1 The choir loft has provided a beautiful soundtrack in the new Chapel of the Holy Cross.
2 The choir at the Mission Drive Day Music Concert in 2018. 3 The drum line puts on a show at Jesuit concerts.
4 Nina Wegmann directs the chamber orchestra and choir during all-school Mass on January.
JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2018-19 17
MUSIC
The view from the choir loft in Jesuit’s
new Chapel of the Holy Cross is
spectacular.
So is the music emanating from it.
Back in August, following the Rite of
Dedication for Jesuit’s new Chapel of the
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chapel – much of the discussion was
about the event’s beautiful soundscape.
“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Jesuit’s
music director, Nina Wegmann. “We can
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say they have such a huge choir loft? In a
great chapel, with a real organ?’’
The organ is played at all Masses, as
well as weddings and other special
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Established last year and awarded
initially to Jordan Vivero ’18 (who is now
studying music at Belmont University),
there is a competitive tryout process for
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are now chosen each year. They receive
a stipend toward tuition, six months of
free organ lessons, and the opportunity
to make money by performing at weddings
in the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
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“The organist is very, very important
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instrument to learn” said Wegmann, who
is an internationally recognized accordionist
who recently was cited in the book
World’s Best Accordionists. “These are
solid musicians who are well-trained and
could perform in any Catholic Church.”
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emblematic of the development of Jesuit’s
music department. When Wegmann
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“(Then-Jesuit president Fr. Joseph
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– he believed in growing the program,”
Wegmann said. “He wanted music to
be a larger part of the curriculum and
school life.”
Back then sophomores would take a
semester of music. Now if they choose,
students can take four full years of
music.
About 100 students currently participate
in the music program. It’s hard to go
anywhere around campus, or to Jesuit
events, without experiencing the impact
of Jesuit music.
The Pep Band rocks it at all Jesuit
football games and home basketball
games, establishing the tone. There are
the annual winter and spring concerts,
plus the solo & ensemble concert each
year. Each spring features the annual
Mission Drive Day concert and the
musical performance at Celebration of
the Arts.
The chamber orchestra provides the
musical backdrop at graduation and
Baccalureate Mass. Jesuit musicians
regularly perform in District and State
competitions, each year earning numerous
ratings of Excellent and Superior.
Then of course there are the all-school
Masses (“we use an instrumental
ensemble as part of the Mass, it’s very
unique,” Wegmann said), as well as
annual special events such as Gaudiosa
(where the guitar ensemble has been a
big hit), the President’s Dinner, and the
Senior-Alumni Luncheon.
A few years ago, an annual liturgical
musicians mission trip was established,
taking the show on the road for performances
in churches and chapels in
locales such as New Orleans, and this
year in Miami. Wegmann credits Fr. J.
Patrick Hough, S.J. who was at Jesuit
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program as a whole, especially the choir
and Masses.
Jesuit added another music faculty
member a few years ago as well, Dominick
DiCarlo. He oversees all vocals and
the Pep Band in addition to also teaching
theology, while Wegmann focuses on
instrumentation and the overall music
program.
DiCarlo helped implement the drum
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and is carried on this school year by
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director for the Pep Band. CONTINUED ON
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