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FR. HEMANN'S COOL MUSIC MINISTRY Father David Hemann, a rising star in Catholic music from northwest Iowa, is shown here performing the evening of October 21 in the parish hall of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson. He came with good news, having just returned from the 2007 “Unity Awards” national competition of the United Catholic Music & Video Association in Phoenix, where his new song “Walk on Water” was named “Praise & Worship Song of the Year.” That competition is the Catholic equivalent of the well-known “Dove” awards for Protestant musicians. Hemann is now pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Ida Grove and Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Holstein. He has recorded five CDs of original music in recent years, performing on guitar, drums and vocals. His latest CD, “Gathered Wisdom,” includes the award-winning song and others that he says reflect the lessons he’s learned in his 22 years in the priesthood. “I come from a devout Catholic and intensely musical family in Fort Dodge,” Hemann said. “One of the things I’ve learned in 22 years as a priest is that with talk, you can reach people’s minds, but if you use music, too, you can touch their hearts.” He said writing and performing his music is also his own favorite form of prayer. “This is what I do when I have my own prayer time – I sing,” he told the crowd Sunday evening. “I don’t write these songs to entertain people, although I’m glad they do. I write them to praise the Lord.” He is a graduate of St. Edmond Catholic High School in Fort Dodge, Loras College in Dubuque and seminary in Rome, and he played a wide variety of music on his way to the priesthood. That included playing three years with a touring rock ’n’ roll band before he started college. “That band was named ‘Ramblin’,” he said, “kind of like my homilies now.” His musical style ranges widely – folk, Irish, monastic, a touch of rock and even classical. For his next CD, he is planning “to put the Psalms of David to classical guitar music, backed by harp and cello.” Plus, he’s got a gift of gab that makes his concerts as fun as they are spiritual. He has often used his musical ability in his pastoral assignments, which besides Ida Grove and Holstein, have included parishes in Carroll, Storm Lake, Boone, Sioux City, Hospers, Sanborn and Hartley. And he has performed in concerts all across the Sioux City Diocese and beyond. You can learn more about Father Hemann, and order his CDs, on the Internet site www.fatherdavid.net. |
Article from the Catolic Globe Father Hemann wins Unity Award for best praise and worship song Sponsored by the United Catholic Music and Video Association, the show was held on Oct. 6. Raymond Arroyo, EWTN journalist and book author, served as the master of ceremonies for the event that recognized excellence in Christian music, video and radio. The diocesan priest was not only on hand to perform, but he was also up for five awards. He was nominated in these five categories: *Gathered Wisdom was up for the best devotional album of the year. *Gathered Wisdom was up for the best praise and worship album of the year. *The song Mary Thrice Admirable was up for best devotional song of the year. *The song Be Mine was up for the best liturgical/sacramental song of the year. *The song Walk on Water was up for the best praise and worship song of the year. "When I got to the hotel, they gave us a package of the overview of the night," recalled Father Hemann, who is pastor at Sacred Heart in Ida Grove and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Holstein. "After the intro was the opening song, Walk on Water. I was thrilled to see that I was the opening act."
"It was a highlight for me to perform," said Father Hemann. When they were set to perform, it was Arroyo who introduced Father Hemann and Msgr. Heras. "The curtain opened and there was a huge glitch in the sound system - a horrible feedback and buzzing sound that filled the Orpheum Theater. Then there was just dead silence, and I said, 'Don't worry, things like this happen to me every week at liturgy.'" The sound system was fixed and he was able to perform "without a hitch."
"It is a powerful song with a powerful message," he said. "People seem to like it upon first hearing it." When he offered comments as he accepted the award, Father Hemann explained that he thanked the people - other artists and people in the Christian music industry - for voting for him. He added, "I held up the award and said 'Things like this don't happen to me every week at liturgy, but something much greater happens every Sunday. Christ gives us his body and blood, soul and divinity through the Eucharist.' I asked my fellow musicians to continue to craft beautiful music that will continue to make the Lord known and praise his name in the world." It was important for him to put the focus on God because that is why he and so many of the Christian musicians make their music. For each category, there was an average of five to 10 nominations. "I had told several people that if I receive one award, I'd be ecstatic and if I received none I would have still been happy because when you are nominated - you are already a winner," he said. Artists from United States, Canada, South America and even parts of Europe were nominated for these awards. While not many people could attend the awards show, several people caught it in the podcast. This was not his first Unity Award. The priest received one in 2004 for an EWTN television show that he co-hosted with Msgr. Heras, Alive With Baptism. The award was for best religious television presentation for Catholic evangelization of the year. "The show covered the seven sacraments and with it being a 13-part series, we addressed other dimensions of the Catholic life - living our baptism," explained Father Hemann. After every episode, the show concluded with one of Father Hemann's original songs. "What was disheartening was that the minute it went on the air, EWTN had just been pulled off the air in Sioux City," he said. "The funny thing is that we just got EWTN back in Sioux City and now the show is just running again." That show is in reruns now on EWTN, airing at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays. He will also be featured on another EWTN program called Backstage, which airs at 9 p.m. on Thursday. Father Hemann will perform songs and offer reflections during the 30-minute show. (No specific date for the airing has been set at this time but it is anticipated to air in next four to six weeks.) The two priests are presently looking at doing another series. Father Hemann is also working on his next album. He already has five songs for his next project titled, Psalms of David. It will be predominately classical guitar and vocals with the possibility of some harp. The diocesan priest is also willing to present concerts at parishes in the diocese. With meditations and reflections sprinkled throughout the performance, many find his concerts to be like mini retreats. "My concerts are prayers - 'whoever sings, prays twice' says St. Augustine," he said. Father Hemann pointed out that he loves music at all levels. When he was a seminarian in Rome, he was the head of a liturgical music group for Masses and found there to be a "beautiful integration of organ and guitar music." The two instruments can co-exist. "You can play the organ, piano or guitar in a very irreverent way or you can play all three of those instruments in a very reverent and classical way. It is not the instrument - it's how you play them and pray them," he said. Gathered Wisdom is for sale at www.fatherdavid.net or through traditional mail for $20 at Father David Hemann, PO Box 244, Ida Grove, IA 51445. |
Article from the Catholic Globe Father Hemann to release new album Soon this priest of the Diocese of Sioux City will release his fifth major album. His latest project is titled Gathered Wisdom: Songs to Live By, which is slated for release on June 15. "Each one of the songs contains a piece of wisdom like Climbing Down to Greatness talks about humility and Walk on Water is about having faith," he said. "These are songs of how the Lord has helped me to live my life better - with more joy and more peace." This will be his first album since Holy Warriors, which was released in 2000. "The whole album was a seven-year process - slow cooking," noted Father Hemann, who is pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Ida Grove and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Holstein. "As a priest, I'm so busy it's hard for me to take a lot of time for my music but by slowing down the process, it turned out to be a better loaf of bread - a better meal." Gathered Wisdom features 11 songs, two of which are instrumentals. One of the songs with special meaning for the priest is By My Side. It is centered on perseverance. The lyrics for this song came from a poem by Carrie Mach, the former Bishop Heelan High School student who died on Dec. 7, 2000, after a nine-year battle with cancer. This was the first song on this album that he wrote. "I had the poem sent to me after she died and I was immediately touched by it," he said. The song centers on trusting God even in the darkness and in the lowest moments. While he wrote the song years ago, Father Hemann said that by adding little musical parts here and there the music matured over time and now finally matches the poem. Another one his favorites on the album is Mary Thrice Admirable. It is built on a theme of intimacy and communion with the saints. "It comes out of a very personal encounter with Mary, inviting her to be my mother in a very deep way," said Father Hemann. He pointed out that Jesus doesn't "kick down the door to come in - he gently knocks until we let him in. The Blessed Mother is very much that way. She says, 'I am everyone's mother. I will never force my way into people's lives but if they ask me to be in their lives, I will come.'" After reflecting on the gentle nature and motherly love of Mary, the priest wondered why he only occasionally asked her into his life. That led to the lyrics, "Be with me every moment of every day for the rest of my life." Father Hemann said that from that point on his life became sweeter. He acknowledged that he felt more forgiving of people who hurt him, felt kinder and more at peace. "When you are working on these songs you hear them over and over. Even with the best songs you can be thinking that I've heard it enough but that's the one song I haven't heard enough," he said. The album features two Marian songs, the other being Climbing Down to Greatness. "The Lord doesn't look at your title. He looks at how much you love," said Father Hemann. "Climbing down to greatness Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give his life for man. Then I looked at who other than Jesus himself is the greatest human being - Mary." Originally he had used words from The Beatitudes for the song, but had an epiphany moment while driving home from the funeral of Msgr. Michael Sernett's father. Father Hemann was listening to the musical track without lyrics when The Magnificat popped into his mind. "It just flowed," he said. "It has a really nice hook, 'Calling me blessed, blessed.'" Other songs featured on the album and the correlating bit of wisdom include The Dawning of the Day (awakening faith), Walk on Water (faith), Be Mine (love), Pot of Gold (detachment - seeking God alone), Mercy (mercy), May You Live (hope), Just Be (contemplation) and Veronica (compassion). While the priest acknowledged that these are only a few pieces of wisdom, the songs touch upon many foundational components of the church including faith, hope and love. Father Hemann, who recorded the album in his home studio, stressed the fact that many people helped him with the project. His brother Patrick, who originally taught him how to play guitar, sang backup on the album with four local female vocalists. Sean Conway of the Irish Brigade played whistle on the album. Joe Hand, who plays bass for John Michael Talbot and Bobby Goldboro, mixed and mastered the album. One of his best friends from the seminary days, Msgr. Michael Heras, plays the piano on Gathered Wisdom. Father Hemann had been in charge of a liturgical music group from the North American College that played for Masses and his piano player for the group was Michael Heras. He remembered that he sent a tape home to his parents of some of the liturgies. "I told my parents that Michael Heras will one day play on my albums," said Father Hemann. "I envisioned the whole thing even back then. This is like a dream come true." The two priests have not only collaborated on the music scene but also co-hosted EWTN's show Alive With Baptism. Father Hemann pointed out that his priest friend offered "a hauntingly beautiful instrumental" on the song Veronica, which was inspired by the movie Passion of the Christ. It is one of two instrumental selections on Gathered Wisdom. He extended gratitude to G.R. Lindblade and Co. for their photography and CD cover design. The cover features a little boy picking up rocks - symbolizing picking up bits of wisdom. Like the priesthood, Father Hemann said he always knew he wanted music to be a part of his life. "While drums are my first instrument, early on I learned to play the guitar. Even before going to kindergarten, I remember sitting on the couch and I stopped my mom as she was going up the stairs with a basket of laundry," he recalled. "I told her I made up my own song and it wasn't even Jingle Bells." The priest has written many songs since that time and gives thanks to God for his gift. "There are times when I will do a song and people are deeply touched. I realize that it's not my skill and voice alone but it's skill and voice combined with the presence of the Holy Spirit that seems to touch people's hearts," he said. "I've had so many people after concerts and years later tell me how the music has healed their aching hearts, helped them in their journey. I've even had people tell me the music is their constant companion." Father Hemann said he believes music will be one of the greatest joys in heaven. "Before anything else I am a son of God and as a son of God I've heard him call me to be a priest. Despite my own humanity, weakness and sinfulness he still works through me," he said. "As a human being I am also a musician. Music has a way of getting theological concepts beyond the mind, into the heart." Music, he noted, is a tool of evangelization and healing. He added that his music crosses generation - from small children to youth, middle-age adults and seniors. During concerts he shares his vision of the songs, evangelizes and shares the Gospel. As Father Hemann was putting the finishing touches on the Gathering Wisdom project, he mentioned that he didn't really want to think about working on another album. One day after he told Joe Hand that it might be his last album, he woke up with the theme for his next project - Psalms of David. Other ideas for future projects include an album focused on the Breviary as well as a Christmas album. Gathered Wisdom is being released through Heartbeat Records. It will also be available on Father Hemann's Web site - www.fatherdavid.net or you can send a check to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, PO Box 244, Ida Grove, IA 51445. Cost of the CD is $20, including shipping and handling. In the near future, digital tracks will be available on I-Tunes. |
Article from the Sioux City Journal.com Father Hemann: The Singing Priest In 1964, a Dominican nun from Belgium named Jeanine Deckers, best known as the Singing Nun, appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" to sing her chart-topping smash hit, "Dominique." At about the same time, a 4-year-old boy named David Hemann, growing up in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and singing Beatles songs, decided that he wanted to be a priest. Today, his parishioners at Sacred Heart Church in Ida Grove, Iowa, and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Holstein, Iowa, call him Father Hemann. But to many who have heard him at concerts throughout the Diocese of Sioux City or worldwide through the Catholic cable TV network, EWTN, he may be best known as the Singing Priest. His fan base can be expected to grow when his latest album, his fifth, "Gathered Wisdom: Songs to Live By," is released today. There will be a CD release party at 7 p.m. today at the Skate Palace in Ida Grove. "It sure is wonderful having a priest with his talent," said Lenee Sinnott, director of religious education at Sacred Heart Church. "I have all his CDs. He's enjoyable to listen to. It's uplifting and sort of almost like praying when you listen to and sing along with his CDs." Hemann comes from a musical family, particularly on his mother's side, where his grandfather and an uncle played violin. Uncle Don even played for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Dad was more of a picker-and-grinner type with his guitar. So although his first real love, musically speaking, was the Fab Four, his own music reflects the classical and country pickin' influences from his family. Though best known now for his guitar picking, Hemann started as a drummer, even playing as a teenager with Ramblin', a popular Fort Dodge rock band that cut a couple of popular regional records. "I remember I used to turn upside down a Quaker Oats box, and we had an old drum pad and some broken drumsticks," he said. Later, older brother Pat, one of five brothers, taught him how to play guitar. "And the first three chords I learned were E, D and A. And the first song I ever learned was a Gloria, but it was by a rock group," he said, singing: "'G-L-O-R-I-A, Gloria!' That's the first song I ever learned." Even as a kindergartener, though, he was making up his own songs. Coming from a religious and devout family, the priesthood seemed inevitable. Fortunately for him, the music didn't have to end when he donned the cassock. Touching the heart "I knew in high school that I wanted to do something with music, and I knew how much music could touch my heart and touch the hearts of many other people," he said. He was particularly inspired by popular Christian recording artist (and later mentor) John Michael Talbot, whom he saw in concert. "I heard his 'The Lord's Supper' and I realized very strongly that music is greater than the musician and their skill. There's something going on with the presence of God. At that concert, I was so deeply touched by the Lord's love. It wasn't just skill and good voice. It was something deeper," he said. With a good artist, the music doesn't stop with the artist, he noted. In addition to the Beatles, secular influences include Billy Joel; Yes; Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Carl Palmer influencing his drumming more than any other); some Southern rockers and The Moody Blues. People often tell him his music sounds like the Moody Blues. But he wouldn't walk across the street to see The Rolling Stones. Christian music influences include Chuck Girard and the Monks of St. Meinrad. He said he got goosebumps when he heard a beautiful Christian song and recognized the singer as early hero Jon Anderson of Yes. "Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson, they're all coming to Christianity. I'm still praying for Madonna," he said. Hemann recalls attending a Dan Fogelberg concert in Sioux City years ago, and Fogelberg sang about darkness and his light shining in the darkness, "and then it's like, let it shine," he said. "You know how skateboarders hit a ramp, A good musician is like a ramp. You come at the musician. The music draws you to themselves. But then you go beyond them, and you're brought up to a higher place. You're brought up to a place of inspiration and love and healing and joy and warmth and well-being. And that I call God." Which makes his music ministry "the greatest joy." His parishioners appreciate that, said Sacred Heart parishioner David Forbes, who teaches high school religious-education classes with Hemann. "He plays and sings with the kids, and the high school kids just thoroughly enjoy it." Father Hemann works particularly well with the youth groups he started in Ida Grove and Holstein, Sinnot noted. "It's almost like getting a miniretreat each time we have religious-ed classes," she said. He also started successful youth groups in Boone, Sioux City and Sanborn/Hartley. Everyone in the area knows the singing priest, whether Catholic or not, and nobody has ever knocked his music, Forbes said. "We feel blessed to have him in our parish, and we really like his music," he said. "He thoroughly enjoys it, too, and you can really tell that, especially when he does live concerts." In the beginning Hemann was ordained a deacon in 1984 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 20, 1985, at Corpus Christi Church in Fort Dodge. His assignments took him to various parishes in the Sioux City Diocese and in 2001 he was assigned as pastor at Ida Grove, adding the Holstein parish one year later. His music, meanwhile, has lent itself to involvement in a number of nationwide ministries of giving retreats, missions and concerts. He co-hosted a 13-part series on EWTN called "Alive with Baptism," a music-filled teaching series, with longtime friend and music collaborator Msgr. Michael Heras. And he will soon appear on the EWTN series "Backstage," which features Catholic musicians from around the country. One highlight was being a featured artist in the presence of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India, at the first World Youth Day in Rome in 1984. During 2000-2001, he was released for one year from his regular priestly duties to pursue a special music/preaching ministry around the diocese. He took another year off early in his career to spend time with John Michael Talbot's religious community in Arkansas. He toured with his mentor and even did some recording with the Catholic music star. Though a great experience, it reinforced his near-lifelong desire to be a diocesan priest. "I wanted to be a diocesan priest since I was 4 years old. And through many trials and many tests, this has been the thing that has been constant and strong," he said. In 1992, he released his first album, "Let Nothing Trouble You," a collection of prayers and wisdom. He has been doing formal concerts since 1992. But he is doing fewer these days, one or two Sunday night concerts a month, due to the demands of his parish work. Because he is such a busy priest, this latest album was a slow brew, taking seven years to percolate. He sells most of his albums at these concerts. At least half the people attending buy the CD, he said. "People come to a concert and they have an experience of the Lord at the concert, and I know it's more than my skill and voice. I mean, I'm not bad, but there's musicians out there much more talented than I am," he said. "It's my voice and my guitar, but the Lord's spirit. So in a way I kind of cheat because when people are really touched, I can't really take much credit for it." As the latest album was winding down, Hemann swore he would do no more. Well, maybe he didn't swear. And it didn't take him long to change his mind. "The next album, I'm going to be a little wiser. As I write songs, I'm going to record them instead of waiting until the end," he said of a coming album inspired by the Psalms of David. Then again, because "Gathered Wisdom" has been such a slow cooker, he noted, the songs were given a chance to mature. One song in particular, "By My Side," a poem written by Sioux City's Carrie Mach and put to music by him, became "massively better" over the years, he said. Mach was a Heelan student who died in 2000 after a nine-year battle with cancer. "She was a vivacious and very rascally young girl. But in the midst of that cancer she had to let go more and more of herself, and she embraced God more and more, even in darkness. And she reflected the wisdom of such mystics as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, who talk about what we need to go through, the dark nights, to come through to God's fair lights," he said. "And that's in her poem. And she really attained it. "It was such a joy to play that for Rick and Ann, her parents. For them to hear it, it was a very touching moment." Father Hemann's CDs are available through his Web site, fatherdavid.net, or by snail-mailing him at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, P.O. Box 244, Ida Grove 51445. They are also carried on HeartBeat Records, and the first four songs from "Gathered Wisdom" are available on iTunes. |
Article from the Sioux City Journal.com 'Gathered Wisdom' found in rectory To the Rev. David Hemann's ears, the best music must be meaningful, inspirational. "It's not just strumming notes," he said. Several years ago, he and his brother Paul went to see Elton John and Billy Joel in concert at the Iowa State University football stadium in Ames. "It was a great concert, but after that, I left saying, 'That was very entertaining, but it didn't inspire me.' It didn't take me there," he said. "Just to put it into perspective, Billy Joel and Elton John together, which would be many people's dream, didn't even touch what a couple of John Michael Talbot's concerts have done for me." The way he responds to Talbot's music is the reaction he is hoping for when his latest album, "Gathered Wisdom: Songs to Live By," is released today in Ida Grove after seven years of gestation. The album was recorded in his own small studio, housed in a room in the Sacred Heart Church rectory in Ida Grove. Hemann does the mixing and puts it on Pro Tools, a digital audio workstation that integrates hardware and software, providing CD-quality multitrack digital audio editing on his computer. He sent the rough tracks for "Gathered Wisdom" to a professional engineer in Nashville, where some bass and organ tracks were added. "You don't always have to run to a big studio someplace," he said. "If you know how to mic correctly, and if you know what you're doing, you can take it and you can do a lot with some pretty inexpensive equipment. It's a 16-track Corg D1600. It's a 16-track! So you can have 8 times 16, That's how many tracks I can theoretically have on each song. "So I can overdub voices and harmonies. And it's really neat to create." A quiet retreat The creative work doesn't start in the studio. Most of it begins in a Trappist monastery outside Dubuque, Iowa. Hemann, 47, writes and puts most of his songs into final form at the New Mallory Abbey, where he has found refuge for 30 years, Some of the music on the new album is a little too upbeat to play for the monks, as is his custom; but Brother David, the head monk, should be happy with the gentler "Songs of David," once they're written for Hemann's next album. "Every one of those songs is going to be able to be played in the abbey," he said. They're going to be very meditative, prayerful songs. "Now this last one has some really rockin' and kickin' songs. 'Climbing Down to Greatness' is a real rib-kickin' song -- I mean, just kind of Journeyesque. A little bit like Journey. Just tons of harmonies," he said. His brother Pat sings with him on that song. Longtime collaborator Msgr. Michael Heras contributed to the album, and he also enlisted the talents of trumpet player Paul Cooney, one of his parishioners, just two years out of high school but sounding like a professional, he said. The collaborators, most of whom are his good friends and parishioners, leave each recording session with an extra 50 bucks apiece in their pockets, which is a lot cheaper than hiring professional musicians. In his own words Hemann penned all but one of the tracks on the new album himself. The exception is "Dawning of the Day," an Irish jig that an Omaha friend, Irish whistle player Sean Conway, played at a funeral in Ida Grove. Asked by Hemann to play something appropriate, Conway picked this haunting and beautiful old Irish air. "I knew on the spot that this would be the opening piece for the album," Hemann said. Each song on the album provides a bit of wisdom. "Dawning of the Day," for instance, illuminates the awakening of faith. "Walk on Water" is about faith. The title of "Mercy" is self-explanatory. "Mary Thrice Admirable" concerns itself with intimacy and communion with the saints. "By My Side," the song taken from a poem by Sioux City student Carrie Mach who was dying of cancer (see main story), is about perseverance and courage. The others are: "Be Mine," love; "Pot of Gold," detachment; "Climbing Down to Greatness," humility; "Just Be," contemplation; "May You Live," hope; and "Veronica," compassion. "And the whole focus of 'Gathered Wisdom' is these chunks of wisdom that have come from the church and my own lived experience, with the express purpose of helping us walk our journey with more peace, love, light, direction and joy," Hemann said. "These songs are illuminations of God's truth and love to help us get through this life. Each song has a kind of a focus." . |
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Father
Hemann played guitar and offered vocals and longtime friend Msgr. Michael
Heras of Texas played piano.
In
the end, Father Hemann took home one award. It was for Walk on Water
- the best praise and worship song of the year. Given that it was the
opening act, that is the one that he thought had the best chance to
win.