by Katie Vasquez
This is the soundtrack of the Diocese of Brooklyn. From the installation of a bishop to the welcoming of a Pope, they are the diocese’s main choir and they provide the music at every major event.
“Benedict, John Paul, Francis in Manhattan, all of them,” Miriam Soto-Miranda, a diocesan choir member, said.
The group is made up of 40 singers, their voices hailing from all over Brooklyn and Queens. A fact director of music ministry Steven Vaughn said is actually unique.
“Normally it’s the cathedral choir that sings at the diocesan events but we have a separate one where members come from all over the diocese,” Vaughn said.
But picking up the right voices to hit the right notes is actually a selective process.
“If you can’t read music, you have to at least be able to have a good ear and we want people who have good voices obviously,” Vaughn said. “It’s not just anybody [who] can come sing with us, you have to be committed and you have to be able to make music with the others.”
Once a week, the singers come to St. Kevin’s Church in Flushing to hone their craft.
“The people here really enjoy singing so it’s always nice to hear a choir that believes in what they’re singing and does it with soul,” Vaughn said. “They’re preparing for their next big performance.”
On October 7th, the choir will sing at the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival event at Maimonides Park.
The group says praising the lord through song is the best part of the job.
“Giving of yourself, you’re talking to God and the words, they sort of flow from you,” Kevin Flaherty, a diocesan choir member, said.
“It lifts you up and fills you up with all the beauty that the church has to offer you,” Soto-Miranda said.
They encourage everyone coming to the Coney Island stadium to do the same.
If you want to watch the Mass from the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival event you can watch it live on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 9:45 AM on NET-TV.
Be sure to stay tuned to Currents News and read The Tablet for continuing coverage of the revival, the local preparations, for both the Diocese of Brooklyn’s event, and the national campaign.