Letter From Martin: Reflections from the Canon for Music

Dear people of St Paul’s,

When the time came to begin working on this letter, I was flooded with thoughts and ideas of what to say.  So much so, that I wasn’t able to write anything at first!  After more reflection, this turns out to be a letter of thanks to you, the people that make up this wonderful community of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement over so many years here!  That support has come in many forms – whether it’s been through kind compliments and words of encouragement, singing as a member of one of our outstanding choirs, being a dedicated chorister parent/caregiver, a donor to Friends of Cathedral Music or another capital campaign in support of the music program, or someone who simply enjoys the music offered at the cathedral – THANK YOU!

I have been so fortunate to have had the experiences that I have been afforded here at St Paul’s.  So many things, from singing here as a boy chorister up through becoming the Canon for Music, have helped shape me into the musician and person that I am today.  My family’s major life events have all taken place here, and lifelong friendships have been forged here.  My wife Molly and I both have been so delighted to have all of our children come up through the chorister program here, and have the cathedral be a central part of their childhoods.

As I’ve been reflecting on my time here – especially as either Organist or Director of Music, I am extremely proud of all that’s been accomplished.  A few highlights of my time here as Director of Music have included instituting Evensong as a weekly, year-round offering, the extremely successful restoration project of the cathedral organ, the addition of the Cathedral Schola to the regular rotation of choral ensembles, far too many wonderful Chorister memories and highlights to mention, and, of course, the upcoming Music Center. This is another part of my thank-you to you.  These accomplishments would not have been possible without the incredible support of the community of people of St Paul’s!

I speak to all the choirs often about the wonderful and unique thing that we do together in the act of choral singing.  The collaborative nature of it has always spoken to me, even from an early age.  Collaborative music making in a choral ensemble is a very special thing.  Unlike other ensembles, we make our complete artistic offering and expression fully of ourselves – there is no intermediary instrument – our voices, and our bodies are the instrument and the expressive force.  That force and its important place in our world and in our lives is something I believe in very strongly. To that end, if you attend our service of Lessons and Carols this Sunday, you will hear one break from tradition.  The famous opening of “Once in Royal David’s City” is traditionally sung by a solo chorister. This year, in a manifestation of this ethos of collaborative spirit, the opening verse of this famous carol will be sung by all of our wonderful choristers – all working together as one expressive voice by adding their own individual voices to the whole. I can think of no more fitting way to begin the final service of Lessons and Carols that I will conduct or play at St Paul’s.

While my family and I all look forward to the many new adventures and opportunities waiting for us in New York, St Paul’s and San Diego are very difficult places to leave.  As we all know, San Diego’s cost of living has done nothing but increase.  Even with both of us finding as much supplemental income and working as many hours as possible, it has been a real struggle for the past few years and we reached the realization that it was no longer possible to continue.

I am very fortunate to have found a program that so closely resembles what I have built and nourished here at St Paul’s.  It is a rare thing to be able to walk into a wonderfully developed program and get right to work on expanding the wonderful things that are already in place.  That is my wish for the future of the music program here at St Paul’s – that it continues to thrive and grow in the coming months of interim leadership as well as once the new Director of Music has been found.

I plan to remain active in the San Diego and Southern CA music community, both as a regular guest artist with various performing organizations, and as a resource to others in the community. Molly and I look forward to maintaining friendships here and relationships within the San Diego performing arts community and are very fortunate to be able to keep our home here and to return to San Diego as frequently as possible.

I have been so proud and so happy during my time at St Paul’s to work with countless numbers of choristers, wonderful adult singers, and send many organ scholars off to serve in the world of church music throughout the US.  These are all things that I intend to continue to do, and look forward to the new opportunities to do so from the East Coast!

Once again, a tremendous thank you to all of you that make St Paul’s Cathedral the place that it is!

Sincerely,

Martin Green
Canon for Music