When I was hired by a small parish in rural Appalachia to build a sacred music program from scratch, one of the first things I did was hire the one and only person who responded to my job posting for an accompanist. There was a struggling volunteer choir whose repertoire consisted of about 15 hymns from Journey Songs and the instrument was an electronic piano. Not too enticing, but the fellow was not long out of school with a degree in piano performance, and I suppose he needed the money. He knew nothing about the Catholic Mass and next to nothing about sacred music, but I liked him right away and he could play. Over time our little choir grew in number and skill, we ditched Journey Songs for the St. Michael Hymnal, replaced the disposable missalette with a permanent pew missal and a generous parishioner donated the money for an organ, We didn't part ways with our pianist though, but instead, we decided to pay for organ lessons for him, arranging for him to study with our highly accomplished Cathedral organist. Watching him fall in love with the instrument and its repertory has been one of greatest joys of my thirty years of working for the Church. He has become a mighty fine organist, still learning, mind you, but his progress has been remarkable. I share this with my colleagues on this forum for two reasons. First, it is possible to "grow your own" by investing in people. Secondly, this young man who four years ago didn't know a kyrie from a sanctus or a great from a swell, now has a blog about his new passion and I'd like to share it with you. http://www.clarioncafe.com/about/ Please check it out and encourage him.