Sister Kathleen was born in Shepparton, Victoria, into a musical family, and studied Church music at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. Her talents and expertise as an educator, organist and musician have been at the service of the Church and community throughout her life, always with great generosity and good humour. Sister Kathleen's sister, Eileen Kennedy of Shepparton, is also a skilled Church musician and organist. After completing her studies in Rome, she worked at the Liturgical Centre in Melbourne, becoming a consultant in Church music for the Archdiocese of Melbourne and beyond. She continues to lead liturgical worship in Australian Churches at St Francis' Church (Melbourne), St Bridget's Church (Greythorn, Victoria), and All Saints Church (Fitzroy, Victoria). Her outstanding skills as a mature Catholic Cantor and composer who inspires enthusiastic assembly participation in sacred music are renowned. She has respectfully acknowledged and (with appropriate permissions) integrated the unique contribution of Australian indigenous peoples into Australia's Church music. She continues to promote this through her Kumali Coree choir, Masses and other publications. Sister Kathleen's sensitive compositions are well known and loved for their accurate expression of the text, their singable melodies and their expressive harmonies. Her compositions were included in the Catholic Worship Book (1985), Gather Australia (1995), and in Together in Song (1999). Her Church music is inclusive and life-giving, and has given joy, encouragement and friendship to many. See also Sister Kathleen's page, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart site:
http://www.misacor.org.au/index.php/news-mainmenu-37/422-golden-jubilee-sister-kathleen-boschetti-msc
KIRKPATRICK, Bernard.
Bernard Kirkpatrick enjoyed many career highlights before accepting the position of Director of Music at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Parramatta in 2006. He studied the pipe organ under Sydney organist Robert Ampt, becoming the University of Sydney Organ Scholar, and gained employment at St Patrick’s Catholic Parish, Church Hill NSW. In 1988, Bernard won the inaugural Sydney Organ Competition and was appointed Assistant organist at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, Sydney, where he remained for 10 years. It was here that he amassed the skills associated with working in a large metropolitan cathedral playing at weddings and state funerals, from simple liturgies through to complex pontifical celebrations. During 1991, he toured with St Mary’s Cathedral Choir throughout Europe and had the opportunity to visit renowned places of worship, including St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Mainz and Cologne cathedrals in Germany, and Notre Dame in Paris. Bernard said one of the highlights was singing at a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Pope’s private chapel. From 1995 to 2006 he was Director of Music at St Francis of Assisi Church in Paddington.
Compositions
KIRKPATRICK, Bernard.
Bernard Kirkpatrick enjoyed many career highlights before accepting the position of Director of Music at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Parramatta in 2006. He studied the pipe organ under Sydney organist Robert Ampt, becoming the University of Sydney Organ Scholar, and gained employment at St Patrick’s Catholic Parish, Church Hill NSW. In 1988, Bernard won the inaugural Sydney Organ Competition and was appointed Assistant organist at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, Sydney, where he remained for 10 years. It was here that he amassed the skills associated with working in a large metropolitan cathedral playing at weddings and state funerals, from simple liturgies through to complex pontifical celebrations. During 1991, he toured with St Mary’s Cathedral Choir throughout Europe and had the opportunity to visit renowned places of worship, including St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Mainz and Cologne cathedrals in Germany, and Notre Dame in Paris. Bernard said one of the highlights was singing at a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Pope’s private chapel. From 1995 to 2006 he was Director of Music at St Francis of Assisi Church in Paddington.
On his appointment to St Patrick’s Cathedral at Parramatta, in 2006 Bernard set about implementing a comprehensive music program and reorganising the cathedral choir, expanding and redeveloping the repertoire so that the Cathedral liturgies more broadly reflect the tradition of Catholic sacred music.When Sydney hosted World Youth
Day in 2008, Bernard was the organist for the opening and closing Masses,
the latter celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. On a national level,
Bernard is now Secretary of the Australian Catholic National Liturgical Music Board, and is Music
Consultant to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Bernard
has worked extensively with many choirs, and is the currently Director of the St
Patrick’s Cathedral Choirs, the Seminary of the Good Shepherd Sydney Schola at Strathfiled NSW, and
the Campion College Choir at Toongabbie NSW.In the future, Bernard is interested in pursuing more composition work and supporting younger musicians to perpetuate the art of sacred music. He is always interested in hearing from other musicians who share the same passion for liturgical music and who feel they would benefit from the networking of skills and knowledge. He can be contacted at: music@stpatscathedral.com.au and his compositions are available via OCP and his "In Voce" website on www.scoreexchange.com
Mass of Christ the Redeemer (Bernard Kirkpatrick)
This brilliant Australian Mass (with English text) is performed regularly in Australian Churches. It is one of the very few Australian Church music compositions to receive recognition overseas, with publication in the USA by OCP (Oregon Catholic Press). It features a lively Gloria, and beautiful melodic writing in the Agnus Dei, and is equally effective sung in unison by an assembly, or as a festal Mass with SATB Choir and instruments.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Constructive, brief comments are welcome. Please respect readers from other traditions. This blog promotes friendly dialogue and information exchange about Australian Church Music topics.