Musicians for church music in Catania and its province

In the villages around Catania every parish has its choir, made up of ordinary people who climb to the choir loft every Sunday. On the wedding day, that choir can sing together with a solo voice. If you are looking for musicians for church music for a wedding in Catania and its province, or for another celebration, Maestro Ilarion, tenor, sings with the parish organ and choir in the city and in all the villages around Etna.

The bride who sang in the choir

Think of a young woman from Zafferana Etnea who has sung in the parish choir since she was nine. She has sung at hundreds of Masses, at dozens of other people's weddings. She knows every chant, every entry, every breath by heart. She knows the choir director like an uncle, and the altos like grandmothers.

When she decides to marry, she has one wish: that her choir sings for her. But she also wants something special, a solo voice for the Ave Maria. So the choir director and the Maestro come to an agreement with the parish priest: the choir will sing the congregation's chants, the tenor the solo pieces, the organ will support everyone.

On the wedding day the Mother Church, at the top of its stairway, is full. From the square you can see Etna, very close, smoke rising slowly. The bride walks in. For the first time in her life she is not in the choir loft: she is in the nave, and her friends are singing for her.

At the choir's first chant she instinctively turns towards the loft, as she does every Sunday. The altos smile at her. She laughs and cries at the same time.

Then, during the Ave Maria, the choir falls silent and only the tenor's voice remains. The bride listens, for once, without singing. And she understands what all those couples she sang for must have felt, all those years.

How the roles are shared in church

• The tenor: the bride's entrance, the Ave Maria and solo pieces.
• The parish choir: the congregation's chants and the Alleluia, if the priest and director agree.
• The organist: accompanies tenor and choir throughout the Mass.
• The parish priest: approves the programme and the order of the celebration.

Church music in Catania and the towns of the province

The Maestro sings for weddings, baptisms, anniversaries and other celebrations:

• Catania: the Cathedral of Sant'Agata, the Badia di Sant'Agata, the Collegiata, San Benedetto, San Nicolò l'Arena, and neighbourhood churches such as Ognina and Picanello.
• Acireale area: Acireale, Santa Maria la Scala, Santa Tecla, Capo Mulini, Aci Castello, Aci Trezza, Aci Sant'Antonio, Aci Catena, Aci Bonaccorsi.
• Eastern slopes of Etna: Zafferana Etnea, Santa Venerina, Milo, Sant'Alfio, Giarre, Riposto, Mascali, Fiumefreddo.
• Southern slopes: Viagrande, Trecastagni, Pedara, Nicolosi, Mascalucia, Tremestieri Etneo, San Giovanni la Punta, Gravina di Catania, Belpasso.
• Western and northern slopes: Paternò, Adrano, Biancavilla, Bronte, Maletto, Randazzo, Linguaglossa, Castiglione di Sicilia.
• Calatino: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Grammichele, Vizzini, Mineo, Palagonia.

See also the page on church wedding musicians in Catania and its province and the one on church music in Syracuse.

After the ceremony

Maestro Ilarion is a tenor and pianist: he can also accompany the lunch or reception with elegant live music.

Tell us about your occasion with the request for church music.

Looking for wedding musicians near another town? Find yours in the full list of places where I sing.