Dr. Jennifer Pascual has been a good friend of mine for several years now. At the conclusion of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians in January (2008) over lunch as she was taking me to the Newark airport for my return flight to Orlando, she asked if I would be willing and able to help her with the orchestral music arrangements for the Papal visit in April. While I was immediately interested in helping her out, my one request was that if I were to do any of the arrangements, I really wanted to be there to hear them live. Thankfully, she was able to find a spot for me in the choir.
My wife, Karen, came along to cover the event for The Florida Catholic and The Evangelist wrote a nice little article about the music and my connection to the diocese there.