frank DeProspo, the music director, that didn’t make the article. When he was 9 years old, his mom was an organist at Mother Seton in Palm Coast. As he tells it, after watching his mom play a hymn, he said, “I can do that!” Frank bumped his mom off the organ bench, sat at the keyboard, and played the piece right then and there.

In many ways, Frank is still that precocious kid. Maybe after reading the following story, you’ll join the choir and find out for yourself!

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“Okay, turn to your left. Massage your neighbor’s shoulders.”

A group shoulder massage is one of the relaxation exercises music director Frank DeProspo uses to prepare his singers for rehearsal.

“Now turn to your right, get the other person next to you.”

Frank DeProspo, music director at St. Joseph’s for 18 

years, conducts focused but light-hearted rehearsals with 

the various parish choirs.

It is a Wednesday evening, just after 7:00 p.m., and the 10:00 Mass choir is about to begin its weekly rehearsal.

“Now massage your jaw, relax it. Not too relaxed, no drooling.”

DeProspo, who has been music director at St. Joseph’s for 18 years, believes it’s important to make the experience fun. But he is also focused on the ultimate purpose of the music, which is worship.

“Song is prayer,” said DeProspo. “It’s a prayer that we are all praying together. Chant, our ancient song, is the original form of prayer.

That means music during the Mass is not a separate element, times when the Mass stops for a song, but is instead one of the many elements woven together to create a unified liturgy that worships and honors God. With that understanding, DeProspo says the choir is not a separate group, but is actually an extension of the congregation.

“All the choir is doing is adding harmonies,” DeProspo says. “We are that physical presence leading them in song. Here’s a guy who you were sitting next to last week who decided he’s going to join the choir and – boom! – now he’s up there, now he’s the cantor.”

The music ministry fosters close friendships
outside church activities. Enjoying a laugh 

are the late Brian Hilliard, Russ Tooke, Burt
Davison, and Mike Walker.

DeProspo makes a special effort to encourage the congregation to sing, especially during Communion.

“We try to pick songs that are familiar,” DeProspo explains. “That way, people can walk and not use their books. The song One Bread One Body is a great example. You see people actually singing it as they walk up, and nobody has a book. That helps people understand that all aspects of the Mass are supposed to work together and everyone should participate.”

Open Invitation

St. Joseph’s adult choirs have the reputation of being among the more accomplished choirs in the diocese. That reflects more on DeProspo than on the singers themselves. Very few have any prior musical training. Members do not have to audition to join. DeProspo says that could discourage those who feel called, and hurt the nature of the groups.

“They are not professional and they don’t sound it,” DeProspo explains. “They’re very good, but there is a very big difference between a professional choir and what we have. It’s a great group of people who work hard at it, but first and foremost they pray. So even if you have someone who isn’t a good singer at all, they still feel they can come up and join the choir.

Barb Carmadelle (left), Beth Williby and Carron Tooke
reprise the Andrews Sisters at the music ministry’s annual
Broadway show fundraiser.

“We have a lot of people who’ve never sung before,” he continues. “That helps the camaraderie of the group. You have someone who’s never read music, they’re scared to no end, but they’ve taken that leap of faith. I make sure I position them next to people who are especially fun. That helps build the faith community.”

That sense of fun is the reason many people have been members for years, even decades. Russ Tooke joined the St. Joseph’s music ministry more than 30 years ago. He reflects that sense of fun when asked why he’s stayed with it for so long.

“The girls,” Tooke laughs. “The money, the fame, prestige!”

Tooke first volunteered in 1978, and returned in 1981 after a stint in the Navy. That was around the same time childhood friend Carron Rice joined. They were married in 1983. They are the two longest-tenured members of the music ministry. They say there are two reasons the music ministry is so important to them – praising God through music, and the sense of community.

Carron and Russ Tooke are the longest-
tenured members of St. Joseph’s music
ministry.

“Over the years,” Carron Tooke said, “the people in the choir become an extension of our family. It’s fun. And I like the idea that it’s really all prayer. That’s the highest form of prayer, to sing at Mass.”

“I love the music and I can serve the Lord through it,” said Russ Tooke, who has played five instruments – guitar, banjo, trumpet, mandolin, and violin – in various St. Joseph’s choirs over the years. “Some people are called to do things they may not really like to do, so I’m blessed. I love the people. I’m with people I enjoy. Throughout the years the faces have changed so much, but they’ve all been wonderful people. Some of my closest friends have come and gone through the choir.”

A Sense of Worship

Not everyone in the music ministry is a “lifer.” Katrina Boos, 21, is student at Ohio State University. She had an internship in the materials engineering lab at NAS Jacksonville in the spring of 2013, and again this past spring. She chose to live in Mandarin during her short stays here because she wanted to be near an active, vibrant, Catholic community. Her supervisors at the Navy base recommended St. Joseph’s. She says they steered her to the right place.

“This is the nicest group of people I've ever met,” Boos said. “There are only a couple of people my age, so to be welcomed so warmly by people of all ages and backgrounds, people who have been doing this for years and years, who are still eager to welcome people, it’s really wonderful.”

Robert Fernandez, Mike Walker, Charlie Walch and Elde
Bolatete rehearse There is Nothing Like a Dame for the
music ministry’s annual Broadway show fundraiser.

Boos’ love of music led her to learn to play the trombone and, later, as a junior in high school, join her church choir in Dayton, OH. But her first real vocal training, she said, was from DeProspo in the 10 O’clock choir.

“It’s nice to learn how to sing properly,” Boos said. “It’s introduced the concept of worship. I've always enjoyed singing but here we are singing to glorify God. That’s what the whole Mass is, and the music is part of that. It’s not a performance, it’s not a show. It’s prayer.”

Boos reflects an attitude that DeProspo believes is key. He recognizes that some people stop attending Mass, saying they “don’t get anything out of it.” Too often, he says, people forget the primary purpose of the Mass is worship – giving, not receiving. 

“Sometimes people can get lost in themselves, DeProspo observed. “They go to Mass and think they should be completely cleansed and uplifted. When they don’t get that, they can get angry, and they start to say, ‘I can’t get anything from this.’”

Starting Early, Lasting a Lifetime

Music, DeProspo said, is one way to address this discouragement, especially when it begins early. He said when he was in the sixth grade in New Jersey, a church music director got him involved in the music ministry, first with the guitar and then playing trumpet. DeProspo said after his family moved to Palm Coast, his mother became an organist at Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton Church and got him involved, too. That gave him a reason to go to church, even as a busy college student. And that is why he places a high priority on integrating children into the music ministry. DeProspo becomes very passionate when talking about reaching kids through music.

Music director Frank DeProspo reviews a score with
trumpet player Paul Rowland. DeProspo scores many
of the orchestral arrangements.

“I’ve always felt that it’s our duty as adults to try to get children involved in every single aspect that you can,” said DeProspo. “It instills in them the importance of participating in the liturgy, how important it is for them to learn why our faith is so wonderful. So when they’re challenged by people of other faiths, they can explain what we do and defend the faith, rather than have it questioned and we lose them.”

DeProspo mentioned several young adults who began in the music ministry as children. One is Adam Kelley, whose mother Sue played flute in the 10 O’clock choir while pregnant with him. Adam Kelley now plays piano and is himself leading liturgies. Becky Clayton Lavie earned law degrees from Florida State and Tulane universities, is an assistant county attorney for St. Johns County, and is still a member of the 10 O’clock choir. Michael Broach and Amanda Kovarick met in the youth choir. They are now married and have two children.

“That’s why it’s so important to get kids involved,” DeProspo said. “The kids will understand that faith is much more than a spectator sport. When you’re singing and you’re praising God and you have that love and passion for it you are going to instill that in your family.”

That can be a profound responsibility with life-altering consequences. DeProspo said it’s also among the most gratifying. He recalled the story of a parishioner who credited the music ministry for her husband’s conversion to Catholicism.

“She told me, ‘He finally came to Mass with us one day. He heard the choir, and was hooked. All of a sudden he said he wanted to know more about the faith. He went through RCIA and became Catholic.’

“I love telling stories like this to the choir. We might never know it, but what they do it that important. That’s how God works through us.” 

St. Joseph’s Music Ministry

Cherub Choir – Children Grades 1-3

Choristers – Children Grades 4-8

8 O’clock Choir – Grades 9-Adult

10 O’clock Choir – Grades 9-Adult