Musicians from the Diocese, after the Assumption Pilgrimage Mass in 2023. Steven Maxson, Diocesan Director of Music, on the right: Andrea Maxson, Choral Director, centre.
The Diocesan Music Ministry team is led by Diocesan Director of Music, Steven Maxson, who is also Director of Music at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Steven is available to support priests, parishes, musicians, and congregations in all matters relating to music ministry. In recent months, support given has been in terms of music choices for the Mass, copyright in relation to worship, hymnal choice, pre-recorded music for churches without musicians, Mass settings, responsorial psalms, repertoire for organists and organ maintenance. All of Steven’s compositions, instrumental arrangements, psalm settings etc composed for the Cathedral or Diocese are freely available to all Diocesan parishes upon request. In addition, Steven leads the Diocesan Choir, and is Director of Music for St Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough.
The Diocesan Choir is formed of singers from across the Diocese, with some coming Bridlington, Hull, Middlesbrough, Scarborough, York as well as some who live just outside the Diocese, but who have links with the Diocese. The choir is non-auditioning and sings primarily for Diocesan liturgies such as Rite of Election and Chrism Mass. The choir rehearses monthly in York and membership is free. New members are always welcome. If you would like to try us out, please contact Steven by emailing musicdept@rcdmidd.org.uk or by telephoning (01642) 850505, extension 266.
Follow the Diocesan Music department on social media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
We have a YouTube channel, which includes a variety of resources for parishes, clergy, schools, as well as developing tutorials and repertoire suggestions for organists at different levels. If there is something which you would like to see on the YouTube channel, particularly so in the way of training videos, please contact Steven by emailing musicdept@rcdmidd.org.uk or by telephoning (01642) 850505, extension 266.
Useful Links
Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
General Instruction for the Roman Missal – instructions about the Mass, including about music.
Information about music during Lent
Singing the Exsultet – advice and resources
Organisations supporting liturgical musicians
The National Network of Pastoral Musicians
The Royal School of Church Music
Choosing appropriate music for the Mass
There are guides for music appropriate for particular Sundays in the indices of most of the popular hymn books. In addition, the following resources may be found to be useful:
Downloadable liturgy planner from Decani Music (the publishers of Laudate, although music resources are taken from all of the well-known hymnals and elsewhere)
Cantica Nova liturgical planning guides (freely available online, described by them as “traditional music for the contemporary church”)
Members of The Society of St Gregory can access the liturgy planner in their Music and Liturgy magazine.
Members of The Royal School of Church Music have online and printed access to their Sunday by Sunday publication.
Responsorial Psalms
Noting that the lectionary and translation are in the process of being revised, the following resources are available for the current lectionary and translation.
Diocese of Middlesbrough
Steven Maxson composes psalms for weekly use at the cathedral and these may be freely used across the Diocese. This remains a work in progress, but Steven aims to have these ready a month or so in advance. If you would like to join other parishes in using these resources, please contact Steven as above. A complete set of psalms will be adapted or composed for the new lectionary as and when resources are available.
Church Music Society
A complete cycle for the three liturgical years is available to download and use freely (although the CMS requests a donation for doing so).
Year A – church-music.org.uk/cycle-of-responsorial-psalms-A.asp
Year B – church-music.org.uk/cycle-of-responsorial-psalms.asp
Year C – church-music.org.uk/cycle-of-responsorial-psalms-C.asp
McCrimmons publish a complete cycle for the three liturgical years available to purchase as well as a separate version entitled Sing the Psalms Simply, available as both a cantor and guitar version and as a keyboard version.
If you would like Steven to work with your parish musicians or congregation on the use of responsorial psalms, please contact him, as above.
Organ Music
We are blessed with many talented musicians who enhance the music ministry of our parishes week by week. Some who play the organ do so as pianists, and so would welcome simpler organ music, with little if any use of the pedals.
There is a wonderful volume of short and simple organ pieces, most of which can be played without use of the pedals, and many of which are based upon the traditional Gregorian chants of the Church. This can be downloaded and used freely within Roman Catholic parishes.
Many publishers of organ music publish volumes of music for manuals only. For example, Kevin Mayhew publishes 72 separate volumes of manual organ music!
If you would like Steven to work with your parish musicians on the use of the organ, please contact him, as above. In addition, you might like to visit our dedicated playlist of resources for organists on YouTube.
Liturgical Recordings
We have a number of recordings of liturgical music prepared by Tim Harrison whilst he was Diocesan Director of Music. While it is always preferable for music to be performed and led live, there may be circumstances where this is impossible. If use of these recordings would be helpful, please contact Steven, as above. As an example of what is available, here is a recording of Hail, Queen of heaven.
National Schools’ Singing Programme
The National Schools’ Singing Programme is based upon the Programme which has been pioneered by the Diocese of Leeds for many years, enhancing the musical provision for children in Catholic state schools. Our own Diocesan Schools’ Singing Programme began in October 2020, and our Choral Directors now see approximately 1300 children in schools in three of our four Diocesan Deaneries, from Marske to York. Whole-class singing sessions are delivered, following a carefully structured and sequenced curriculum, which delivers most of the National Curriculum for music, and the majority of the National Plan for Music Education, making use of the voice which all children have: their voice! Children sing a wide range of music covering over 1000 years of musical history, from around the world, including both sacred and secular repertoire. They learn to read music notation in an incremental and structured way, as a natural part of the lesson, learning to read notation by singing it. The sessions support the Catholic life of the school, reflecting key moments in the liturgical year, and supporting schools with their school and parish liturgies. Children are sign-posted to liturgical choirs and singing opportunities: the Programme is unashamedly evangelistic. As part of the Programme, there are opportunities for schools to participate in sung liturgies, whether in their own parishes, or together at the Cathedral or, over time, in other churches across the Diocese.
The aim is to expand the Programme over time, eventually making it available to all Catholic schools in the Diocese. If you are a in a School or Parish and would like to discuss bringing the Programme to your school, please contact musicdept@rcdmidd.org.uk or telephone 01642 850505 (extension 265 or 266).