Begin on Three

In May 2010, when Roy “Te” Turner picked up the phone to hear his wife Kathleen, who was out walking on East Beach, exclaim, “I had forgotten how beautiful this place is,” he could read the handwriting on the wall. Kathleen was back on St. Simons Island to do a recital and conduct the choir at Christ Church, Frederica that week. She had been Director of Music there from 1998-2000 until Te took a job in Austin, TX. Ten years later, Te’s job was now virtual, their son Chris had accepted a scholarship offer to swim at the University of Maryland, and Christ Church was searching for a new Organist and Choirmaster. A few months and 1200 miles of moved boxes later, Kathleen was back on the organ bench at Christ Church.

As Kathleen celebrates the tenth anniversary of her return to St. Simons, she looks back on a music filled decade. When the Rev. Tom Purdy arrived as Rector in 2013, he stated that he’d like to see the music program of Christ Church be recognized on a regional level. Kathleen helped achieve and exceed that goal. In the year 2018 alone, the Music Program of Christ Church, Frederica received not only regional recognition, but national and international exposure too.

Regional recognition came in January 2018 when Kathleen and vocalist Trina Meade were asked to perform at the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia's Revival at Honey Creek in celebration of the sanctification of Deaconess Anna Alexander, with Bishop Scott Benhase presiding and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preaching. Then in July, Kathleen joined two other Episcopal Music Directors to plan and perform all the music for the triennial (79th) National Convention of the Episcopal Church held in Austin, TX. During the convention, Christ Church's XChoir ensemble was selected to form a key part of the music team which provided the music for eight days of worship services that again featured the Presiding Bishop. Finally, in November, Kathleen and a team of musicians traveled to Havana, Cuba on a Musical Pilgrimage, carrying water purification systems to the Diocese of Cuba and performing a jazz mass at the Cathedral along with 20 other musicians from six other states and DC. The Pilgrimage was a celebration welcoming the Diocese of Cuba back into communion with The Episcopal Church.

"Kathleen's tenure at Christ Church has spanned a broad swath of time from her first few years on the staff to her return after years of absence. Over that time she has worked to continue to mold and stretch our music ministry to be inclusive of many styles. She excels at bringing diversity to our parish repertoire and making a place for everyone who wants to be involved. From our main adult choir, to our bell choir, to our ensembles, and our children's choirs, she helps us all praise God through music in amazing ways,” says Fr. Tom. He continues, “I can't help but acknowledge Kathleen's ability to help me shape liturgical ministry through music in a collaborative way. If either of us has an idea, she and I can work on it together until it comes together in a way that works, even if the idea we started with transforms into something new. One example is our X Church service, which has a strong focus on ensemble-led contemplative music. It's our liturgical playground, so to speak, both with the spoken word and the music. Kathleen's gifts have really shone in that setting. That service, and her gifts, are directly related to the extraordinary opportunity we had to help lead worship at the international level of the Episcopal Church a couple of years ago."

As exciting as 2018 proved to be, the other years since Kathleen’s return to the island have been full as well. In October 2015, Christ Church hosted a Flower and Music Festival that welcomed hundreds of people to its historic grounds. David Lowe and Chris Triplett, co-owners of Edward on St. Simons and their floral team transformed the church grounds into a stunning display of many colors and textures. Music performed during the Festival was eclectic, from lutes and harps to organs, choirs and timpani.

Composing is one of Kathleen's great loves. A three-month sabbatical, generously provided by the church in 2017, provided her the opportunity to focus on a number of pieces including her Frederica Setting of the Eucharist. The setting is dedicated to the parish of Christ Church, with special mention of Rev. Purdy. The work, consisting of congregational responses with choir harmonies which occur in an Episcopal Eucharistic Liturgy will be published by Paraclete Press, a music publishing company based in Orleans, MA, and will be released in January 2021. This is an impressive accomplishment, as Paraclete Press publishes music by some of today’s finest composers of sacred choral music, annually reviewing over 1,000 works and releasing between 40 and 60 works for both choir and organ each year. One of Kathleen's organ works, Ritornelloand Variations on Langlofflan is also set to be released in January.

Other compositions which emerged from her sabbatical are Repton (Hymn Tune) for Handbell Choir and Cello; a setting of Ave Maria for the children’s choirs of Christ Church. Kathleen wasinspired by a carillon in Italy that played the tune every morning at 8:00 a.m. She also composed Ballad of the Parables, based on the Parables of Jesus with the aim to put them in words children can understand, and a collection of hymn descants.

Kathleen shares that an unexpected but truly motivational experience for her in the past decade was performing Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 for Violin and Piano, the “Spring Sonata” with Maestro Luis Haza on two occasions. First presented in 2013 as a fundraiser for the Golden Isles Youth Orchestra, and then again in 2014 as the inaugural concert for the St. Cecelia Series of Christ Church. Kathleen laughingly notes that in the future she'll be sure to look at the entire work before accepting such a challenge again. She agreed to perform the piece at Haza’s gentleurging before realizing 38 pages later that Beethoven really knows how to work a pianist. She says, “It’s times like these when an organist really misses her feet!”

Another memorable event occurred just last fall. While hunkering down during Hurricane Dorian Kathleen received a text from Fr. Tom suggesting the church help put on a fundraiser for the Bahamas like had been done for Haiti a couple of years prior. With only a couple weeks of planning in close collaboration with Elegant Island Living, the Island to Island fundraising eventwith headliners, the Sensational Sounds of Motown and local bands Roy Gentry & Hired Guns and The Island Kings raised over $40,000 in relief for our Bahama Island neighbors impacted by the hurricane.

Kathleen's main focus will always be on parish music ministry. In addition to recruiting singers for the main adult choir, she has put great effort into beefing up other ensembles such as the children's and youth music programs, the bell choir and organizing and directing the aforementioned XChoir which offers music for the Wednesday evening XChurch service. Sowhat started out as a music program consisting of an Adult Choir, Handbell Choir and only two Sunday morning services with music ten years ago had morphed into a bustling program of five choirs with weekly rehearsals, and four or five weekly liturgies with music.

Then wham! Who would have imagined that in March 2020 everything would change?! Withchurches not holding live services, technology and virtual performances are now the new normal. Large quantities of rehearsal tracks are recorded each week that culminate in a combination live/video produced online service. Based on her experience recording during this “new normal,” Kathleen does have a recommendation for other musicians: if a large wasp appears on the music rack or nearby, remember that the video records EVERY aspect of one’s reaction, screams and verbal expression included, even if your face isn’t in the frame. It was a good thing Kathleen’s “Worship with Wasp” recording wasn’t during a live event!

It’s been an amazing ten year ride and Kathleen is still loving every minute of it. Fr. Tom sums it up well: "Kathleen is a talented and creative musician. She can take an idea and work with it to create a musical experience that deepens the theology of a bible passage or brings laughter to the entire congregation when we're being silly. Her musical gifts bless this parish and this community over and over again.” Christ Church is lucky to have this upbeat lady who believes in beginning on the downbeat and so is our community.

You can watch livestream videos of Christ Church Frederica services and music on their website at ccfssi.org