Sisters sing out to help religious retirement

Two sisters from the Green Bay Diocese had reason to rejoice this fall when the third Sisters in Song compact disc - Sisters in Song Rejoice - was released in October. They were the only sisters from Wisconsin in the 80-nun choir that recorded the CD.

Sr. Lynne Jagemann, a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity and director of campus ministry at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, sang second soprano. She was also part of the choirs that made the first two Sisters in Song CDs.

Sr. Donna Koch, a Bay Settlement Franciscan and director of the Norbertine Spirituality Center in De Pere, sang first alto. It was the first time she was part of a Sisters in Song choir.

Proceeds from sales of the recordings go to SOAR, Support Our Aging Religious, a non-profit organization that helps religious orders in financial need. So far, 70,000 of the three CDs have sold, earning $500,000 for SOAR and it is expected that figure will hit $1 million with sales from the new CD.

Sr. Jagemann said the CD project began six years ago when religious congregations across the United States were invited to nominate members who could perform with the first choir.

She was nominated and asked to submit an audition tape. Music has been her "secret and not so secret passion" since childhood, she said.

At one time, she considered a music major in college. She has always been involved in some form of church music, she added.

Nearly 60 sisters made up the choirs for the first two CDs - Sisters in Song Celebrate andSisters in Song Christmas Spirit.

The songs in the first CD "were intended to be very "inspirational, uplifting, and also celebrate," Sr. Jagemann said. They ranged from works by Mendelssohn to African-American spirituals.

Only 23 sisters from the original choirs participated in the third CD, she said. Sr. Theresa LaMetterey, a Sister of St. Joseph from Orange, Calif., and the project director, again invited religious congregations to nominate members.

This time, the Bay Settlement Community nominated Sr. Koch, who submitted an audition tape. Along with the tape, she was asked to list the songs that made her rejoice.

Like Sr. Jagemann, she has been involved with music since she was a child. She plays piano as well as sings.

She said she has "a pretty wide singing range" and told the directors to put her where they needed her.

More than 600 audition tapes were submitted. From these, 57 new choir members were chosen. They represent 50 congregations from 28 states and range in age from 35 to 78.

The group spent a week in Los Angeles recording under the direction of internationally known composer Christopher Walker.

Sr. Koch said the week was a "once in a lifetime experience that words really can't capture." Calling it "powerful" and "prayerful," she said she returned to Wisconsin "exhausted. I was inspired; I was deeply moved. All we did for a week was sing. We sang morning, afternoon and night." Weeks after she returned, "music was still going through my whole body."

Sr. Jagemann also said she came home "terribly exhausted." The choir practiced and recorded 15 songs in five days, often doing many takes on a single song.

She said the experience was "very exhilarating" because she was singing with people who like to sing and they were "creating something of beauty." She also praised their "wonderful conductors."

Among the 15 songs were new works by Walker and Bernadette Farrell. Both sisters thought the song "Pie Jesu Domine" was their favorite. It was a new piece by an English composer. The sister who sang the solo is 70 years old, Sr. Koch said.

Sr. Jagemann said the choir sang with piano or organ during recording sessions and that full instrumentation was put in after they left Los Angeles.

When she got her final copy and heard Farrell's "Oh God, You Search Me," played with harp accompaniment, she "got goosebumps all over. To me, it is just so lovely. The arrangement ... just sent shivers through me."

A fourth "Sisters in Song" CD, From the Heart, is planned for next summer. Sr. Jagemann said not even "an earthquake or tidal wave" would keep her from participating.

The "Sisters in Song" recordings are available through Catholic bookstores or from both Srs. Koch and Jagemann for $15.95 (CD) and $10.95 (cassette). They can also be ordered from Oregon Catholic Press by calling 1-800-548-8749 or on the Internet at www.ocp.org or www.sistersinsong.org.