Ronald Duquette

Inspired a love of choral music throughout the centuries in volunteer and paid musicians, increasing choir participation and community engagement

Provided oversight and administration for up to five weekend Masses, special liturgical events (such as Holy Week, holy days of obligation, etc.) for not only choristers, but instrumental musicians as well.

Conducted rehearsals weekly to keep choristers and instrumentalists prepared for liturgical events.

Worked with both adults and children to prepare for weekly and special liturgical events, aligning approaches to deal with experience level and musical knowledge.

Established strong relationships with other ministries to insure thorough integration in preparing for weekly and special liturgical events.

Communicated regularly with all members of the music ministry insuring that all were aware of times and places for events.

Submitted, managed, and complied with established budgets.

Coordinated closely with the Finance Officer(s) for the Religious Support Office at Fort Belvoir, to insure that requirements were understood, and that they were met.

Championed the notion that the Music Ministry should reflect the community they served by welcoming all and rejecting none.

Fostered collaboration, mutual respect, and camaraderie in all aspects of the Music Ministry.

As Tenor Section Leader of the Adult Choir, prepared rehearsal material, attended rehearsals and provided guidance to the Tenor Section

As Cantor, led the worshiping community at Masses as directed by the Music Director

As Children's Choir Director:

- managed liturgical resources such as sheet music, maintained the library of musical resources for easy access both during rehearsals and during Masses.

- developed strong relationships with families and encouraged familial participation in the preparation of their young musicians.

- developed musical and spiritual awareness of the music being prepared and sung

- developed interfaith connections with a local Protestant community in mutual cooperation in joint musical programs.

- managed volunteer children's choir, conducting rehearsals, choosing music appropriate to the Masses at which they sang.

- grew the children's choir from 27 members when I assumed leadership to 48 members when I left three years later (1998-2001)

- integrated the Children's Choir within the larger musical program of worship, to include special events with the Adult Choir.

Directed choir at United States Army's Patrick Henry Village Chapel, Heidelberg, Germany from 1987-1992.

Inspired a love of choral music in volunteers drawn from the military and Department of Defense civilian communities assigned to the area, leading to an increase in choir participation, retention, and development as choral musicians.

Provided oversight and administration for the choral program at Patrick Henry Village Chapel, to include providing input for and managing budget resources.

Conducted weekly rehearsals, and special rehearsals as needed, to keep choristers prepared for required liturgical events.

Developed clear expectations and guidelines for choir members, promoting a high standard during rehearsals and liturgical events.

Strengthened collegial relationships with other choral directors, both Catholic and Protestant, to share resources, ideas, and best practices.

Streamlined administrative processes for scheduled rehearsals, insuring the most effective use of time available for busy choristers to prepare the needed music.

Maintained calendars of events, assisted in event planning, and insured that choristers knew what was expected of them.

Developed a diverse choral repertoire, suitable to the liturgical events planned, incorporating various musical styles and genres to reflect the history and continuing development of music in the Roman Catholic Church.

Fostered a positive rehearsal environment through collaboration, mutual respect, and camaraderie among choir members and instrumentalists.

Achieved desired effects by determining the best allocation of available musical resources for instrumentation, rhythms, tempos, and tone balances.