Greater Indianapolis Youth Chorale and Chamber Ensemble seek members

By John Shaughnessy

Sitting in the church pew, Mary Kubala felt the tears flow down her cheeks as she listened to a group of young people sing at Mass.

Her emotional reaction was the last response she expected when she was invited to hear the visiting youth choir from St. Louis sing a year ago at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Indianapolis.

“I didn’t want to come,” recalls Kubala, the director of music ministries at St. Gabriel Parish. “I thought it would be a lot of loud guitars and heavy percussion. I wasn’t in the mood for that, but our pastor, Father Larry Crawford, asked me to come. I sat there and had tears coming down my [from] eyes.”

After the Mass, Father Crawford talked to Kubala about the youth group and said, “You can do this.” When she nodded in agreement, the seeds were planted for her to lead the first season of the Greater Indianapolis Catholic Youth Chorale and Chamber Ensemble.

Open to singers and musicians in grades 5 to 12 from the greater Indianapolis area, the Catholic youth group will begin rehearsals on Oct. 1—the first step toward eventually visiting parishes throughout the archdiocese to provide liturgical music at Masses.

“I’m hoping we can show the kids how they can share their God-given talents with congregations and help the people worship,” Kubala says. “Everyone wants good music. There are a couple things that can make for good liturgies. One is a good preacher, and the other is good music. If you have those, you have happy campers in the pews.”

Kubala hopes the group will also serve another important purpose—training the next generation of music directors for parishes.

“In our adult choir at St. Gabriel, the median age is 70,” says Kubala, 59. “All the church musicians I know are

40-ish and above. I don’t see many youths. Who’s going to do this in 15, 20 years? I explained this to one seventh-grade boy, ‘We’re all getting older. We have to get you trained.’ He said, ‘That’s such a good idea.’ ”

Kubala sees the group as a natural extension of her love for working with young people—experience she has had as a music teacher at three Catholic high schools in Indianapolis: Bishop Chatard High School, Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School and Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School.

The group will practice on the first and third Wednesdays of each month—from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.—at St. Gabriel Church, 6000 W. 34th St. 

Kubala says the group already has a solid core of musicians and singers, but more are needed.

“I want to get them enthused about Church music because it’s neat,” she says. “I’m really psyched.”

(For more information or to request an audition, provide financial support or schedule a future visit by the group, contact Mary Kubala at 317-890-4454 or marykubala@yahoo.com.) †