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Artist Name:
Carlene Thissen
Genre:
Folk,
Country
Total Number of Downloads:
0
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N/A
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A Benedictine monk named Father Gregory helped me to learn Mass music and by age 17 I was doing a solo music ministry at St. Michael’s Church in Netcong, N.J., at one of the first folk Masses in the area. I continued to sing other composers’ music throughout my life, and was a member of a large choir at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Chicago.
When I moved to Naples, Florida, it did not take long for me to get involved as a volunteer with a nearby migrant agricultural community called Immokalee, teaching music to pre-school children. I joined the choir at the English Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe church there, and learned more about liturgical music from a nun who ran the choir.
I wrote two books about the people of Immokalee, including one about a priest who ministered to the migrants. Later, I also became the full-time leader of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s English choir.
A few years ago, I was challenged to start writing songs, because a documentary about one of my books needed music. The first song was “Take These Hands,” (“ Children of the Son, we are One.”) Soon, religious phrases and biblical references seemed to jump out at me as “hooks” for songs. Spring Rain and When You Call are examples of those. I wrote a ballad that tells the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, then Just for a Moment, Believe, describing the great peace that comes with believe in a kind and loving God. Bible passages continue to inspire me, and I often am seen jotting down quick notes in the middle of sermons!
bkotek1@comcast.net