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From the Fall 2007 Edition of Clippings Magazine
by Lillian LaBarbara, OLQM Choir Director
It delights me, all the ways of making music in my
life!
At present, I am teaching part-time at a Long Island
College, and directing the OLQM Choir which I have
been doing since 1994. I do not hold formal auditions
for the Choir, except to listen to the singer’s vocal
range. Some members are able to read music, and
others do not. Almost everyone has a good ear.
The important part is to be able to follow directions
and to learn to sing your own part while other voices
are singing theirs. We have sopranos, altos, tenors,
and basses, who when singing together, enhance a
spiritual experience.
We sing a variety of different styles of music from different
periods in the History of Liturgical Music. Rehearsals
are on Thursdays at 8pm in the Church or
the Community Room, from mid-September to mid-
June. We sing at the 11 o’clock Mass on Sundays,
for the Easter Vigil, at Christmas time, and other special
occasions. [ed: The adult choir now serves at the every other 10:00 am on
Sundays.]
Some of our members sing with other choral groups,
bringing shared experiences. Every member adds
to the group and helps to produce something entirely
greater when singing together. We have librarians
who file and distribute music and email is sent out
weekly with a list of music to be rehearsed for each
Sunday. And to think that this all started with me at
the age of two, captured on home movies, sitting on
a bench and "playing the piano". At five, I started
piano lessons with a Julliard graduate and 8 months
later, played in a concert at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music.
My elementary school education was at St. Mary’s
Help of Christians in Queens, where I had the opportunity
to accompany the Men and Boys’ Choir. The
director was a Manhattanville graduate. At thirteen, I
began lessons with Professor Leo Palmenteri, who
had studied with world class pianists, Ariani, and Josefy.
Two years later, I auditioned for Lucille Kellogg,
who arranged a WOR broadcast for me and a concert
at the "Little Theatre" in Manhattan.
At this point, I was attending St. Agnes High School
in College Point, and my music teacher, Sister Rose
Cecilia, also a Manhatanville graduate, encouraged
me to apply for that college. She also arranged for
me to accompany "The Hail Mary Hour" at a local
radio station, WWRL.
I won a scholarship to Manhattanville College of the
Sacred Heart and began an incredible course of studies
which included singing with the Madrigals. Then
the "Sound of Music" was being written by Rodgers
and Hammerstein; they asked permission to absorb
the music at Manhattanville, especially the beautiful
Gregorian Chant sung beautifully by the nuns in
their chapel. I acquired a well-rounded education in
academics and a major in Music Education, with additional
focus on piano and voice. Later on I earned
a Master of Science at Long Island University, C.W.
Post Campus.
I married my wonderful husband, Franklin, and we
moved to Forest hills. My teaching career began in
a junior high school in Floral Park. We had our first
son and moved to Smithtown. When he started kindergarten,
I began to teach part-time in the area and
in Northport. After a leave of absence, and a second
son, we moved to the Northport area. I directed the
St. Philip Neri Choir for about ten years while also
teaching in the Northport Junior High Schools.
I moved over to Northport High School where I taught
for 16 years until 2002. While there, I taught classroom
music and choir, also teaching during the Summer
Choral Clinic Programs. We prepared the choirs
for European tours, singing music originally composed
to be sung in the great European cathedrals.
I am greatly indebted to my parents who were a great
influence. They had a strong faith and were lovingly
supportive. I also had wonderful music teachers at
every level of education It still delights me!
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