Since the beginning of the school year last fall, the music at St. John’s may have changed tone a little bit.

Molly Mattingly was hired as St. John’s director of Music Ministry in August, and has since been coordinating everything to do with music in the parish. She said she has felt very welcome in the parish and the community so far and is always excited to work so many talented musicians.

Mattingly completed a masters for sacred music at the University of Notre Dame and then spent two years as a volunteer worker with the Ireland House of Brigid, a program for recent college graduates.

According to the House of Brigid website, participants dedicate themselves to the service of the Irish Catholic Church by planning liturgy, supporting primary schools in the area and coordinating retreats and workshops.

“I learned a lot about living in a small community and working with very different age groups and types of music within a volunteer setting,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly’s duties at St. John’s include planning the music for all masses, coordinating a Tuesday evening prayer service and working with student ministry. She is a member of both the St. John’s parish staff and the campus ministry team.

Some challenges Mattingly has faced have been discovering the different type of musical backgrounds at St. John’s. She said some songs that are familiar to her are new to the congregation, so she has to take that into consideration when choosing songs for mass each week.

As far as changes to the way music ministry is done at St. John’s, Mattingly said she does not want to apply anything new. She only hopes to continue what has been happening at the parish and wishes to see more involvement in music ministry, especially from students for the later Sunday masses.

“I hope to see more of a continuation of [parishioners] deepening their spirituality through music,” she said.

Sophomore nursing student, Olivia Moss, began signing in the 8:30 p.m. choir earlier this semester to get more involved with the church.

“I think music lifts the soul and it is a way for people who don’t necessarily know what’s going on in the mass to relate to the liturgy,” Moss said.

Moss said the 8:30 p.m. choir rehearses once a week and an hour before each mass.

“Molly’s really enjoyable, personable and kind, “ Moss said. “It’s clear she loves what she does.”