From Janet Gorbitz, Secretary of CMAA:

Dear Members and Friends of the Church Music Association of America,

We know that you, along with those of us on staff and on the board of directors, have been mourning with us the recent death of our beloved president, William P. Mahrt. Thank you all for your messages of condolence and remembrances that have been shared.

Striving to move forward with the organization Dr. Mahrt loved so much, the Board of Directors has elected Rev. Robert Pasley as our new President of the Board of Directors to lead the Association.

As many of you know from your attendance at the annual Colloquium, both in-person and online, Fr. Pasley has been a leader and source of encouragement to all of us in our work to promote sacred music through his input on the planning of all our events, the management of all our liturgies, and his sharing of his experience with us through breakouts, talks at our events, and online spiritual reflections. We are so grateful he was willing to accept this new leadership role.

After eighteen years of service to the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz has decided to retire from his position as Vice President. The entire board of directors is so grateful for his generous gift of his time, valuable guidance and experience during these many years.

The board has elected to take on the job of Vice President of the Board of Directors, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka and she has also been assigned the position of Director of Publications by Fr. Pasley, as one of his first actions as our new president. In these new roles, she will continue to assist the president in the management of the organization and will also continue her work in creating and promoting new publications for the benefit of church musicians.

Dr. Donelson-Nowicka has been a “member at large” of the Board of Directors since 2014. Since 2012, she has served as managing editor of the Sacred Music journal, working closely with editor William Mahrt to faithfully publish the journal in the years since. She has also worked on all our recent publications and new projects (such as The Parish Book of Motets and the Parish Book of Chant recording project, as well as our upcoming new publication, a collection of three-part motets). She has long been a member of the faculty at our events and has been a member of the event planning committee for several years. Known for her ability to accomplish more in less time than seems humanly possible, the board is very appreciative for her willingness to accept these new roles.

We ask for your prayers and support of our new officers as they take on the leadership of the organization in this new year.

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For more information, see the main CMAA website at https://churchmusicassociation.org/2025/01/20/leadership-changes/ .