Overview
Saint Clement Church has a national reputation for its excellent music program, and our attention to music at weddings is no exception. We are here to help you gather the best musicians available for the kind of wedding ceremony you envision. Whether you prefer to keep things simple – with just an organist and perhaps a cantor – or quite elaborate – with organist, brass, strings, and choir – or anything in between, this page is the place to begin thinking about the musicians you would like to utilize.
Here's what you should do to get started:
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DOWNLOAD AND READ OUR MUSIC GUIDELINES
If you have not already done so, please make sure you have read the parish wedding music guidelines so you'll be better prepared to make decisions about musicians and music for your ceremony. The basic music guidelines are found on page 16 of the "Your Wedding at SCC" booklet. If you do not already have this booklet, you can download the "Your Wedding at SCC" PDF here or by clicking on the link to the right.
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DOWNLOAD OUR MUSIC SELECTION FORM
Once you have familiarized yourself with our music guidelines, you'll want to download a copy of our Wedding Music Selection Form, on which you will indicate all of your choices for musicians and music. You can download the Music Selection Form here, or by clicking on the link to the right. Use this form as you work your way through the wedding music website.
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FILL OUT THE TOP OF THE SELECTION FORM
Fill out the top two sections of the form as completely as possible. This provides us with contact information and liturgy details so we can better assist you in finalizing your wedding music plans.
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SELECT YOUR MUSICIANS
Using the information below on this web page, let us know the various musicians you would like to have for your ceremony by checking the appropriate boxes under "Musicians" on the selection form. Note that in most cases, we will hire your individual musicians for you, but if would like an instrumental ensemble (brass quartet, string trio, etc.) you would contract with them yourself (don't worry, we'll help you with this too by pointing you in the direction of several excellent musician contractors for instrumental ensembles). More help and further details on all this are printed below. Be sure to read everything carefully.
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CHOOSE YOUR MUSIC
After you've made some decisions about musicians, or at least begun to think about possible musical personnel, you can start choosing your music by visiting the Wedding Music page in this website. To get there, click on the "Wedding Music" link in the left column of this page.
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RETURN YOUR COMPLETED MUSIC SELECTION FORM TO US
Once you have chosen all of your musicians and all of your music, you'll return your wedding music selection form to the music office, and we'll contact you (usually via e-mail) to finalize everything and answer any questions you might have.
Now for some details on wedding musicians:
Director of Music / Organist
The parish Director of Music serves as organist and/or principal musician at all Saint Clement weddings. As principal musician for the wedding, the Director of Music is entrusted with the authority for determining the suitability of musical selections within the context of the Roman Catholic wedding liturgy, and must approve all music and musicians chosen for the ceremony. The Director of Music also bears the essential responsibility of ensuring the proper performance and timing of the various musical portions of the wedding liturgy. Having already served in this capacity for well over 2,500 weddings during his tenure at Saint Clement, the Director of Music will ensure that your wedding music is performed with the utmost attention to detail and nuance. The music director’s basic fee is included in your parish wedding fee, but this fee may vary for weddings with extraordinary musical requirements.
Cantor / Vocalist
There are many places in the wedding liturgy that call for vocal music of one kind or another. For some of these liturgical moments, solo vocal or choral music can be very effective, such as during the seating of parents, during communion, or during a visitation to Mary’s altar. However, there are many other parts of the liturgy that ideally involve the singing of the entire congregation, such as an opening hymn, the responsorial psalm, the gospel acclamation, and (if you’re having a full mass) the various congregational responses during the eucharistic prayer. These congregational parts are always more festive when sung – rather than spoken – and they require the specialized services of a well-trained cantor to lead the congregation in song (as well as to render the solo verses, such as those in the responsorial psalm and gospel acclamation).
If you are planning a full mass with communion, please be aware that utilizing a cantor is required, and only experienced Saint Clement cantors are permitted to serve in this capacity at weddings. The role of the cantor is a unique one, and it differs quite markedly from simply singing as a soloist. Cantors must be thoroughly familiar with the musical requirements of the wedding liturgy, and comfortable working with the acoustics of the Saint Clement church building and its sound system. Our cantors are very experienced in working with Saint Clement organists and clergy, and they can also sing solo vocal repertoire quite beautifully, as you will hear on the music portion of this website. All of our wedding cantors are well-trained, professional singers, and they come with the highest possible recommendation. The cantor fee is $200-225.
Instrumentalists
Instrumentalists can add significantly to the festivity of the wedding liturgy, and we are often asked our opinion on what works best, especially if you're on a fairly tight budget. First, if you're on an extremely tight budget and can't decide whether to have a cantor or an instrumentalist, we always recommend having a cantor first, especially if you're having a full mass. If you're having a liturgy of the word (without communion), you could go either way. Second, if your budget allows for a little bit more flexibility, you'll probably get the most bang for your buck by having a trumpet or two. There's a substantial body of excellent music for trumpet(s) and organ, so with trumpets they get to play a lot during the prelude, processional and recessional, as well as many moments within the liturgy where they can be added to the congregational music and even on top of some solo vocal pieces.
Much the same can be said of the violin, oboe or flute, with the possible exception that they might not have quite the same impact during your processional and recessional as a trumpet would have. Harpists are always special in almost any environment, and they – like all musical instruments – sound magnificent in our Saint Clement acoustics.
Due to musical and liturgical requirements, only experienced Saint Clement instrumentalists may play for weddings at Saint Clement. If you are interested in having an individual instrumentalist or two for your wedding, just let us know by checking the appropriate box(es) on the wedding music selection form, and we'll take care of the rest. The fee for a trumpeter, violinist, oboist or flutist is $200-225. Harpists receive a higher fee – usually around $300-350 – since they also have to contend with the cartage of their unusually large and heavy instrument.
Instrumental Ensembles
If you are interested in utilizing the services of an established instrumental ensemble for your wedding, such as a trio or quartet, we ask that you contract with the ensemble directly. We prefer that you use one of the instrumental contractors below, since they are all very familiar with the musical and liturgical norms of Saint Clement weddings, and since we can vouch for the excellence of their musicianship. All of these musician contractors and ensembles have been associated with Saint Clement for at least 15 years, and they are among the very finest musicians in Chicago. We can personally attest in every case that their music making is absolutely magnificent! Most of these ensembles get booked well in advance, so plan ahead!
Please note that since these ensembles are contracted
independently of Saint Clement, they are free to set their own fees, which may be higher than those quoted above for
individual instrumentalists
hired by Saint Clement.
Choral Ensemble
If you would like something really special and outside the norm for your wedding, consider engaging the services of a choral ensemble for your ceremony. If you choose to do this, the Director of Music will secure and rehearse the necessary personnel, and will conduct the ensemble during the wedding liturgy. Choral singers for weddings are all paid individually, and fees vary depending on the requirements of the particular service. The established fee for a choral ensemble of eight professional singers begins at a minimum of $1000, and payment of this fee is required at the time of your request.
A list (including texts) of many choral selections appropriate for weddings is available on the music page of this website, which you can get to by clicking on "Wedding Music" in the top right corner of this page. The Saint Clement Chamber Choir will eventually record all of the pieces on the "Choral Selections" list for online listening.
Musician Fees
As mentioned above, the music director's basic fee is included in your $900 wedding fee.
The music fee may vary for weddings with extraordinary musical requirements. Fees for other musicians are discussed above and listed in the box below. Once your musical selections and personnel have been finalized, the music staff will e-mail or fax you a confirmation sheet listing your choices and any music fees that may be due.
All fees must be paid at least one week in advance of the wedding date (with the exception of the fee for a choral ensemble, which must be paid at the time of your request). To make things easy, you can simply add your music fees onto your $900 parish wedding fee, and make one check payable to "Saint Clement Church."
Musicians Hired by Saint Clement:
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| Cantor |
$200-225 |
| Trumpet |
$200-225 |
| Violin |
$200-225 |
| Oboe |
$200-225 |
| Flute |
$200-225 |
| Harp |
$300-350 |
| Choral Ensemble |
$1000 minimum* |
| *Fee may vary depending on musical requirements |
Musicians Hired by the Wedding Couple:
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| Instrumental Trio (Kithara, Trio Élan, etc.) |
$675-$850* |
| Instrumental Quartet (oboe quartet, string quartet, brass quartet) |
$900-$1100* |
| *Instrumental ensembles are contracted independently of Saint Clement Church. See "Instrumental Ensembles" above for the names of several excellent musician contractors. |
