April 1, 2015

By Kristina Dean
Staff writer

OGDENSBURG - No voice or sound can be heard, yet St. Mary’s Cathedral music director Christopher Gould is sending out a call across the North Country to those involved in music ministry.

It’s an invitation to share their gifts by joining the choir for diocesan events.

To do so, Mr. Gould is not depending on his tenor voice. Rather, harnessing the power and draw of social media, the Ogdensburg native is using Facebook to bring the area’s musicians together.

“Having helped with the music ministry for diocesan events in the past, I knew the call needed to be widened to the whole diocese because it’s never been more than (those in) St. Lawrence County,” he said.

“Social networking is so prevalent in society, I thought we should harness it,” he said.

Newly hired in July 2014, the 25-year-old’s goal for his position is to raise the level of musicianship at the cathedral and in the diocese by increasing the number of singers and instrumentalists.

“Each parish has its own individual music ministries, but when they come together at the cathedral, we are able to lift our voices in song and praise the Lord in unity. I find it so rewarding,” Mr. Gould said.

The Crane School of Music graduate has invited music ministers to five events, the latest being the Chrism Mass March 26. The numbers of the choir have increased since his first diocesan event, September's Marriage Jubilee, he said.

Mr. Gould received his undergraduate degree in music education at Houghton College, a Christian liberal arts college in the Genesee Valley of southwestern New York.

He attributes the Catholic campus ministry, provided through the Diocese of Buffalo, with deepening his faith.
Upon graduating with his master’s degree from Crane in 2012, Mr. Gould was first hired at the parishes ofSt.Agnes in Lake Placid, and St. Brendan in Keene, NY. When the cathedral position opened up he “felt compelled to throw my hat in the ring,” he said.

“Although I had only spent two years in the Adirondacks, I felt led to apply for the diocesan job,” said. “I’d been a cantor on and off for eight years at the Cathedral, so it kind of felt like cominghome,” Mr. Gould said and called Notre Dame Church of Ogdensburg his home parish.

He credits his piano teacher, Rosemary Neal, former organist and choir director at Notre Dame, with inspiring him to become a music minister.

Information on upcoming diocesan events can be found at facebook.com/cathedralmusicians, or Mr. Gould can be contacted at 315-393-3930 or cgould@stmaryscathedral.net

Photo by Betty Steele
Christopher Gould, music director at St. Mary’s Cathedral, plays the organ at the March 26 Chrism  Mass. He has invited those involved in music ministry in parishes across the diocese to add their voices to diocesan events. Singers from Antwerp and Lake Placid were among those who joined him at this year’s Chrism Mass.