Today on the podcast I chat with Joe Bazyouros. Joe is on the core team for NPM 2.0, and is also the Director of Music at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California. It’s been a year since NPM 2.0 was introduced to us at the 2019 National Convention in Raleigh. What has changed? What can we expect?

Today on the podcast we explore the question so many of you have been asking: how do we minister in the liturgy with music, without singing? So many of us listening are pastoral musicians or clergy serving the church, and it seems as if each Diocese is addressing the risk of public singing a little differently. But as we settle into whatever this new “normal” is, we’re discovering that there are ways to safely incorporate musical elements back into your music ministry that don’t involve singing.

Today I’m proud to share one of the recorded sessions from the 2020 Virtual Convention. M. Roger Holland II is a Composer and Teaching Assistant Professor in Music and Religion and Director of The Spirituals Project at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. His session today helps us learn about the theological roots of black Catholic music in the Church, both culturally and in light of the Church documents. He also provides several suggestions in ways you can introduce multicultural music in your parish’s repertoire, and shares the historical roots and cultural significance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.