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From the Fall 2010 Edition of Clippings Magazine
Interviewed by Bill Lawrence
Dr. Hugh Carroll
Dr. Hugh Carroll has been our organist for the past
three and a half years, succeeding Bill Tilson who was
with us for 25 years, finally retiring to Florida. Hugh
has studied the organ since the age of four, with a
minimum of training but with great love. ("It is one of
the great loves of my life"). Hugh has the eager and
genial look of your favorite college professor. Bearded and bespectacled, his soft-spoken comments demonstrate intelligence, humor and enthusiasm. He and his wife Loretta, married for 36 years, are the parents of a daughter Kristin and a granddaughter Kayla. They live in Kings Park but have been OLQM parishioners for 8 years. Hugh and Loretta have been to Bermuda seven times, four times to Italy, have taken a river cruise on the Danube, and travelled in Turkey, Greece, Hungary, and of course, the lovely musical city of Vienna in Austria. Trips planned for the future include a tour of the Italian Lake country in Tuscany and a spin through the US National Parks.
Hugh’s education is extensive. A graduate from St. Joseph’s Juniorate in Barrytown, NY, he went on to receive a BA in English Literature from Catholic U in Washington, DC, an MA in English Literature from the U. of Rhode Island and a PhD in Education Administration from Fordham. His studies led him to enter the Brothers of the Christian School where he taught liturgy and music for 15 years. For five years he taught 5th grade in Deer Park, then became Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the diocese of Rockville Centre. Hugh wasn’t finished. He held the post of Superintendent of Schools for all of the 105 schools in the Diocese of Rockville Centre for 10 years, and then became principal of the JFK Elementary School in East Islip for 12 years. He
"retired" in 2001.
Q: Who selects the musical pieces for the Mass?
A: Deidre. She is guided by the readings for a particular Mass.
Q: How have been parishioners’ reactions to your performances?
A: Often they are very effusive, very supportive. This is a fine, participating congregation.
Q: Some have said the Responses of the Faithful would be more effective if recited rather than sung. Your opinion?
A: I don’t agree. When you sing, you elevate the text to a higher level – it is no longer ordinary.
Q: What rehearsal time do
you take before a Mass?
A: Not much really. I’ve played most of the hymns many times and I’m quite familiar with them. The pieces of the prelude and postlude, before and after Mass, require more preparation.
Q: I understand you played for years in Protestant churches. What brought you to OLQM?
A: I came home.
We talked of many things "of cabbages and kings" and even dipped our toes briefly into politics, but quickly withdrew then. He is a delightful conversationalist; one you’d like facing you by a fireplace, a glass of sherry in hand.
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