Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum, but I have been browsing for a couple of years now. I'm hoping you can help reign my current enthusiasm in, because I'm starting to overwhelm myself.

A little background. I do not have a music degree. That being said, I have been singing in church choirs and playing piano since I could read (20 something years ago), and playing the organ since highschool. When I took organ lessons for fun in college, they tried to recruit me into music. But alas, I stuck with science because that's where the money was *rolls eyes*​

All that to say, I am in my third year as the full-time director of music at a gorgeous, traditional, Novus Ordo parish. History of the choir: the previous choir director was there for over 50 years. Thanks to COVID and the lack of music, it was a smooth transition. The only complaints I have received was the bulkiness of the Source and Summit Missals we got for 2022. Otherwise, the majority of the congregation (and the pastor) appreciate my more traditional leanings. Or at least they don't tell me otherwise... I was devastated, to say the least, when they switched back to Today's Missal. I have seen the silver lining though and am now embarking to put together my own hymnal, all public domain of course. I would also like to include Mass Parts and possibly the antiphons, but don't know where to find the correct English translation that would be public domain. So that's Enthusiastic Endeavor #1. (My pastor is aware and supports this)

Starting this week, my pastor has asked me to start collaborating with a parishioner who has recently graduated with a degree in voice. He is going to be a paid cantor, currently for Vigil Masses and Funerals. The Vigil Mass has the culture of being the "quick Mass", which works in our favor to sing the antiphon refrains and chant Mass parts since they are quicker. We have another parishioner who is classically trained who I want to recruit, so we have some real potential. All three of us have wide ranges. The male singer can sing Bass or Tenor, the female singer and myself can sing Alto or Soprano. I would like to build this up into an actual schola. Side note, while our pastor leans towards active participation being "active", he is OK with the music not being sung by the congregation if it is "truly beautiful and uplifting". I want to have my resources together before we start to build it up though, so I need ideas on 2-3 part harmonies for basically everything. Antiphons (if they should be in parts or unison), Mass parts, motets, etc. Enthusiastic Endeavor #2

My conscious does prick me a bit that the "pretty" music is going to be at the Vigil Mass. Our main choir on Sundays gravitates more towards the four-hymn sandwich. It is primarily made up of the parish's seasoned, faithful choir members who have been singing for 30+ years. We have done some beautiful pieces, but it is a bit more challenging for it to come off angelic, so to speak. I have started a children's choir that sings once a month in place of this adult choir and they sing more chant and Latin because my thought process is, the congregation will think they're so cute they won't complain. Boy was I right, they love it! So that Mass time has potential to follow suit. We have another Sunday Mass that I do solo that I have thought about having the potential schola sing at, but that's the Mass that previously had a "folk choir" until the Source and Summit Missals came last year. They're also the congregation that if they aren't singing along, they aren't pleased. This brings me back to "enthusiastic endeavor #1". When making my hymnal, should I include the motets etc. we start to sing in the schola? I love how the old St Gregory Hymnal and Pius X hymnals used to have the parts for the congregation, and I thought about going back to that. (I know there is an ongoing discussion on congregations singing parts) I'm not a fan of having different music at different Masses to suit the crowd, and it is a heck of a lot more work to plan each week. How would you go about reconciling this, if it's at all possible? Enthusiastic Endeavor #3

Finally, what resources would you recommend for me? I'm pretty well versed in Sacrosanctum Concilium and Musicam Sacram, for starters. My new cantor gave me some of his resources to learn solfege so I can teach my children's choir, but a lot of the things on Gregorian chant feel so heady to me and that's where my brain starts shutting down. Where do you suggest I start? Obviously, my own knowledge, but from there do I focus on the new hymnal, the schola, or do they truly need to come together at the same time? Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill? I apologize if I'm all over the place. Like I said, I need some help reigning myself in! Thank you in advance.