Liturgical Music Workshop Clinician:  Dr. Elaine Rendler

Musicians from other Charleston-area parishes and faith communities joined the choir and cantors of Christ Our King for a liturgical music workshop on January 20, 2001. The clinician was Dr. Elaine Rendler of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a composer, author and music minister and columnist for Today’s Liturgy. Rendler holds a doctorate in organ performance from the Catholic University ofAmerica.  Rendler stressed that each music minister’s goal should be to give witness to the Incarnation by singing and proclaiming texts with conviction and with a goal of increasing the community’s participation in the singing.  As Rendler coached individual cantors on responsorial psalms, she emphasized using good vocal technique to suppthe voice, interpreting the text to emphasize key words, and animating (inviting the reponse of) the congregation clearly and in time. Rendler led the group in sight-reading new and familiar music and gave suggestions for introducing new music to the congregation. She challenged and encouraged all the musicians to grow and in their special ministry, telling them, "Music goes places that words don’t go."