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It can be easy to see how we can glorify God through music when we’ve finished a performance and hear from audience members about how deeply our music touched their hearts, or when we’re teaching a young child how to play something that’s challenging for them and they finally “get” it. 

But what about the hard parts? What do we do when we’re in the throes of crippling performance anxiety? Or when we’re plunging into an audition for a panel of judges known for being difficult to please?

Today we’re chatting about the challenges and sufferings common to most musicians, and how the concept of redemptive suffering can help us to look at these things through a new perspective.

What we're listening to:
Tara:  Anton Bruckner's Virga Jesse Floruit
Cecilia: Psalm 116 (I Love You Lord) by Mission House

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On today's episode of the Little Sparks podcast, we're sitting down to chat with Sarah Barry,  an opera singer and teacher from Louisville, KY.  We’re discussing career discernment, vocal music, and trusting in God’s plan every step of the way. Sarah is a delightful person, and we’re so grateful to have been able to have this conversation with her!

What we're listening to:
Tara: Richard Proulx's setting of O God Beyond All Praising
Cecilia: the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks
Sarah: Rob Gardner's masterwork Lamb of God

Bio: Sarah Barry is a Nashville, TN native currently living in Louisville, KY. She grew up with music all around and decided to pursue music further by completing a degree in Voice Performance from Bellarmine University in 2023. She works as a teaching artist at Kentucky Opera and a worship coordinator at Bellarmine University among other cantoring and teaching positions. Her most recent performance experience includes a chorus role in Kentucky Opera's Fall 2022 production of La Boheme and a choir tour of Italy in Spring 2023. Sarah loves sharing the joy of music with others, especially through her work in the Church.

Three fun facts about Sarah:

1. She’s performed a solo at St. Peter's Basilica.
2. She hates country music (even though Nashville is the Country Music Capital).
3. Her favorite place is New York City.

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Welcome to Season 4! We're focusing on the many different careers in music and how we can glorify God through them. To kick things off, we're doing a deep dive into the relationship between beauty and truth, and how musicians, alongside all creatives, are uniquely suited to evangelize in today's culture. 

What we're listening to:
Cecilia: "reading in a cozy library" playlist on Spotify
Tara: Philip Stopford's cinematic setting of Ave Maria

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We are wildly excited to announce that our Season 4 preview episode is here! Tune in to hear the theme of our next season, what we’re each most excited for, and when Season 4 will be launching. You won’t want to miss this!

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We can hardly believe we're already at our season 3 finale, but here we are! Today's episode is the very first that we recorded in the same room with each other, and we had an absolute blast discussing our favorite season 3 episodes, plus a little something just for fun. We're sharing our least favorite and most favorite contemporary hymn draft lists (and why each hymn made it on our list)! If you're someone who feels like there are absolutely no good contemporary hymns out there, you might find some hope in our lists of favorites. And if you're wondering, On Eagle's Wings did make it onto one of our lists – but you'll have to guess which one! Or, just listen to this episode to find out.

What we're listening to:
Tara: Giant Love Ball, by Rev. Carey Landry
Cecilia: The Tales That Really Matter, from the Two Towers soundtrack

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It's time for this season's saint feature! Today we're talking about St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, who is probably the least-known of the Hildegard Collective's patron saints. We're discussing her life, her incredible piano skills (she was French conservatory trained!), and her call to the Carmelite order. We're also discussing what we as musicians can learn from her example to radical trust in God's plan. This is an episode you will NOT want to miss!

What we're listening to:
Cecilia: The Shire theme from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack by Howard Shore
Tara: The Monk and His Cat, by Samuel Barber

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We'll be back on Saturday with a new full episode, but today we're bringing a short bonus episode to you!

In this season's bonus episode, Cecilia walks us through how God can't make anything that isn't good because He is all-good, the effects of original sin and how they can play into our self-esteem problems as musicians, and what our outlook on all this ought to be as musicians who love the Lord. 

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The Second Vatican Council can be a contentious topic among Catholics, to say the least. And one particular area in which arguments can ensue happens to be in regard to music.

Yet how many of us have actually taken the time to read what the Council wrote about music? If you have, props to you! If you haven't – dip your toes into the water by listening to our new podcast episode!

Today on the Little Sparks podcast, we're discussing a few points from the document Musicam Sacram (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy). Specifically, we're chatting about being attuned to the singing capabilities of the congregation, the role of the choir within the Mass, and the Divine Office.

Please note: this episode is meant to be a starting point for discussion. We could've probably recorded five episodes on this document alone. We highly recommend that you take the time to read the document in full if you are able to, especially if you are a liturgical musician in some capacity. It can be found on the Vatican website, and a quick google search will help you find it!

What we're listening to:
Cecilia: Through Heaven's Eyes, from Prince of Egypt
Tara: Where All The Roses Go, by Michael McGlynn

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Did you know Pope St. John Paul II gave an address to sacred musicians? Neither did we – that is, until recently! Today we're sitting down to chat about this wonderful address, and what we can take away from it as liturgical musicians today. We discuss our role in the rich history of Catholic contributions to music, the transcendental quality of Gregorian chant, and the relationship between beauty, truth, and goodness.

Read the full address here. We highly recommend reading it – unlike some of Pope St. John Paul II's other writings, this is a fairly short read that's easy to understand!

What we're listening to:
Cecilia: A folksy fall playlist on Spotify by the Village Green
Tara: O God Beyond All Praising, arr. Richard Proulx

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What's the oldest Eucharistic hymn? How important does the Church consider sacred music to be? Is it necessary for the theology in the verses of a hymn to be super clear, or is that not as important since it's music? 

If you've ever asked any of these questions, this episode is for you! Even if you've never answered any of these questions – this episode is for you. We're diving into Eucharistic hymns starting with the 7th century, stopping for a while in medieval times with St. Thomas Aquinas's stunning contributions, and finishing it up with a discussion on contemporary Eucharistic hymns. 

To be totally frank, we only just scratched the surface in this episode. There were many more hymns that we wanted to discuss, but we ran out of time while recording. This won't be the last you hear of Eucharistic hymns on this podcast!

What we're listening to:
Tara: The Gloaming, a traditional Irish group
Cecilia: The Chronicles of Narnia soundtracks