Choral Singing Returns to Our Lady of the Assumption Church

One who sings, prays twice

WOODBRIDGE, CT - After a long intermission due to COVID-19 restrictions required by the Archdiocese of Hartford, the adult choir has once again assembled to provide choral singing at Our Lady of the Assumption on Center Road in Woodbridge.

Pentecost Sunday on May 23 marked the first time that the choir provided the music for the 9:30 a.m. Mass after a 15-month hiatus. The adult choir is under the direction of OLOA Director of Music, Dr. Keith Smolinski.

Thirty of the members of the adult choir assembled at the church on the previous Wednesday for their first rehearsal in preparation of the Sunday Mass. The reunion was marked with joy as the members saw each other for the first time after the social distancing.

During the restrictions, music was provided by a soloist, with Dr. Smolinski playing the organ and piano. Both wore masks throughout the Mass.

The musicians are still required to wear masks while inside the church and therefore must sing through their face covering. Dr. Smolinski has rearranged the seating of the choir members and repositioned the microphones to facilitate the quality of the sound in the church. By all accounts, the sound of the singing does not seem muffled.

The tenors and basses are now positioned in the front row near Dr. Smolinski's grand piano. Behind them stand the second sopranos on the left of a thin aisle, with the altos on the right. The first sopranos form the back row of the choir.

All of the choir members are now seated in light green chairs that were purchased during the pandemic. The former chairs with red cloth cushions were replaced with seats that have plastic cushions that are easier to sanitize.

Dr. Smolinski thanked the choir member for "an excellent job" at their first Sunday Mass after the long break. "I hope you felt proud, because I sure did," wrote the director of music in an email to the members of the choir.

The second time that the choir came together to sing was for a far sadder occasion, the funeral Mass for one of their own. Daniel Richo, a former member of the choir, lost his 20-year battle with brain cancer on May 22. His mother Jeanna and her family requested that the choir provide the music for the funeral Mass that was celebrated on Saturday morning. At a reception that followed the service, Mrs. Richo, who serves as the librarian for the adult choir, reported that she received many compliments about the music chosen for the funeral Mass.

"I know that my Redeemer lives, that I shall rise again..."

The choir will continue to sing at the 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday throughout the summer.