{"id":61890,"date":"2020-11-22T22:28:51","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T03:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/?p=61890"},"modified":"2020-11-22T22:35:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T03:35:43","slug":"interview-with-mason-cancilla-organist-corpus-christi-church-buffalo-celebrating-st-cecilia-november-22-patron-saint-of-church-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/?p=61890","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Mason Cancilla, organist Corpus Christi Church, Buffalo, celebrating St. Cecilia – November 22 (Patron Saint of Church Musicians)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Interview questions for Mason Cancilla, organist in Corpus Christi Church, Buffalo, celebrating St. Cecilia – November 22 (Patron Saint of Church Musicians)<\/p>\n

Do you know who St. Cecilia is?\u00a0 Has she influenced you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Cecilia is one of the Patron Saints of music. Another being St. Gregory the Great. It is said that despite her vow of virginity, St. Cecilia was forced into marriage by her parents. While the wedding musicians played for the guests, Cecilia sat alone singing to God in her heart. For this she was later declared the patroness of musicians. Among my prayer cards I have a medallion with St. Cecilia on one side and \u201cSing in your heart to the Lord\u201d stamped on the other.<\/p>\n

Who has influenced you? How?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The person with perhaps the greatest influence on me would be the conductor of our Buffalo Philharmonic \u2013 JoAnn Falletta. I have consulted her on every major career and collegiate decision since 2015. As I study and grow as a conductor myself, she is the perfect model to observe. It was watching Maestra Falletta conduct a concert in 2015 that strengthened my love for music and confirmed in my heart that I would be a conductor.<\/p>\n

What does it feel like to play the organ at Corpus Christi?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What I feel at Corpus Christi is unmatched to anywhere else I\u2019ve played. It\u2019s strikingly wholesome and I leave feeling as though I\u2019ve not only been to mass, but I have experienced it.<\/p>\n

The Radewicz is one of the best organs in Buffalo. It easily ranks among the instruments of St. Joseph\u2019s Cathedral and of St. Louis. We are certainly lucky to have it. From the softest flutes to the brightest trumpets, this organ can display the widest range of emotions and musical style.<\/p>\n

Artwork surrounds you on the ceilings and windows of the church.<\/p>\n

Does this add to your musical moment-similar to St. Cecilia?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely, it does! The stained-glass window at the rear of the church features St. Cecilia playing an organ. Aside from the priests and altar servers, I am the only one seated facing the back of the church. Being so close to the rear window, I am the only one looking at St. Cecilia. She is like my own private guardian for the duration of mass. As far as my musical moment is concerned, I find myself playing on a higher plane when at Corpus Christi.<\/p>\n

What are you most passionate about regarding music-organ, piano, other instruments, singing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m playing, I want to enhance people\u2019s experience. Mass is, of course, much different than a concert. My main goal is to supplement the mass with prayerful song. It should be about the text and how it supports the liturgy, not about the music per se. When people tell me that they\u2019ve enjoyed my music because they\u2019ve experienced something emotional or physical, I know that I\u2019ve done my job.<\/p>\n

You grandfather was an organist as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. My grandfather was an organist. He passed away when I was only an infant, but nevertheless, the influence was still there. I began in elementary school and played through high school. In 2018 I earned my Associate Degree in music at Niagara Community College. I was then accepted to Canisius College and earned my Bachelor of Arts in May 2020. Within the college and community, I have directed and conducted musical theater productions. In Canisius, I served as the assistant conductor of the Chamber Orchestra and premiered an original work titled Festival Mass for Choir, Orchestra and Soprano Soloist.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I wish to become Music Director of a major symphony orchestra. Festival Mass for Choir, Orchestra and Soprano Soloist. In the fall, I\u2019ll begin a Master\u2019s Program. Ultimately, I wish to become Music Director of a major symphony orchestra.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being with us. We wish you many blessing, on this special day.<\/p>\n

Interviewed by Beverly A. Sikora-parishioner of Corpus Christi Church, Buffalo.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today is the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, Patron Saint of Musicians ! Her image is prominently displayed in the rose window above the choir loft. More information about her martyrdom and legacy, at: https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Cecilia<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by Greg Witul, from “Adorned In Light: The Stained Glass Windows of Corpus Christi Church”, his book about the stained glass windows at Corpus Christi, available in church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview questions for Mason Cancilla, organist in Corpus Christi Church, Buffalo, celebrating St. Cecilia – November 22 (Patron Saint of Church Musicians) Do you know who St. Cecilia is?\u00a0 Has she influenced you? St. Cecilia is one of the Patron Saints of music. Another being St. Gregory the Great. It is said that despite her … [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[384],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"has-more-link","5":"post-61890","7":"format-standard","8":"category-news","9":"post_tag-mason-cancilla"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3PTnp-g6e","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61890"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61896,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890\/revisions\/61896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpuschristibuffalo.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}