Music Ministry

Music plays an essential role in the worship life of a parish. The music ministry at Church of the Good Shepherd exists to support the liturgical goals of Vatican II:

• to encourage active, conscious participation by the entire assembly
• to "en flesh" with music the liturgical texts meant to be sung
• to preserve our centuries of heritage as more recent music is added

The music ministers support and lead the entire assembly in the sung parts of liturgies, as well as offering unique contributions as a choir, cantor or instrumentalist.

Our parish choir is a dedicated and welcoming group that includes professional singers. The repertoire consists of quality music from many centuries and of various styles. The choir ministers at the 10:00am Sunday liturgy plus extra-ordinary liturgies. 

The cantors are professional singers with vocal quality that supports participation by the assembly with a keen awareness of their role as ministers.

During November of 2008, installation of our new pipe organ began. Though physically installed, the voicing was done during the month of January 2009. For more details and photos of the organ, see the page about the organ.

Our Music Director, Mr. Terry Hicks, is a native of upstate New York and lived in Chicago for many years before coming to Good Shepherd. His preparatory studies were done at the Eastman School of Music, and he received a Bachelor's degree in organ studies from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and a Master's degree from Northwestern University's School of Music. Since 1973, he has ministered in Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic parishes.

If you are interested in exploring opportunities of musical ministry at Good Shepherd, contact Terry Hicks at thicks@gsbh.org or call him at (310) 285-5425, Ext. 1005.