One way to support the Cathedral Catholic community this holiday season is through the purchase of the Schola Choir’s “Seasons of our Faith” Christmas CD.
The Campus Ministry Schola class recorded their first ever CD. With the help of Mr. Pat Robell and Mr. Steve Churchyard, CCHS parent and Producer Mixer Engineer, the choir class was able to get their first feel of what it’s like in the recording studio.
This was the first time the choir had ever had the opportunity to record their voices for a CD, and it is all thanks to Mr. Steve Churchyard. Mr. Churchyard is just a regular high school parent; however, he happens to be a huge deal in the music industry. He is an independent Producer Mixer Engineer, who has worked with celebrities like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Tim McGraw, the Eagles, and Billy Joel. Eventually, Mr. Churchyard reached out to the Cathedral Catholic music department and discussed with Mr. Robell about making a Christmas CD. Over time everything fell into place, and the Choir and Band was able to record the second week of October.
The CD features the Campus Ministry Schola Choir and many musicians from both the Campus Ministry Band and the Pep Band. Mr. Churchyard’s son, Michael Churchyard,was also featured on the CD playing the drums on “Our God”, “There is a Heart”, and “What Child is this”. On the CD there will be eleven tracks including “Jesu”, “Ecce Panis”, “Ave Maria”, “Holy is His name”, “There is a Heart”, “What Child is this”, “O come Emmanuel”, “Glory and Honor”, “Our God”, “Pie Jesu”, and “Peace/Silent Night”.
Senior choir singer, Annalisa Collins, was especially excited for her first time in the recording studio environment. Many were amazed by Collins for her performance of the psalm at the St.Therese of Lisieux Mass in the beginning of October and are excited to hear her solo on the CD. Collins transferred from Scripps Ranch last year, and so she is looking forward for more people getting to know her better because her name will be featured on the CD.
“I’m kinda nervous. There’s a lot of people, a lot of voices,” said Collins when asked how she was feeling about the recording.
There is a lot of pressure put on the students during the making of the CD. Collins especially mentioned how she did not want to be the one person to mess up the recoding so they would have to start all over. During the first recording each song was recorded around three to four times in order to get it perfect. To prepare for recording Collins made sure she knew all her harmonies, drank lots of water, and avoided dairy for the days leading up to recording.
A lot more preparation had to come from Mr. Robell before they could begin the recording process. Mr. Robell explained that he had all the arrangements, however, he had to go back and revisit all of them. Mr. Churchyard needed all the arrangements in a certain format before the recording session, so Mr. Robell had to spend countless hours reformatting all the arrangements. Also, as the only music teacher, Mr. Robell had to teach the band and the choir all the songs so they would be prepared for their professional recording session.
The CD has now been completed and is for sale in the office and the student store. Please support the Schola choir and get this one-of-a-kind CD that makes the perfect Christmas present and is a joy to listen to throughout the holiday season.
