Don and Diane Competello have more in common than your average husband and wife. The married couple, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in June, have both served as music directors at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church in Middle Village for the last 12 years, and they are both longtime educators.
One of Brooklyn’s premier music halls, the Emmaus Center, is planning a Christmas spectacular featuring a star-studded cavalcade of some of popular music’s biggest stars.
While Christopher Macchio is a world-renowned tenor who has performed in some of the most esteemed venues around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and the White House, he holds a special place in his heart for the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Emmaus Center.
When country legend Charley Pride asked the musical question “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” in his chart-topping hit from 1970, he probably did not envision a young graduate from Cathedral College Seminary in Queens, New York driving across New York State in a used pickup truck listening to his music.
Therese Panicali believes it was a leap of faith that helped her follow her heart’s dream to pursue a career in music.
Michael Fontana has dedicated the past 30 years of his life to producing and directing pastoral music in the Roman Catholic tradition. He also has a rich background in music as a composer — having published his first piece of organ music at the age of 18 — and has continued to compose, with several pieces published last year.
Music Director Alejandro Zuleta and Choir Leader Cristina Maria Castro at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights believe that music is the best medicine to bring parishioners back to the pews following the Covid pandemic.
Thomas Wolfe famously said that you can’t go home again, but that rule never applied to Thomas Marchesiello, the director of music and liturgy at St. Ephrem’s Roman Catholic Church in Dyker Heights.
Most people recognize these as the opening lines of the popular hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross” which was written by George Bennard in 1912 and has since been recorded by hundreds of Christian artists across almost every genre of music.
A magical thing happened in 1968 when The Irish Rovers made the pop chart Top 10 with their recording of “The Unicorn.” And how that came to be is truly a wondrous story.
