Te Communications Forum meets four times a year, with additional working meetings by smaller groups as necessary, and interfaces with the NPM staff in the work of engaging member voices in the Association’s communications infrastructure, in order to help NPM fulfill its mission (fostering the art of musical liturgy) in new and innovative ways.
Cultural Diversity Forum
Te Cultural Diversity Forum assures that programs, services, and policies reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Church. In executing this overarching goal, the Forum engages in outreach with other organizations who represent pastoral musicians of diverse cultures, ensures the proper formation of NPM leadership in intercultural competence, and encourages and mentors members of diverse cultures to become involved in forums and consider assuming leadership roles.
Te success of the Cultural Diversity Forum depends on all members to guide one another. Te Forum listens, responds, and acts with kindness and compassion. Together, we will conquer fear with calm, awareness over ignorance, and dialogue over disregard, with the ultimate goal of diversity being a natural part of NPM’s work.
Director of Music Ministries (DMM) Forum
Te Director of Music Ministries (DMM) Forum focuses on “pastoral musicians who hold or share the primary responsibility for musical leadership in parish, diocesan, and other church institutions.” Te Forum’s general responsibilities are to provide networking opportunities; to develop means for advanced skill training; to attend to our spirituality through retreats and other moments for personal prayer and reflection; to provide advanced liturgical, theological, and musical scholarship; to counsel on employment practices; and to mentor musicians new to the field of music ministry. Dr. Henry “Hank” Bauer has served as chair since September 2021. Under Hank’s leadership, the Forum has focused on networking and mentorship, advanced music skill training, spirituality
for musicians, and advanced liturgical and theological scholarship. Additional leadership team members are sought.
Future projects include increasing networking opportunities, creating means to share information and ask questions, and more advanced skill training. Ways to make the Choral Anthem Project more user- friendly and informative are being developed through Liturgy Help’s partnership with NPM on its planning calendar, such as including links to recordings and links for ordering or downloading the music, and providing a direct breakdown of which pieces correlate to the various parts of the Mass (i.e., Entrance Antiphon, First Reading, etc.).
Musical Skills Forum
Te Musical Skills Forum assists in the development of formation and skills training for various musical disciplines. Members were recruited to the leadership team to oversee the various areas of this new forum. Tese six leadership team members have worked on the areas of vocal, choral conducting, organ, piano, and compositional skills. Our first task was to identify the musical skills needed by liturgical musicians for each area of interest. Detailed lists of these skills were generated, which are now the basis for our continued work.
In 2021, the Forum began a long-term, ongoing project of creating short video lessons intended to help the membership develop and improve these musical skills. Topics have included basic information on tempi, breathing, choral warm-ups, and wellness. New videos on a wider variety of topics are being planned and will be created or overseen by the Forum leadership and added at least quarterly. Te video library is housed on the NPM website and is accessible to all NPM members at the Standard and Premium level.
Upcoming plans include surveying the members who have shown interest in our Forum. From this survey we hope to glean information about musical skills that the membership wishes to improve, as well as interest from members who might be willing to serve as teachers. Te Forum hopes to create a regional list of available teachers as another resource for those seeking one-on-one guidance to improve their musicianship.
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