Music at Saint Catherine of Siena
2007-2008 Repertoire
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St. Catherine is committed to preserving the historical traditions of the Catholic Church's musical heritage. The center piece of the musical life of the parish is the 10:30 a.m. High Mass on Sunday, at which the St. Catherine of Siena Choir sings the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, together with the Gregorian Chant propers, and anthems and motets drawn from the vast choral heritage of the last six hundred years of choral music histroy.
On the second and fourth Sundays of each month, the St. Catherine of Siena Treble Choir sings at the 8:45 a.m. Mass. The Trebles sing the Ordinary in English together with motets and anthems appropriate to the liturgical season.
The other Sunday liturgies are led by a Cantor, with organ accompaniment. The music at all the masses is traditional in style, making use of the rich hymnody and psalmody of the church.
The Professional Resident Choir
The Professional Resident Choir sings at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, as well as the main masses on all Holy Days throughout the year. The Choir is made up of some of the finest professional singers in the Washington DC area. Memebership is open to members of the parish who possess superior music-reading and vocal skills (by audition).
The Treble Choir
The Treble Choir comprises girls and boys from the parish, from the age of seven. Currently numbering 25, the Choir rehearses once a week on Thursday afternoons from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and sings twice a month for the 8:45 a.m. Mass. The Treble Choir aspires to the highest standards of musical performance, and members of the Choir receive a quality musical education in addition to the regular opportunites of providing musical leadership at Mass.
Music Schedule
Coming Soon
Audio Clips
Commencing January 2007 we will be posting audio clips of music recorded live during mass. These are not studio-quality recordings: the microphone placement is dictated by the spatial limitations of the church, and there is the usual background noise one associates with live liturgical recordings. We hope, however, that these clips give you a sense of the breadth of the choral repertoire at St. Catherine's, as well as the opportunity of hearing some of the music offered week by week at the Sunday masses.
Sunday January 14, 2007 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gloria from Diaphonic Mass (Robin Hodson)- Communion Motet: Love Bade Me Welcome (David Hurd)
About the Music Director
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Kimberly Hess is Director of Music at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls, VA, where she works with the professional resident choir which sings weekly for the Latin Mass as well as for Feasts and Solemnities throughout the church year. In addition, she works with the children’s choir and cantors.
She was Director of Liturgical Music at Georgetown University from 2002-2006, where she directed the chapel choir, served as chapel organist, and oversaw the music for all campus liturgies. In addition, at Georgetown, she taught organ and music courses through the Program in Performing Arts. From 1994-2001, she held a similar position at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. Under her direction, the Stonehill College Chapel Choir recorded two compact discs, Lux et Spes: Light and Hope (Music for the Liturgical Year) and Gaudete (Music for Advent and Christmas).
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Organ Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Music degree in Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance from the University of Illinois. Her teachers have included Carol Teti, Craig Cramer, and Michael Farris.
In 1994, Dr. Hess won first prize in both the Arthur Poister National Organ Competition in New York and the Gruenstein Memorial Organ Contest for Women, a national competition sponsored by the Chicago Club of Women Organists.
Subsequently, she performed at places including: St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, the Church of the Ascension in Chicago, St. John's Cathedral in Milwaukee, the University of Syracuse, City Hall in Portland, Maine, King's Chapel in Boston, the Washington National Cathedral, the Kennedy Center and Methuen Hall in Methuen, MA. She was chosen to represent the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in a performance at Trinity Church on Copley Square as part of First Night Festivities to usher in the new millennium with 2000 people in attendance. Her concert at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA was broadcast live on radio and several recordings of her performances have been broadcast on Boston's Classical Radio Station, WCRB-FM. She has been a featured recitalist for National Conventions of the Organ Historical Society in 1992 (Maine), 1994 (Connecticut), 2000 (Boston) and 2005 (Southeastern, Massachusetts); and her playing can be heard in the OHS Historical Organs series of recordings from those events.
Contact Information
Further information about the music program can be obtained by contacting the Director of Music, Dr. Kimberly Hess.
Phone: 703-759-4350
Email: kimberlyannhess@gmail.com
